The Delta Sailplane Honcho and Delta Sailplane Nomad are a family of American ultralight aircraft and

motorglider A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: a fixed-wing aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (MoP), capable of sustained soaring flight ...

s that were derived from the

Volmer VJ-24W SunFun The Volmer VJ-24W SunFun is an American high-wing, strut-braced, single-seat, pod-and-boom motor glider and ultralight aircraft that was designed by Volmer Jensen and provided as plans for amateur construction by his company Volmer Aircraft ...

and produced by the Delta Sailplane Corporation. The aircraft were supplied as kits for amateur construction.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page E-17. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001.

Design and development

The Nomad and Honcho were both designed to comply with the US

FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles Ultralight aircraft in the United States are much smaller and lighter than ultralight aircraft as defined by all other countries. In the United States, ultralights are described as "ultralight vehicles" and not as aircraft. They are not req ...

rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . Both have a standard empty weight of . They feature a strut-braced

high-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing co ...

, a single-seat, open cockpit, and a single engine in pusher configuration. The Nomad is the motorglider version with

monowheel gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

and a longer wing, while the Honcho has

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

and a shorter wing. Both the aircraft are made from bolted-together

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

tubing, with the wings and tail surfaces covered in doped aircraft fabric covering. The high wing is supported by V-struts with

jury strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

s. The pilot sits on an open seat with no windshield. Engines used include the Lloyd DS1, Lloyd DS2, and the

Solo 210 The Hirth F-36 is a single-cylinder, two-stroke, carburetted aircraft engine designed for use on ultralight aircraft, especially powered paragliders and ultralight trikes. It is noted for its extremely small equipped weight of including ex ...

. The assembly time is 120–150 hours.

Variants

;Honcho :

Tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

version with nosewheel steering, an auxiliary tailwheel, and a span wing. ;Nomad :

Monowheel gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

version with a span wing, wing area of , wing loading of 2.77 lb/sq ft (13.5 kg/m²) and a cruise speed of .

Specifications (Honcho)

References

{{reflist 1980s United States ultralight aircraft 1980s United States sailplanes Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft