The Ikarus C42 is a two-seat, fixed

tricycle 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 ...

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

microlight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

aircraft, manufactured in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Comco Ikarus Comco Ikarus GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturer. The company produced hang gliders through the late 1970s, followed by ultralight aircraft, Flight Rescue System (FRS)-branded ballistic parachutes, and light aircraft A light aircraft i ...

. It is used primarily for flight training, touring and personal flying.

Design and development

The Ikarus C42 is a single-engined high-wing monoplane with side-by-side seats for two in a wide cabin. The C42 is manufactured with either an Rotax 912 engine or a Rotax 912s engine. The Rotax engine has a low fuel consumption and relatively low noise. The engine drives the propeller, which has ground-adjustable pitch, through a

gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...

with a 2.273:1 reduction

ratio In mathematics, a ratio shows how many times one number contains another. For example, if there are eight oranges and six lemons in a bowl of fruit, then the ratio of oranges to lemons is eight to six (that is, 8:6, which is equivalent to the ...

The aircraft is structurally supported by a backbone of large diameter aluminium tube which runs the length of the aircraft. The cabin and fuselage shell is a

composite material A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...

which, being non-structural, can be removed for inspection and repair. The wings are constructed of tubular front and rear spars. The wings and flying control surfaces are covered in

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

Mylar BoPET (biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate) is a polyester film made from stretched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and is used for its high tensile strength, chemical and dimensional stability, transparency, reflectivity, gas and a ...

/ Polyester laminate. The wings can be removed or folded (if an optional folding kit is installed) for storage and transportation. The

wing tip A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...

s are of composite construction which reduces drag and improves low speed handling. Access to the cabin is provided by two gull-wing doors.

Controls

A single

centre stick A centre stick (or center stick in the United States), or simply control stick is an aircraft cockpit arrangement where the control column (or joystick) is located in the center of the cockpit between the pilots or between the pilot's legs. Sinc ...

controls the

ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

and

elevators An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are ...

. Electrical pitch trim is controlled by two buttons on the top of the stick, operated by the thumb. A

push to talk Push-to-talk (PTT), also known as press-to-transmit, is a method of having conversations or talking on half-duplex communication lines, including two-way radio, using a momentary button to switch from voice reception mode to transmit mode. H ...

button is on the front of the stick, operated by the index finger, together with a vertical hand-operated brake lever similar to a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

front brake lever. Rudder pedals are dual control. The distance from the seat to the pedals is fixed because the seat position is not adjustable. The dual control throttle levers are situated between the legs, and pivot from side to side so can be folded out of the way making entry and exit of the aircraft easier. The flaps are controlled by a centrally-mounted lever on the roof of the cabin. The relatively short lever does make the operation of lowering flaps quite physical when combined with holding the centre control stick at the same time.

Aerotowing

In conjunction with a Rotax 912 ULS, the Ikarus C42 may be used to tow gliders. The maximum nominal ultimate strength at weak link must not exceed 660 pounds. Banner towing is allowed with the smaller Rotax 912 UL.

Variants

;C42B :Updated model for the US light-sport aircraft category. ;C42C :Introduced in 2012, this model is an update of the basic design with composite parts,

winglet Wingtip devices are intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft by reducing drag. Although there are several types of wing tip devices which function in different manners, their intended effect is always to reduce an aircraft' ...

s, aileron spades, reduced wingspan and a Flettner rudder as well as a new engine mount design derived from the C52. ;C42CS :Introduced in 2015 at the

AERO Friedrichshafen AERO Friedrichshafen is a trade show dedicated to European general aviation. It is held yearly in April on the shores of Lake Constance at the exhibition center of Friedrichshafen, Germany right next to Friedrichshafen Airport Friedrichshaf ...

show, it incorporates a new

landing 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 ...

design consisting of a single curved composite gear main leg per side, new brake design and a redesigned interior.

Specifications (Ikarus C42)

References

External links

Comco Ikarus website in English

BMAA review of the Ikarus C42

{{Comco Ikarus aircraft 1990s German civil utility aircraft High-wing aircraft Ultralight aircraft Light-sport aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1996