The Kolb Kolbra and King Kolbra are a family of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

tandem two seater, high wing, strut-braced,

pusher configuration In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in n ...

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

-equipped

ultralight aircraft 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 Aircraft flight control system, conventional three-a ...

that are produced in kit form by New Kolb Aircraft of

London, Kentucky London is a home rule-class city in Laurel County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 7,993 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the second-largest city named "London" in the United States and the ...

and intended for amateur construction.Downey, Julia: ''2001 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 17, Number 12, December 2000, page 58. KitPlanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851Downey, Julia: ''2002 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 18, Number 12, December 2001, page 50. KitPlanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851Newby-Gonzalez, Tori: ''Kit Aircraft Directory 2004'', Kitplanes, Volume 20, Number 12, December 2003, page 70. Aviation Publishing Group. ISSN 0891-1851

Design and development

The Kolbra was intended as a dual control, ultralight trainer and was created by combining the front half of a

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

fuselage with the rear fuselage cage of the

Slingshot A slingshot is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two natural rubber strips or tubes attached to the upper two ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the pro ...

. The front fuselage was then widened by to allow more room for the pilot's feet. The King Kolbra has a wide fuselage front, similar to the Mark III whereas the Kolbra has a pointed nose. The Kolbra's factory standard engine was the

Rotax 582 The Rotax 582 is a two-stroke, two-cylinder, rotary intake valve, oil-in-fuel or oil injection pump, liquid-cooled, gear reduction-drive aircraft engine manufactured by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It is for use in non-certified aircraft operating ...

engine, placing it in the Ultralight Trainer category, but it could be equipped with the Rotax 912UL or the

Jabiru 2200 The Jabiru 2200 is a lightweight naturally aspirated, pushrod four-stroke, flat four, air-cooled aircraft engine produced by Jabiru Aircraft. Design and development The conventional direct-drive engine is fitted with an alternator, silencers, ...

in the ''Experimental - Amateur-built'' category. The King Kolbra's standard engine was the

. Both aircraft feature a forward

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

of welded

4130 steel 41xx steel is a family of SAE steel grades, as specified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Alloying elements include chromium and molybdenum, and as a result these materials are often informally referred to as chromoly steel (common va ...

tubing, mated to an

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 ...

tailboom. The

horizontal stabilizer A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplan ...

, tail fin and wings are also constructed of riveted aluminum tubing and feature full-span

flaperon A flaperon (a portmanteau of flap and aileron) on an aircraft's wing is a type of control surface that combines the functions of both flaps and ailerons. Some smaller kitplanes have flaperons for reasons of simplicity of manufacture, while ...

s. All flying surfaces are covered in doped

aircraft fabric Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...

. The wings and horizontal tail are quick-folding for storage and ground transport. The landing gear is sprung tubing for the main gear, with a steerable sprung tailwheel.

Variants

;Kolbra :Two seats in tandem configuration, high wing ultralight, powered by a

or Rotax 912UL engine. Aircraft has a highly pointed nose. ;King Kolbra :Two seats in tandem configuration, high wing ultralight, powered by an

Design and development

Variants

Specifications (Kolbra)

See also

References

External links