The Lockwood Drifter is a family of high wing, single engine,

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 nor ...

, open cockpit, one and two-seat

kit aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

that was first introduced in the 1980s by Maxair and remains in production today by

Lockwood Aircraft The Lockwood Aircraft Corporation is an ultralight aircraft manufacturer located in Sebring, Florida. Leza-Lockwood was started by ultralight pioneer Phil Lockwood after the National Geographic Society asked him to design a camera plane to film ...

Sebring, Florida Sebring ( ) is a city in the south-central Florida and is the county seat of Highlands County, Florida, United States, nicknamed "The City on the Circle", in reference to Circle Drive, the center of the Sebring Downtown Historic District. As of t ...

.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2011 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 59. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, pages B-15 & B-74. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', pages 201 & 273. BAI Communications. Downey, Julia: ''1999 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 72. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Downey, Julia: ''2008 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 24, Number 12, December 2007, page 60. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 108. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X

Development

The Drifter was first marketed by Maxair in the 1980s as both a single seat and two seats-in-tandem kitplane. The original single seater was light enough when fitted with the

Rotax 277 The Rotax 277 is a , single-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, that was built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catlog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995. Development The ...

engine to qualify for the US FAR 103 ''Ultralight Vehicles'' category, with an empty weight of . After Maxair went out of business, the design was picked up in 1997 by Lockwood Aircraft who produced kits for a number of single and two-seat versions, mostly differing by installed engine. The Lockwood versions are all wire-braced using a

kingpost A king post (or king-post or kingpost) is a central vertical post used in architectural or bridge designs, working in tension to support a beam below from a truss apex above (whereas a crown post, though visually similar, supports items above fro ...

to support the ground wires. Over 1000 wire-braced Drifters have been completed and flown. Lockwood estimates that a builder will take 300 hours to complete a Super Drifter from the currently supplied kit.

Australian developments

From the 1983, Austflight ULA originally based at

Ballina, New South Wales Ballina () is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of the Ballina Shire local government area. Ballina's urban population at June 2018 was 26,381. The town lies on the Richmond River and serves as a ...

began licence production of the Drifter. In 1986, the company moved to purpose built facilities at

Boonah, Queensland Boonah is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Boonah had a population of 2,484 people. Geography The town is positioned near the Fassifern Valley, McPherson Range and Main Range ...

where they built fully assembled Drifter variants certified by

Civil Aviation Safety Authority The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is the Australian national authority for the regulation of civil aviation. Although distinct from the government, it reports to the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. CASA is responsibl ...

for the Australian market with powerplants including

Rotax 503 The Rotax 503 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catlog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995. As of 2011 the Ro ...

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 ...

and

Rotax 912 The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, late ...

engines. Further improvements led to the Strut Braced (SB) version built to CAO 101.55 class certification in December 1993. The Drifter SB was sold in the US in the 1990s by Tiger Aviation of

Trenton, South Carolina Trenton is a town in Edgefield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 196 at the 2010 census, down from 226 in 2000. History Bettis Academy and Junior College and Marshfield, a historic plantation house with outbuilding and c ...

. Over 500 strut braced Drifters were completed and flown. In late 1995 a joint venture called the Shanghai Fenton Light Aircraft Company (SFLAC) was established with the Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Factory for the manufacture of Australian versions in China. Austflight suffered financial losses due to the costs associated with certification and the joint venture agreement. In May 2002 Austflight sold the last of its assets and transferred the Drifter Type Certificate to Noosa Air Pty Ltd. Drifter Aircraft Pty Ltd of

Dalby, Queensland Dalby () is a rural town and locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Dalby had a population of 12,719 people. It is on the Darling Downs and is the administrative centre for the Western Downs Regi ...

was incorporated in 2006 to manufacture and market the Drifter and on the 1st of June 2006 was issued with a production certificate by CASA.

Design

All models of the Drifter are built around 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 has ...

tube keel, with aluminum tubing making up the keel-to-wing structure. There is no enclosed

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 ...

; the seats are open to the air. The

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 ...

includes a steerable tailwheel. Most Drifter kits were delivered with a small

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

nose fairing. The wing is built from aluminum tubing and covered with pre-sewn

Dacron Polyethylene terephthalate (or poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P), is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and foods ...

sailcloth envelopes. Controls are conventional three-axis, with dual controls and center-mounted control sticks. Lockwood offers optional flaps as part of its

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...

kit. The single seat Drifter and XP503 are both stressed for +6/-3 g. With its large wing area, the Drifter adapted well to floats and was fitted with several types, including Full Lotus floats. The glide ratio is 9:1.

Operational history

Drifters have been widely used in a number of roles, including recreational flying, agricultural spraying,

aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing aircra ...

flight training Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

and

banner towing Aerial advertising is a form of advertising that incorporates the use of flogos, manned aircraft, or drones to create, transport, or display, advertising media. The media can be ''static'', such as a banner, logo, lighted sign or sponsorship bran ...

, during which many Drifters have accumulated high numbers of flying hours, leading one reviewer to note: "its long track record has revealed no weakness in the Drifter". A number of Lockwood XP503s have been reported to have exceeded 3000 hours and one Drifter used for banner towing exceeded 10,000 flight hours. In reviewing the Drifter, Andre Cliche said: Bayerl et al. describe the aircraft as "light in weight, but aerodynamically handicapped", due to its high-drag cable bracing.

Variants

;Maxair Drifter :Single seat, wire braced, equipped with

engine, gross weight. ;Maxair Drifter DR447 :Single seat, wire braced, equipped with

Rotax 447 The Rotax 447 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catlog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995. Design and development ...

engine, gross weight. Intended for float use. ;Maxair Drifter XP503 :Two seats in tandem, wire braced, equipped with

engine, gross weight. ;Lockwood Drifter DR447 :Single seat, wire braced, equipped with

engine, gross weight. ;Lockwood Drifter XP503 :Two seats in tandem, wire braced, equipped with

engine, gross weight. ;Lockwood Drifter MU582 :Two seats in tandem, wire braced, equipped with

engine, gross weight. Intended for float and agricultural use. ;Lockwood Super Drifter :Two seats in tandem, wire braced, equipped with

engine, gross weight. Intended for amphibious float use.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 114. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ;Tiger Aviation Drifter SB :Two seats in tandem, strut braced, equipped with the

engine or optionally 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, ...

engine, gross weight. 500 reported as flying.

Specifications (Super Drifter)

References

External links

Official website archive
on

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Photo of a wire braced Maxair Drifter
{{Lockwood Aircraft 1980s United States ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft