The Midwest Questar XLS is an American
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 conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...
that was designed and produced by
Midwest Engineering of
Overland Park, Kansas. When it was available the aircraft was supplied in the form of plans for
amateur construction, but the plans were withdrawn on 29 June 2000.
[Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 208. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. ]
Design and development
The Questar XLS was 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 requ ...
rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . The aircraft has a standard empty weight of .
The aircraft features a
strut-braced
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 ...
high-wing, a single-seat open cockpit without a windshield, fixed
tricycle landing gear without
wheel pants and a single engine in
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 ...
.
The Questar XLS is made from bolted-together
6061-T6 aluminum tubing, with its flying surfaces covered in
doped aircraft fabric. Its span wing has a wing area of , is supported by "V" struts and the wing can be detached in ten minutes for ground transport or storage. The acceptable power range is and the standard engines used are small
two-stroke powerplants.
The aircraft has a typical empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for the pilot and baggage is .
The standard day, sea level, no wind, take off distance with a engine is and the landing roll is .
The manufacturer estimated the construction time from the supplied plans as 200 hours.
Operational history
By 1998 the company reported that 70 sets of plans had been sold and that 10 aircraft were completed and flying.
Specifications (Questar XLS)
References
External links
*
Three view drawing of the Midwest Questar XLS{{Midwest aircraft
Questar XLS
1990s United States sport aircraft
1990s United States ultralight aircraft
Single-engined pusher aircraft
High-wing aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft