The Norman Aviation Nordic 8 Mini Explorer is a Canadian

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 ...

, designed and produced by Norman Aviation of

Saint-Anselme, Quebec Saint-Anselme is a village in the Bellechasse Regional County Municipality, part of the Chaudière-Appalaches administrative region. It is the second biggest municipality in the RCM, after Saint-Henri. The Etchemin River goes through the villag ...

. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 67. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 70. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 62. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851

Design and development

The Mini Explorer was derived from the larger Hubert de Chevigny designed Personal Explorer, adapted to Canadian Advanced Ultralight rules. It 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 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 confi ...

, a two-seats-in-

side-by-side configuration Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

enclosed cockpit, fixed

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 single engine in tractor configuration. The Mini Explorer is intended as a flying camper and so includes sufficient cabin space with couches for two adults to sleep and a kitchen. Due to the emphasis on fuselage volume the Mini Explorer is not a fast aircraft for its fitted power, with a cruise speed of about . The aircraft

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 ...

is made from welded steel tubing, with wooden structure wings and all surfaces covered in doped aircraft fabric. Its span wing has an area of and no flaps. The cabin width is . Standard engines fitted are the

Rotax 912UL 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 ...

, the Rotax 912ULS and the Rotax 914

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

powerplant. Construction time from the supplied kit is estimated as 500 hours.

Operational history

In December 2011 the company reported four examples had been completed. In February 2018 there were three Mini-Explorers on the

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportati ...

Canadian Civil Aircraft Register, including the prototype.

Specifications (Mini Explorer)

References

External links

* {{Uncertified aircraft developed in Canada 2000s Canadian ultralight aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft