The Peak Aerospace Me 109R is a family of German replica

warbird A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAAF Museum Historic Flight, or th ...

ultralight aircraft that was designed by Tassilo Bek, and originally produced by Peak Aerospace of

Pasewalk Pasewalk () is a town in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. Located on the Uecker river, it is the capital of the former Uecker-Randow district, and the seat of the Uecker-Randow-Tal ''Amt'', o ...

. The company since changed its name to Classic Planes GmbH . The design, first flown in 1991, is an 80% scale replica of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Messerschmitt Bf 109 and is supplied as a kit for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', pages 68 and 115. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', pages 38 and 104. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.

Design and development

The aircraft was designed to comply with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight rules. It features a cantilever

low-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 single-seat enclosed cockpit, retractable

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 ...

and a single engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...

. The first replica was inspired by Bek's inspection of a

Loehle 5151 Mustang The Loehle 5151 Mustang is a 3/4 scale replica of the P-51 Mustang, designed by American designer Carl Loehle. Its plans are provided for amateur builders. The aircraft has a wooden fuselage with fabric covering.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2011 Kit ...

scale replica fighter at

AirVenture EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsi ...

in the late 1980s. He was impressed with the scale warbird, but wanted a German aircraft and so returned home and set out to design an Me 109 replica. The first prototype, registered D-MBAK, was of all wooden construction, powered by a

Hirth 2704 The Hirth 2704 and 2706 are a family of in-line twin cylinder, two stroke, carburetted aircraft engines, with optional fuel injection, designed for use on ultralight aircraft and especially two seat ultralight trainers, single seat gyrocopt ...

producing only and first flew in 1991. This aircraft achieved on its low power output, but Bek started a second prototype based on lessons learned in 1992. The second aircraft, registered D-MYBB, first flew in 1992, but was lost in an accident that same year. Bek's third prototype, D-MNBP, was flown in about 1994 and resulted in some kits being sold. Bek flew a homebuilt category version of the Me 109 in 1996, powered by a

Hirth F30 The Hirth F-30 is a horizontally opposed four-cylinder, two-stroke, carburetted aircraft engine, with optional fuel injection, designed for use on ultralight aircraft and homebuilts. It is manufactured by Hirth of Germany.Cliche, Andre: ...

and later a Subaru automotive conversion, which became the prototype of the Me 109R kit aircraft. Bek then sold the company and the new owner ceased development of the Me 109. In 2003 Christian Engelen purchased the project and continued work on the aircraft, officially re-launching it in 2004. Since then production has continued on a demand basis. The current production version, the Me 109R is made from composites. Its span wing has an area of and flaps. Standard engines available include 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 ...

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

, the Weber Motor MPE 750 and the D-Motor LF26 four-stroke powerplants.

Variants

;Me 109R Microlight :Version for the European microlight class with a gross weight of ;Me 109R Experimental :Version for the homebuilt aircraft class with a gross weight of , stressed for +6/-4 g and intended for

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glide ...

. Powered by an

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, l ...

, a MPE 750 or D-Motor LF26 boxer engine.

Specifications (Me 109R)

References

External links

* {{Bf 109 family 1990s German ultralight aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft

Design and development

Variants

Specifications (Me 109R)

See also

References

External links