The Pegasus Quantum is a British two-seat,

ultralight trike An ultralight trike is a type of powered hang glider where flight control is by weight-shift. These aircraft have a fabric flex-wing from which is suspended a tricycle fuselage pod driven by a pusher propeller. The pod accommodates either a so ...

that was designed and produced by

Pegasus Aviation P&M Aviation was a British aircraft manufacturer, specializing in ultralight trikes, founded in 2003. The company was purchased by Albatross Flying Systems in 2019. History The company was formed in 2003 by Keith Duckworth's purchase of two r ...

and later by P&M Aviation. The aircraft was supplied as a completed aircraft.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page C-16. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 106. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X In the early 2000s Pegasus Aviation was merged with rival

Mainair Sports P&M Aviation was a British aircraft manufacturer, specializing in ultralight trikes, founded in 2003. The company was purchased by Albatross Flying Systems in 2019. History The company was formed in 2003 by Keith Duckworth's purchase of two r ...

into P&M Aviation, and production of the Quantum continued but shifted from the Pegasus plant in

Marlborough, Wiltshire Marlborough ( , ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the England, English Counties of England, county of Wiltshire on the A4 road (England), Old Bath Road, the old main road from London to Bath, Somerset, Bath. Th ...

, to the Mainair factory in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. As the company rationalized the two aircraft lines, Quantum production ended. By 2012 the manufacturer indicated, "This aircraft is no longer in production...Full spares and support are still available and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Complete aircraft can still be manufactured but by special request only."

Design and development

The Quantum was intended as an up-scale touring trike for long distance flying. It was designed to comply with the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...

microlight 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 ...

category, including the category's maximum gross weight of . It is also certified to comply with UK BCAR Section "S" and German DULV microlight certification. The aircraft has a maximum gross weight of . It features a cable-braced

hang glider Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

-style

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 ...

, weight-shift controls, a two-seats-in-

tandem 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 ...

, open cockpit,

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

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 aircraft is made from bolted-together

aluminium 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. I ...

tubing, with its double-surface Pegasus Q2 wing covered in

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. Its span wing is supported by a single tube-type

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 ...

and uses an "A" frame control bar. The Quantum line includes a number of models that incorporate various options packages and engines.

Operational history

Quantums have been used for a number of record-setting flights, including the first microlight flight around the world, flown by Brian Milton and Keith Reynolds in the Quantum 912 ''Global Flyer'' between 14 March - 21 July 1998.Milton, Brian: ''Global Flyer - Around the World in 80 Flying Days'', page 23. Mainstream Publishing, 1998. Milton explains why he chose the Quantum at the start of planning for the record-circling flight: The Quantum was also flown by Simon Baker to win the World Microlight Championships.

Variants

;Quantum 503 :The base model, without a

cockpit fairing An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ...

and powered by the

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 ...

, twin cylinder,

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

, air-cooled engine of . Standard equipment when delivered included in-flight trim, all-wheel suspension and brakes. Price in 2000 was

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

14,000 ready to fly. ;Quantum Sport/Quantum 582 :The mid-model, which adds an instrument pod,

wheel pants An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ...

, a retractable wing-mounted pylon with a gas strut, pylon fairing, extra stowage and powered by 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 ...

, twin cylinder, two-stroke, liquid-cooled engine of . Price in 2000 was

16,500 ready to fly. ;Quantum SuperSport/Quantum 912 :The high-end model, which adds a full cockpit fairing, windshield, additional stowage and powered by the

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 ...

, four cylinder,

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 ...

, liquid-cooled engine of . Price in 2000 was

30,000 ready to fly.

Specifications (SuperSport)

References

External links

* {{P&M Aviation aircraft

Pegasus Quantum The Pegasus Quantum is a British two-seat, ultralight trike that was designed and produced by Pegasus Aviation and later by P&M Aviation. The aircraft was supplied as a completed aircraft.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' ...

1990s British ultralight aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Ultralight trikes