The Skymaster Excel is an American

powered parachute A powered parachute, often abbreviated PPC, and also called a motorized parachute or paraplane, is a type of aircraft that consists of a parafoil with a motor and wheels. The FAA defines a powered parachute as ''a powered aircraft a flexible o ...

that was designed and produced by

Skymaster Powered Parachutes Skymaster Powered Parachutes was an American aircraft manufacturer based in Hartland, Wisconsin. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of powered parachutes in the form of kits for Homebuilt aircraft, amateur construction under ...

Hartland, Wisconsin Hartland is a village along the Bark River in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States, that is a suburb of Milwaukee. The population was 9,110 at the 2010 census. Geography Hartland is located at (43.100180, −88.344452). It is in the ...

. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 85. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X The aircraft was introduced in 2001 and production ended when the company went out of business in late 2008.

Design and development

The aircraft complies with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale

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 aile ...

category, including the category's maximum gross weight of and also the US ''Experimental - Amateur-built'' aircraft rules. The aircraft has a maximum gross weight of . It features a parachute-style wing, 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 ...

accommodation,

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

Hirth 2706 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 gyroco ...

engine in pusher configuration. 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 ...

engine was also offered. The aircraft carriage is built from bolted

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. In flight steering is accomplished via foot pedals that actuate the canopy brakes, creating roll and yaw. On the ground the aircraft has lever-controlled nosewheel steering. The main landing gear incorporates spring rod suspension. The aircraft has an empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for crew and baggage is .

Operational history

In August 2015 ten examples were registered in the United States with the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

. The design won many awards, including 2001 Sun 'n Fun Grand Champion, 2001

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 ...

Oshkosh Flex-wing Champion, 2002 AirVenture Oshkosh Flex-wing Champion, 2003 AirVenture Oshkosh Flex-wing Champion, 2003 Sun 'n Fun Innovations and 2004 Sun 'n Fun Best Trike. It was later developed into a smaller single seat design, the Skymaster Single Seater.

Specifications (version)

References

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External links

Company website archives
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, ...

Excel ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the ...

2000s United States sport aircraft 2000s United States ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Powered parachutes Homebuilt aircraft