The V-STOL XC 2000T is an American

homebuilt Homebuilt machines are machines built outside of specialised workshops or factories. This can include different things such as kit cars or homebuilt computers, but normally it pertains to homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or ...

and ultralight trainer aircraft that was designed and produced by V-STOL Aircraft of

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, introduced in the fall of 1997. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 280. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.

Design and development

A derivative of the

Starflight XC2000 ''Starflight'' is a space exploration, combat, and trading role-playing video game created by Binary Systems and published by Electronic Arts in 1986. Originally developed for IBM PC compatibles, it was later ported to the Amiga, Atari ST, Mac, ...

, the aircraft features a wire-braced

parasol 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 wings. 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 two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

open cockpit with a windshield, fixed

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...

and a single engine in

pusher configuration In aeronautical and naval engineering, pusher configuration is the term used to describe a drivetrain of air- or watercraft with propulsion device(s) after the engine(s). This is in contrast to the more conventional tractor configuration, wh ...

. The XC 2000T is made from bolted-together

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

tubing, with its flying surfaces covered in

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sailcloth. Its span wing is supported by an inverted "V" kingpost, mounts large flaps and has a wing area of . The cabin width is . The acceptable power range is and the standard engine used is the

2si 460 The 2si 460 is a family of in-line twin-cylinder, two-stroke, single ignition, aircraft engines that were designed for ultralight aircraft.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page G-2 Cybair Limited Publishing, 20 ...

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 of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...

powerplant. The tailboom is an open

Warren truss In structural engineering, a Warren truss or equilateral truss is a type of truss employing a weight-saving design based upon Triangle, equilateral triangles. It is named after the British engineer James Warren (engineer), James Warren, who pat ...

structure. Dual controls and an enclosed cabin were factory options. 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, passenger and baggage is . The standard day, sea level, no wind, takeoff and landing roll with a engine is . The manufacturer estimated the construction time from the supplied kit as 100 hours.

Operational history

By 1998 the company reported that three kits had been sold and two aircraft were completed and flying. In March 2014 four examples were

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in the United States with the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

, although a total of seven had been registered at one time.

Specifications (XC 2000T)

References

{{V-STOL Aircraft XC 2000T 1990s United States sport aircraft 1990s United States ultralight aircraft 1990s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft Homebuilt aircraft