The Vintage Ultralight SR-1 Hornet is an American

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

produced by the Vintage Ultralight and Lightplane Association of

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, introduced in the early 1980s. The aircraft was supplied in the form of plans for amateur construction, although plans are no longer available.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 286. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.

Design and development

The aircraft was designed to comply with the US

FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles Ultralight aircraft in the United States are much smaller and lighter than ultralight aircraft as defined by all other countries. In the United States, ultralights are described as "ultralight vehicles" and not as aircraft. They are not req ...

rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . The aircraft has a standard empty weight of . The SR-1 Hornet features a strut-braced and cable-braced biplane layout, a single-seat open cockpit, fixed

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 ...

with a steerable tail wheel, and a single engine in pusher configuration. The aircraft is made from bolted-together

aluminum 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. It ha ...

tubing, with its flying surfaces covered in doped

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. Its span wing has a wing area of . The Hornet has the largest wing area and lightest wing loading of any ultralight of its period. The acceptable power range is and the standard engine used is the

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powerplant. The engine is mounted between four tubes that support the tail surfaces. The SR-1 Hornet 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 and baggage is . The standard day, sea level, no wind, take off and landing roll with a engine is . The designer estimated the construction time from the supplied plans as 250 hours.

Operational history

The Hornet was widely sold in the United States in the 1980s. In the United States ultralights are not required to be registered, and in April 2014 no examples were in fact 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 ...

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

Specifications (SR-1 Hornet)

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website archive
on

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Hornet photoHornet photo
SR-1 Hornet 1980s United States sport aircraft 1980s United States ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Biplanes Homebuilt aircraft