The Wings of Freedom Phoenix 103 is an American amateur-built

ultralight aircraft 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 Aircraft flight control system, conventional three-a ...

that was produced by Wings of Freedom of

Hubbard, Ohio Hubbard is a city in southeastern Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. It is formed from part of Hubbard Township, which was formed from the Connecticut Western Reserve. The population was 7,636 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of the Youn ...

. When it was available it was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 76. Belvoir Publications. In late 2019 the company website had been taken down and it is likely that production had ended.

Design and development

The Phoenix 103 is based on the discontinued

Aero-Works Aerolite 103 The Aero-Works Aerolite 103 is an American single seat, high-wing, pusher configuration ultralight aircraft, designed by Terry Raber and introduced by Aero-Works, Inc, of Millersburg, Ohio, in 1997. The aircraft's model number indicates that ...

. With a standard empty weight of , it was designed to comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . It features a strut-braced

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 conf ...

, a single-seat open cockpit with windshield, fixed

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 ...

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 n ...

. The aircraft is made from

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

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 fo ...

sailcloth. Its span wing has an area of . Its recommended engine power range is ; standard engines used include the

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 ...

Hirth F-23 The Hirth F-23 is a twin cylinder, horizontally-opposed, two stroke, carburetted or optionally fuel injected aircraft engine designed for use on ultralight aircraft. It is manufactured by Hirth of Germany.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft ...

. Construction time is estimated at 100 hours.

Operational history

By December 2011, the manufacturer reported that ten of the aircraft had been completed and flown.

Specifications (Phoenix 103)

References

External links

* {{Wings of Freedom aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft 2000s United States ultralight aircraft Wings of Freedom aircraft