The name Airbike
was chosen for the aircraft because it has a narrow fuselage and the pilot’s feet rest on rudder pedals that are on the outside of the aircraft, in a similar manner to a motorcycle. The single seat Air-Bike 103 FAR Part 103 ultralight was designed to meet the requirements of the United States FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles, including the maximum 254 lb (115 kg) empty weight. The tandem-seat model was intended to be licensed as an ultralight trainer or an amateur-built aircraft.
The single-seater can achieve an empty weight as low as 251 lb (114 kg) with the use of a light-weight engine, such as the 28 hp (21 kW) Rotax 277 or the 22 hp (16 kW) Zenoah G-25.
The Tandem Airbike retains all of the single-seater’s features and has a stretched fuselage to accommodate the second seat. It uses a wing of 33.8 ft (10.3 m) span with an area of 152 sq ft (14.14 sq m).
Both variants feature a parasol wing constructed from wood and covered with aircraft fabric. The wing has full-span ailerons or, in the case of the two-seater, optional electrically-actuated flaperons. All controls are cable-operated. The elevator and rudder are conventional.
The fuselage is made from welded 4130 steel tube and the aircraft has conventional landing gear with tail wheel steering connected to the rudder pedals. The main landing gear utilises sprung-tubes for suspension and absorbing landing loads.
Specifications Air-Bike 103 FAR Part 103 ultralight
- Crew: one
- Length: 16 ft 0 in (4.88 m)
- Wingspan: 26 ft 0 in (7.93 m)
- Height: 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
- Wing area: 118 sq ft (10.98 m2)
- Empty weight: 257 lb (116 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 560 lb (254 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 447 fixed pitch, 40 hp (30 kW)
- Maximum speed: 80 mph (130 km/h, 70 kn)
- Cruise speed: 63 mph (102 km/h, 55 kn)
- Stall speed: 30 mph (49 km/h, 26 kn)
- Range: 173 mi (279 km, 150 nmi)
- Rate of climb: 1,000 ft/min (5.1 m/s)
- Wing loading: 4.75 lb/sq ft (23.1 kg/m2)
- Power/mass: 14 lb/hp (0.12 kW/kg)