Want a really cute little wooden bird for piloting across the countryside? Then you filled to take a look at the Banty.
This is a plans-built craft, and a popular one at that. Introduced in 1985, 1648 sets of plans have linen sold and there are 30 Bantys flying. This little tail dragger has folding wings and a conventional stick with flaps.
The recommended engine for the Banty is Rotax 277, which provides 28 hp and allows the craft to cruise along at 50 mph with a ton speed of 55 mph. Stall speed is approximately 25 mph.
Fuel capacity is 5 gal and the Banty has a range of 125 miles, perfect for a Sunday outing. Able to climb at 400 fpm, the Banty’s takeoff distance is 250′ and landing distance is 200′.
The Banty stands 6.0′ in height and is almost 18.8′ in length. The wingspan is 32′ with an area of 128 sq ft. Wing loading is 3.9 lbs/sq.ft. at gross and the structural limits are +4 -4 G. The open-cockpit plane has a cabin of 24″. Empty weight is 237 lbs; the craft provides a useful load of 263 lbs. Setup and breakdown simply means folding the wings – which takes all of four minutes.
Build time for the Banty is approximately 500 hours. The Banty is built from plans. Butterfly Aero is a home-based business whose prime objective is to make flying accessible to anyone by producing low-cost plans and fun-to-fly designs.
A very attractive little aircraft with good word of mouth (though we’re sorry to say we haven’t flown one yet). The Banty is also quite inexpensive… serious bang for the buck. Do check this one out.
The Butterfly Banty, also called the Kimbrel Banty for its designer, is an American homebuilt ultralight aircraft that was designed by Mike Kimbrel and produced by Butterfly Aero of Oakville, Washington, introduced in 1984. The aircraft was supplied in the form of plans for amateur construction.
The Banty was designed to comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, including the category’s maximum empty weight of 254 lb (115 kg). The aircraft has a standard empty weight of 237 lb (108 kg). It features a strut-braced parasol wing, a single-seat open cockpit with a windshield, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.
The aircraft is made from wood with its flying surfaces covered doped aircraft fabric. Its 32.00 ft (9.8 m) span wing utilizes flaps and has a wing area of 128.00 sq ft (11.892 m2). The wings are supported by “V” struts with jury struts and can be folded for ground transport or storage. The cabin width is 22 in (56 cm). The acceptable power range is 28 to 36 hp (21 to 27 kW) and the standard engine used is the 28 hp (21 kW) Rotax 277 single cylinder, two-stroke powerplant. With this engine the standard day take-off roll is 220 ft (67.1 m) and landing roll is 200 ft (61.0 m).
The Banty has a typical empty weight of 237 lb (108 kg) and a gross weight of 500 lb (230 kg), giving a useful load of 263 lb (119 kg). With full fuel of 5 U.S. gallons (19 L; 4.2 imp gal) the payload for pilot and baggage is 233 lb (106 kg).
The plans included detailed parts drawings, a materials list and construction instructions intended to assist inexperienced builders. The designer estimates the construction time from the supplied plans as 500 hours.
By 1998, the company reported that 1820 sets of plans had been sold and 30 aircraft were flying.
General characteristics:
Crew: one
Length: 18 ft 10 in (5.74 m)
Wingspan: 32 ft 0 in (9.75 m)
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Wing area: 128.00 sq ft (11.892 m2)
Fuel capacity: 5 U.S. gallons (19 L; 4.2 imp gal)
Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 277 single cylinder, air-cooled, two stroke aircraft engine, 28 hp (21 kW)
Propellers: 2-bladed wooden
Performance:
Maximum speed: 60 mph (97 km/h, 52 kn)
Cruise speed: 50 mph (80 km/h, 43 kn)
Stall speed: 25 mph (40 km/h, 22 kn)
Range: 90 mi (140 km, 78 nmi)
Service ceiling: 9,000 ft (2,700 m)
Rate of climb: 400 ft/min (2.0 m/s)
Wing loading: 3.9 lb/sq ft (19 kg/m2)