Le Pelican FAR Part 103 ultralight – single-seat single-engined high-wing monoplane with conventional three-axis control. Wing has unswept leading and trailing edges, and constant chord; cruciform tail. Pitch control by elevator on tail; yaw control by fully flying rudder; roll control by 40%-span ailerons; control inputs through stick for pitch/roll and pedals for yaw. Wing braced from below by struts; wing profile double-surface. Undercarriage has three wheels in taildragger formation; axle-Flex suspension on main wheels. Push-right go-right tailwheel steering connected to yaw control. Optional brakes on main wheels. Aluminium-tube framework with glass-fibre nose and fabric covering, partially enclosed (total enclosure optional). Engine mounted below wing driving tractor propeller. Covering of framework and wing is Dacron. Ribs made from foam-aluminium composite. Aircraft-grade aluminium used for structural components. AN hardware.
Ultravia’s publicity material describes Le Pelican as ‘a new ultralight respectful of aircraft tradition’ and is powered by a four-stroke twin-cylinder Briggs & Stratton engine. Designer Jean-Rene Lepage, the Canadian engineer who developed the aircraft over a period of three years, realised that the four-stroke was fairly heavy for its rated horsepower and therefore designed the aircraft with long wings and a relatively short nose. Le Pelican is basically a tube-and-Dacron machine, with D-cell wings braced by a single strut and using composite construction ribs made from foam and aluminium-alloy. The entire structure was designed in accordance with FAR Part 23, the first aircraft taking to the air on 31 May 1982.
The prototype used spoilers for roll control, though ailerons are now standard, as is a steerable tailwheel (also absent from the prototype). Doors have now been developed to make the cockpit fully enclosed if desired. For those wanting more power, Onan engines of 20 or 22 hp are offered In this form the aircraft was introduced at C$5800 in kit form, the first machines being delivered in February 1983, though this price rose to C$6500. 2009 Price: 5500 US$. Claimed construction and rigging times respectively are 150h and 30 min.
The Pelican was sold in kit form by Ultravia in 1984. It is an aircraft of traditional configuration with a taildragger landing gear and steerable tailwheel. The aircraft was originally fitted with a Global engine and aluminum cowling. The fuselage and tail unit are built with aluminum tubes covered with doped fabric. The wing structure consists of an aluminum D-cell spar on which the styrofoam ribs are mounted. The wings are also covered with doped fabric. Wings are hung to the fuselage with a single strut. All these characteristics combine to give an aerodynamically clean wing with a 12-to-1 glide ratio.
Le Pelican has been compared with the Aeronca C-2, with earlier models being powered by horizontally opposed 4-stroke engines. The strut braced high-wing monoplane is built of aluminium tube gussett rivetted and dacron covered. The engine cowling is one piece fibreglass and the cockpit has remov-able doors for summer flying.
The Pelican is powered by a Global engine. This is the original engine that came with this airframe kit in 1984. The Global is a 4-stroke, 2-cylinder engine based on the Volkswagen flat four, air-cooled engine, except that this one has 2 cylinders instead of four. For this reason, it is often referred to as a half-VW engine. However, the castings are especially designed for aircraft use. This engine is very fuel efficient and burns only 1 gallon of autogas per hour. It is also more reliable than 2-strokes. It is free-air cooled and the oil circulates through an oil cooler located below the fuselage. This engine is devoid of all the troublesome components such as a cooling fan, radiator, hoses, thermostat and other hardware associated with liquid-cooling systems; making it more reliable and less hassle to maintain. The 58 X 24 inch wood propeller is bolted directly to the solid forged crankshaft. This eliminates the potential problems of reduction drives with their added mechanical complexity and heavier weight. The Global develops 35 hp @ 3250 RPM and has plenty of torque for a direct-drive prop. Ignition is by a magneto. This eliminates the need for a battery and alternator and allows for a very simple and reliable electrical system. The Global is started by hand propping; another simple and reliable system that never breaks down. This engine is surprisingly light for a 4-stroke; it weighs only 76 lbs ready-to-run.
Engine: Global, 35 hp @ 3250 RPM
Span: 35 ft
Length: 15 ft
Height: 6.5 ft
Wing area: 136 ft.sq
Max wing loading: 3.86 lbs.sq.ft
Empty weight: 113 kg / 250 lbs
MTOW Weight: 238 kg / 525 lbs
Useful load: 275 lbs
Cruise speed: 60-70 mph
Max speed: 80 mph
Stall speed: 23 kt / 27 mph / 43 kmh
Vne: 78 kt / 90 mph / 145 kmh
Max climb rate: 900 ft/min / 5 m/s
Fuel capacity: 5 USG
Fuel burn: 1 to 1.2 gal.hr
Max range: 300 miles
Glide Ratio: 12:1
Takeoff distance: 50 ft
Landing roll: 100 ft
Load factors at 525 lbs: +4 -2 G’s Limit, +6 -3 G’s Ultimate
Engine: Briggs & Stratton, 18 hp at 3600 rpm
Propeller diameter 43 inch, 1.09m
No reduction
Power per unit area 0.13hp/sq.ft, 1.4hp/ sq.m
Fuel capacity 2.5 US gal, 2.1 Imp gal, 9.5 litre
Empty weight 210lb, 95kg
Max take-off weight 450lb, 204kg
Payload 240lb, 109 kg
Max wing loading 3.21 lb/sq.ft, 15.7 kg/sq.m
Max power loading 25.0lb/hp, 11.3kg/hp
Load factors +4.4, -2.2 design; +6.6, -3.3 ulti-mate
Max level speed 60 mph, 97 kph
Never exceed speed 85 mph, 137 kph
Max cruising speed 55 mph, 88 kph
Economic cruising speed 50 mph, 80 kph
Length overall 14.0 ft, 4.27 m
Height overall 6.0ft, 1.83m
Wing span 37.0ft, 11.28m
Constant chord 3.8ft, 1.17m
Dihedral 3 deg
Sweepback 0 deg
Tailplane span 8.0ft, 2.44m
Fin height 3.8ft, 1.14m
Total wing area 140 sq.ft, 13.0 sq.m
Wing aspect ratio 9.8/1
Wheel track 6.0 ft, 1.83 m
Wheelbase 11.0 ft, 3.35m
Tailwheel diameter overall 4 inch, 10 cm
Main wheels diameter overall 20 inch, 51 cm
Stalling speed 26 mph, 42 kph
Max climb rate at sea level 500 ft/min, 2.5 m/s
Min sink rate 250 ft/min at 30 mph, 1.3 in/s at 48 kph
Best glide ratio with power off 13/1 at 35 mph, 56kph
Take-off distance 150ft, 45m
Service ceiling 12,500 ft, 3810 m
Range at average cruising speed 104 mile, 167 km
Engine: Rotax 277
Prop: 147cm
Wing span: 10.67 m
Length: 4.57m
Weight: 115kg
Fuel capacity: 19 ltr
Econ cruise speed: 55 kts
Stall: 25 kts