The creation of Frederick Kuhnert of New Jersey, and at the time was said to be to the largest aeroplane in the world, though no doubt it was just one of several claimants to that title. He established the Kuhnert Aerial Construction Company in order to “manufacture flying machines”. In 1910, Kuhnert bought 20 acres of land in the Hackensack Meadowlands to use as an aerodrome where he built a passenger airplane that could hold 14 people. Called Kuhnert’s Ferryboat, it, along with his aerodrome, was destroyed by a tornado in 1912 before it could make its first flight.
Built by Werner Kuffner (WK) as a one off in 1975, the WK-1 is a two seater motor glider with a BMW R90/S, 600cc 58 HP motor driving a foldable 3 blade prop that spins around the fuselage behind the cabin. The engine runs a toothed belt that spins a metal ring on which folding propeller blades are mounted.
Kudashev’s biplane (Кудашев) Biplane of 1910, sometimes designated Кудашев 1, was, reportedly, the first aeroplane of Russian design flown. On May 23, 1910 it flew about half the length of a football pitch at a height of a couple of feet at Kiev. The flight was not advertised and went unnoticed by the general public. Kudashev was a civil engineer and associate professor at Kiev Polytechnics.
In 2005 Petr Kubiček, encouraged by aerospace engineering students at Brno University, began to design a modernised Mráz M-2 Skaut with the hope of production. The first Kubicek M-2 Scout (the name was Anglicised) of the 21st century appeared, unflown, at Aero ’09 held in Friedrichshafen in the spring of 2009 and flew for the first time on 7 May 2009. The Scout design began with the original plans reassessed with modern methods and using a metal rather than wood structure, supplemented with some composite materials for the engines cowling and flying surface tips.
Externally the old and new aircraft are similar, wings and tail having the same features and the side-by-side seating retained. The aircraft is made from riveted and bonded aluminum sheet and is completely corrosion-treated after assembly. Electrically operated flaps are fitted to the Scout and there is a central trim tab on the elevator. Its fixed tricycle undercarriage is mounted on the fuselage with cantilever composite mainlegs. The mainwheels have brakes operated with a central lever and the nosewheel has helical springing. All wheels are spatted.
The new M-2 was designed to comply with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight rules and US light-sport aircraft rules.
After its first flight in May 2009, the Scout prototype appeared at several Czech airshows and fly-ins.
Two versions are being developed, one to meet the US Light Sport requirement with a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 598 kg (1,320 lb) and a second for the European Ultralight MTOW limit of 450 kg (992 lb). Both these MTOWs are less than that of the original Skaut and empty weight are also less. Certification was proceeding in 2010, with the aim of first deliveries during 2011.
M-2 Scout LSA US light-sport category Engine: Rotax 912ULS, 73.5 kW (98.6 hp) Propeller: 3 blade ground adjustable Wingspan: 9.6 m (31.5 ft) Wing area: 12.4 m2 (133 sq ft) Length: 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in) Height: 2.35 m (7 ft 9 in) Empty weight: 320 kg (705 lb) Gross weight: 600 kg (1,323 lb) Fuel capacity: 90 L (23.5 US gal; 19.8 Imp gal). Maximum speed: 220 km/h (140 mph, 120 kn) Cruise speed: 180 km/h (110 mph, 97 kn) Stall speed: 72 km/h (45 mph, 39 kn) in the landing configuration Never exceed speed: 260 km/h (160 mph, 140 kn) ROC: 6.0 m/s / 1.181 ft/min Endurance: 6 hours g limits: +4/-2 Crew: one Capacity: one passenger Cockpit width: 120 cm (47 in)
M-2 Scout UL European ultralight category Engine: Rotax 912ULS, 73.5 kW (98.6 hp) Propeller: 3 blade ground adjustable Wingspan: 9.6 m (31.5 ft) Wing area: 12.4 m2 (133 sq ft) Length: 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in) Height: 2.35 m (7 ft 9 in) Empty weight: 320 kg (705 lb) Gross weight: 472.5 kg (1,042 lb) Fuel capacity: 90 L (23.5 US gal; 19.8 Imp gal). ROC: 5.0 m/s (984 ft/min) Cockpit width: 120 cm (47 in) Crew: one Capacity: one passenger
The Kubicek AV-1 is a hot-air airship designed and built in the Czech Republic by Kubicek Limited. The AV-1 was built as an advertising airship for the TICO group of Prague and first flew on the 16 October 1993.
It was later in the colours of Coca-Cola Moscow.
Volume: 2,800 m3 (99,000 cu ft) Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 503, 37 kW (50 hp) Propeller: single blade Justas-Stratos 4-blade pusher Burner: Kubicek H3-double 2 x 2.1 MW Length: 35.00 m (114 ft 10 in) Height: 12.00 m (39 ft 4 in) envelope height Weight: 195 kg Gondola: Stainless steel, 240 kg Maximum speed: 25 km/h (16 mph, 13 kn) Endurance: 1.5 Crew: 1 pilot Capacity: 1 passenger
The Krucker Cygnet amphibious ultralight trike was designed by J.P. Krucker and initially produced by his company Krucker Manufacturing in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Supplied as a kit for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft, the aircraft was designed to comply with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight category and the US light-sport aircraft rules.
It features a strut-braced hang glider-style high-wing, weight-shift controls, a two-seats-in-tandem open cockpit, retractable wheeled tricycle landing gear and dual floats and a single engine in pusher configuration.
The aircraft is made from bolted-together aluminum tubing, with its single surface wing covered in Dacron sailcloth. Its 10.3 m (33.8 ft) span wing is supported by struts and uses an “A” frame weight-shift control bar. The standard powerplants are the twin cylinder, liquid-cooled, two-stroke, dual-ignition 65 hp (48 kW) Rotax 582 engine, the four cylinder, air and liquid-cooled, four-stroke, dual-ignition 80 hp (60 kW) Rotax 912UL and the 100 hp (75 kW) Rotax 912ULS engines.
A number of different wings can be fitted to the basic carriage, including the North Wings Pulse 17 m2 (180 sq ft) and 19 m2 (200 sq ft) sizes. The LSA-approved wings are the North Wing Mustang 3 in 15 m2 (160 sq ft), 17 m2 (180 sq ft) and 19 m2 (200 sq ft) and the Keitek Hazard.
The Cygnet was awarded Best Trike at Sun ‘n Fun in 2005.
SLSA #99 was the Krucker Cygnet amphib trike. The SLSA completed on 3 July 2009 accoring to U.S. representative, Michael Percy, of XL Kites who imports the Cygnet to the US.
The Cygnet was later manufactured by Sea and Sky of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, United States, selling for US$49,600 (with Rotax 912) in 2011, and still in production in 2013.
Cygnet 2 / North Wings Pulse 17 wing Engine: 1 × Rotax 582, 64 hp (48 kW) Propeller: 3-bladed composite Wingspan: 33 ft 10 in (10.3 m) Wing area: 189 sq ft (17.6 sq.m) Empty weight: 529 lb (240 kg) Gross weight: 992 lb (450 kg) Fuel capacity: 10 U.S. gallons (38 L; 8.3 imp gal) Wing loading: 5.2 lb/sq ft (25.6 kg/sq.m) Maximum speed: 60 mph; 52 kn (96 km/h) Cruise speed: 37 mph; 32 kn (60 km/h) Stall speed: 31 mph; 27 kn (50 km/h) Rate of climb: 490 ft/min (2.5 m/s) Seats: 2
