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Overview of the Eureka Ultralight AirplaneJuly 2003 : The Eureka has been withdrawn
from the market due to lack of resources. We will continue to answer all e-mail ! The
website will remain for informational purposes only.
The Eureka was developed after recognizing that the current market does
not offer an affordable Ultralight that is also easy to build. Eureka is a machine that can be put into the air, ready-to-fly, for about $8000
(the price of a typical ski-doo, sea-doo, or other recreational craft). Although there are ultralight kits available for about $4500-$6500 (prior to
engine purchase), they often require building and fabrication times that can
approach 600 to 1000 hours for first-time builders. This realistically
translates into 2 or more years of building time that somehow has to be
accommodated among other family obligations. It is a sad statistic that less
than one-third of purchased airplane kits ever get completed by the original
purchaser. They either quietly wither away in a corner, or they are sold at a
fraction of their original price, to be completed by someone else. We pre-manufacture Eureka sub-assemblies in our facilities. The wings are built around a single deep spar. There are 26 foam ribs in each 12 foot long wing. When this assembly has been built, it is covered in full-span panels of pre-painted (white) aluminum skins, durable and UV-resistant. The resultant wing is extremely stiff and strong, yet weighs less than 35 pounds. It is attached to the fuselage with just a few bolts, and in about 5 minutes. One person can do this. This airplane can therefore be easily assembled in the field, just prior to flight. This allows for transport on a low cost trailer, and storage at home eliminating costly hangar storage, or the risks of leaving the airplane at an airstrip, unattended and weathering away. Your investment is protected. The purchaser assembles pre-built components with the supplied 3/16 and ¼ inch aircraft-grade bolts and nuts. This means that 3/8 and 7/16 wrenches are the only tools required to assemble this aircraft kit! That is why we are so confident that the Eureka Ultralight can be assembled in only 2 weekends! In order to keep Eureka’s price low, it was designed to fly with a Hirth F-33 25hp engine, with electric start (approx. $2500). Alternately, the Zenoah GB25 22hp engine with pull start can be used (approx. $2000). Both these optional engines have a solid history. We do not recommend higher horsepower engines at this time. The weight saving of over 25 pounds compared to the higher horsepower engines was therefore effectively applied towards an aluminum-skinned airplane (no maintenance) instead of the more conventional dacron-skinned types which are considerably more expensive and time-consuming when it comes to bonding, heat-shrinking, sealing, UV-protecting and finally painting. These tasks often intimidate the first-time builder. They are obviated with Eureka’s pre-painted, baked-on, white aluminum finish. |
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