l would like to present a few photos and a technical description of a powered glider that my colleagues and I have developed over the past 20 months. The glider is designed so that it meets Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 103 -Ultralight Vehicles.

I have been involved in designing and building composite fuselages and other parts for various UL aircraft for over 20 years. I have built the motorized glider Sagitta with my colleague Vadimir Duchacek. Static and flight tests were performed by LAA inspector Milos Dedera, one of the best glider pilots in the Czech Republic. The glider exhibits stable behavior even at a stall speed of 45 km/h, and the rudder is effective at this speed. Landing speed is 50 km/h without flaps. Descent speed at 90 km/h is 0.6 m/s.

The UL aircraft rudder is very effective at speeds above 130 km/h; it is due to the efficiency of the rudder at low speeds. The tail wheel is built into the rudder, and with the added winglet at the end of the wing, turned in the downward direction. With a mounted wheel, the aircraft will be able to taxi around an airfield from hangar to runway and execute turns with a radius of 6 m. The engine will be fastened in front of the vertical tail area and aerodynamically shielded to achieve the least resistance, or engine pull-out and pull-in on the fuselage. Our effort to build a clean aerodynamic aircraft is also motivated by the possibility of adoption of electric power. This aircraft should reach its maximum flying parameters at low energy consumption. These are some of the main parameters of the motor UL glider Sagitta.

• Wing  span                                           11m
• Length                                                  5,8m
• Wing area                                              8m2
• Empty weight                                        115kg
• MTOW                                                    230kg                                                                                   
• Load factor                                            4,4/-2,2 G
• Max. speed Vne                                     150km/h
• Max. speed in turbulence Vb                 120km/h
• Stall speed                                               45km/h
• Min. sink with  90 km/h                          0,6m/s
• L/D                                                          35
• Climb performance with MTOW              +2 m/s
• Fuel tank in the wings, capacity           19 litres

You can view a photo and video of Sagitta’s takeoff and landing at http:/www.uschovna.CZ .

Here are some additional photos of the glider.