Rapture

As another data point, our Jabiru3300 powered Bug has an empty weight of 601 lbs, only 4 lbs more than the Rotax 912 Bug. Clearly, the Jabiru Bug is built lighter than the Rotax one. The new build carbon one will be lighter still by an estimated 30 lbs in basic structure. We will save more weight in the lighter panel. FYI, the nosegear retracts on the Rotax Bug to achieve its 186 ktas top speed while the Jab Bug has a fixed nosegear (more drag) and the Jab Bug also has a rough primer finish. With a smooth paint job, it will pick up another probably 15 lbs of empty weight but will have less skin friction. We anticipate that the Jab Bug will hit 200 ktas top speed with the paint job. The Jab Bug currently cruises at an economical cruise fuel flow of 20 litres per hour at a leisurely 180ktas. Compare that to the J230 that I fly occasionally where the 20 litre per hour fuel burn yields about 110-115 ktas. That indicates that the aerodynamic efficiency of the Bug is pretty good. Of course, it is a single seater but even still, its performance is impressive.

597 lbs empty weight. 24usg fuel capacity so maximum 145 lbs fuel means 742 lbs with full fuel and no pilot. This is a heavy build airframe with 3 coats of paint and heavy steam instruments. With the new carbon airframe and EFIS, we anticipate a lot lighter empty weight for the same engine. We have set a MTOW for the current flying 912 powered airframe at 1,000 lbs. so a 258 lbs pilot and bags allowance. With the new build, we will allow a MTOW of either 1,000 lbs or 1,100 lbs (TBD) with the 40 wing and 1,200 for the 66 wing.

Thanks RGMWA and FH, we are already targeting experimental as our primary market, but as well as LSA, MOSAIC is likely to be introduced to the US in the not too distant future that will facilitate factory build assist or full factory build. The RTF variant could also fit into that framework in the US, opening up the market there to more completed aircraft than the experimental category now offers. An LSA variant for the Australian market would be complementary to a US MOSAIC offering. Flutter is not an issue for this aircraft. It has had a full flutter analysis completed and the flying ones are regularly flown to 220 knots and in some cases, faster for test purposes.

Hi everyone. I know we have some very passionate aviators on this site and I’d like to gauge the potential interest in a high performance single seat ready to fly or kit LSA. The beauty of the Australian LSA regulations is that we have removed the top speed limitation, while maintaining the balance of the international LSA frameworks. Our team within Rapture Aircraft have a couple of airframes flying. We have one in Adelaide powered by a Jabiru 3300. This aircraft is currently topping out at close to 200 knots. We had one flying in the US with a Rotax 912ULS that topped out at about 186 knots, but the prop was not optimised. Photos of both aircraft are attached. This aircraft currently has a wing area of 40 sq.ft. and stalls at around 55 knots with landing flaps. As part of a project with the aircraft that we are working on, we are scaling the wing to provide an area of 66 sq.ft. One of the repercussions of doing this is that the new wing could potentially offer a stall speed that meets LSA criteria. This configuration would still offer bugger all drag at cruise speeds. We know that a Rotax 912 fits under the cowl ok, but we are thinking that a 155hp Edge Performance 912sTi would be a nice powerplant that with its turbocharging would offer excellent performance at both sea level and at altitude. A 200 knots cruise should certainly be attainable with this powerplant. The current airframes are Vne limited to 220 knots (designed for and flown to higher speeds by the original designer, but a conservative number was subsequently placed on the Vne). However, the design overhaul that is being carried out will offer a higher Vne. The ready to fly aircraft wouldn’t come cheap, particularly given the cost of the engine, but the question I have for forumites is whether in your opinion there would be legitimate interest for folks to buy a 200 knots ready to fly single seat LSA? Of course, the alternative to the high performance high cost variant is to offer a Rotax 912/Jabiru 3300 powered low cost variant that would only offer a 160-180 knot cruise. We will still plan to offer the original wing for the super high performance kit market, but with the big wing making the aircraft LSA eligible, we want to explore that market. I would appreciate your opinions or comments about the concept of a high speed single seat LSA. Dave