Speeddog7

There seems to be some confusion about the history of the Lightning Bug prototype aircraft and the bugs my dad assisted their owners in building. I'll try to clarify or at least post the information that I know. I'm fairly certain that it is accurate. The first, prototype Lighting Bug was built with conventional gear. My understanding was that it had the 3 cylinder, in-line AMW engine (not sure of horsepower, but it was likely either the 90 or 100 hp version). I was told that it was flown quite a bit, but ultimately suffered an engine failure, the aircraft was landed in a cow pasture and killed a cow. I believe that Dave might now own the remains of that particular aircraft. A second prototype was built and I believe was built as a tricycle gear (retractable nosegear) as is the configuration of our current Bug. I don't know who built the aircraft, but ultimately Nick Jones was flying the aircraft when the elevator pushrod essentially disconnected itself in flight due to TWO jam nuts that were left loose in the pitch mechanism. Fortunately, Nick was wearing a parachute and successfully bailed out of the plane. The wreckage was found weeks later and the engine was buried several feet under ground. Nick built a third aircraft with the assistance of my dad, Lanny. This airplane was N200NJ which apparently was the same N-Number used on his prior Lightning Bug that he'd bailed out of. At the same time that Nick's new N200NJ was being built, two more customer Bugs were being built in the same hangar (three total). All three Bugs ultimately flew within just a few months of one another and Nick Jones personally performed the test flights of each. All three were very nice little airplanes and I worked on all three of these airplanes as well. Nick's new airplane had the 100 hp AMW, the second aircraft to fly had the same engine, and the third to fly had the 90 hp AMW. My dad flew all three airplanes and said that the airplane with the 90 hp engine ran the best and flew the best. Right after Nick finished his new prototype, he flew it to Oshkosh. I think the year was 1994. Nick's engine (believe it or not) had some experimental, carbon fiber pistons in it. I never actually saw the pistons, but apparently the engine seized shortly before reaching Oshkosh and he successfully landed the plane on a road. The carbon fiber pistons were swapped for standard pistons by the AMW engine people and the plane was flown off the road and on to Oshkosh. After the show, the plane was flown back to Winnsboro, LA and then on to Nick's home in South Carolina. The second customer built airplane built at my dads facility was the airplane that eventually became N44XM (the one we are currently flying with the Rotax 912 ULS). It was some other N-number back then. It was owned by a very low time pilot and the aircraft sustained hard landing damage on it's first flight with its owner at the controls. The only real damage however was a broken prop, some nose gear damage and sprung main landing gear. The plane was quickly repaired and flown by my dad a few times but the owner ultimately decided to sell the airplane. Strangely, the owner of the third customer Bug (the one that my dad thought had the best running engine) suddenly decided to donate his brand new Lightning Bug to a museum in Monroe, LA. That particular owner never flew the airplane. We were all floored at the owner's decision to donate the aircraft to a museum. Such a great flying airplane. Such a waste. As far as I know, the airplane still sits on a pole out in front of the museum. Ultimately, the AMW engine just didn't pan out to be a good fit for the Lightning Bug. Nick's son, Howell took over the Lightning Bug business for several years afterward, but he was tragically killed in a sprint car race a few years later. Howell was a really great guy with a lot of talent. He was working closely with AMW to refine the design of the engine for the Lightning Bug, but upon his passing, the Bug design somewhat became stuck in perpetual limbo. That is,,, until Dave came into the picture. Dave's going to make the Lightning Bug reach it's full, intended potential. Stand by for really great things from the new Lightning Bug!!

Dave, The numbers you mentioned above are accurate. I could cruise around at 5500 rpm at 160 kias. If I went to full throttle, the bug accelerated to about 165 kias in just a few seconds, but the rpm quickly exceeded 5800 (limited to 5-minutes). I don't recall what it went to, but I didn't wait to find out (I reduced power as soon as I realize it went above 5800 rpm because the engine was still accelerating quickly (ie: There was quite a bit more power left). I then kept the rpm at 5800. I had to keep reducing throttle as it accelerated to maintain the 5800, but within just a minute or so, it settled in at 170 kias (195 mph). During climb, I was showing 120 kias and just about 1,100 feet per minute. Currently, we're on the forward edge of the CG, so I anticipate better top end speed, lower stall, and even better handling qualities at full flap settings once we move the CG aft a bit. All in all, the Bug flies very nicely though. Nick Jones designed an incredible little airplane and I'm very optimistic that it will be a 200 Knot airplane with the Rotax once a few more improvements occur (tighter wheel fairings, tighter nose gear doors, body work to the cowling, install a new (not tired) engine, and find an optimum prop). I feel confident we can get to 200 kts with the Rotax 912 ULS, based on what I'm seeing at this early juncture. Chad

Progress is being made on the wheel fairings. Taxi test any day now.

First engine run of the Lightning Bug with the Rotax. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XNZjnVGves

Cowl door flanges in the works.

Here's my favorite angle of the new Rotax bug.