Photos are of the 750km flight preparations at Minden.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
THE CARAT MOTORGLIDER
The Carat is a new motor glider designed and built by AMSFlight of Slovenia. AMS-Flight is a name that may not be familiar to most of you although much of what they make is very well known. The company took over from Elan Flight Division in 1999 and currently makes the DG 303, 505, and 1000 as well as the re-released LS4b which is proving to be very popular. The Carat is their first motor glider. Under development is the Magnus ultralight motorglider which will be suitable as a towplane. The Carat has an air-cooled, four-cylinder, four-stroke Sauer 1800 E1S engine with fuel consumption of about 10.8 l/h premium petrol at 200 km/h. The carburetor adapts the mixture automatically to altitude and can climb at a rate of 1 m/s at an altitude of 5000 m when the electrical fuel pump is in operation. Folding propeller The new “beak” folding glass fibre propeller folds the blades forward against the air stream by means of two damping gas springs when the engine is shut off at speeds below 90 km/h thus minimizing drag. You simply switch off the ignition when you have centred a
New Zealand Agent:
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20
April 2008
thermal. Blade interconnection prevents unintentional opening. When the engine is started, centrifugal forces open the propeller at once and it is immediately operational. Retractable landing gear After engaging the 3-position switch, the robust, leaf-spring main landing gear is retracted electro-hydraulically. The fairings fit tightly and thus ensure aerodynamic performance. The landing gear can be extended manually in an emergency. Two powerful disk brakes are operated simultaneously using a brake lever on the control stick where the lock for the parking brake is also located. The steerable, spring-loaded tail wheel allows precise taxiing and a turning radius of about 15 m. Good gliding performance The wing is virtually that of the “Discus”. In addition to excellent performance, the airfoil with turbulators on the lower side results in very docile stall behaviour even in rain or with an insect-covered wing nose. The optional winglets improve circling performance in thermals.
