Arion Lightning
| Arion Lightning | |
|---|---|
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| Arion Lightning | |
| Role | Homebuilt aircraft |
| National origin | United States of America |
| Manufacturer | Arion Aircraft |
| Designer | Pete Krotje, Ben Krotje and Nick Otterback |
| First flight | March 2006 |
| Introduction | April 2006 |
| Number built | 150 (2012) |
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The Arion Lightning is a light-sport aircraft available as a kit aircraft or as a production Special LSA.[1]
Design and development
The Lightning was developed by designers Pete Krotje, Ben Krotje and Nick Otterback.[2]
Originally designed as a high speed, low wing composite aircraft for the Jabiru series of engines, the LS-1 was redesigned to meet American light-sport requirements by extending the wings to lower the stall speed and using a fixed pitch propeller.
The aircraft is made from composites. In the homebuilt kit version its 30.5 ft (9.3 m) span wing has an area of 91 sq ft (8.5 m2) and mounts flaps. The aircraft's recommended engine power is 120 hp (89 kW) and the standard engine used is the 120 hp (89 kW) Jabiru 3300 four-stroke powerplant. Construction time from the supplied kit is 600 hours.[3]
Operational history
In 2007 Earl Ferguson set a record for the quickest time for a flight from Savannah to San Diego in a piston engine land plane weighing between 1,102 and 2,205 pounds using this aircraft.[4]
Variants
- Arion Lightning EXP
- US Experimental amateur-built category aircraft[3]
- Arion Lightning XS
- Variant of Lightning EXP supporting up to 160 hp engines, including the Lycoming O-320 and ULPower 390iS.[5]
- Arion Lightning LS-1
- Light-sport aircraft variant[3]
Specifications (Arion Lightning LS-1)
Data from Arion Aircraft[6]
General characteristics
- Capacity: 2
- Length: 20 ft 8 in (6.30 m)
- Wingspan: 30 ft 6 in (9.30 m)
- Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
- Wing area: 104 sq ft (9.7 m2)
- Empty weight: 820 lb (372 kg)
- Gross weight: 1,320 lb (599 kg) Kit aircraft 1530lbs
- Fuel capacity: 22 U.S. gallons (83 L) or 30 gallon option
- Powerplant: 1 × Jabiru 3300 , 120 hp (89 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 140 kn (161 mph; 259 km/h) 160knts KIT
- Cruise speed: 120 kn (138 mph; 222 km/h) 140knts kit
- Stall speed: 38 kn (44 mph; 70 km/h) 45knts clean
- Never exceed speed: 180 kn (207 mph; 333 km/h)
- Service ceiling: 16,000 ft (4,900 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,200 ft/min (6.1 m/s) 1500 solo
See also
References
- ↑ "Arion Lightning LS-1". Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ Plane & Pilot. 9 Feb 2010. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - 1 2 3 Vandermeullen, Richard: 2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide, Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 43. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
- ↑ Mosely, Brian (March 29, 2008), "A record-setting flight in a Shelbyville-made plane", Shelbyville times
- ↑ "Lightning XS Kit". Arion Aircraft LLC.
- ↑ Arion Aircraft (2011). "Specifications and Pricing" (PDF). Retrieved 27 December 2011.
External links
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