6 | Pilot April 2015 http://www.pilotweb.aero
Notes
News and whatever else strikes our eye this month
Going private?
The CAA is ‘exploring
options’ for hiving off its
medical department,
including privatising the
AeroMedical Centre p.The Light Aircraft Company Ltd (TLAC) has started production
of the Sherwood KUB, its single-seat deregulated (SSDR)
light aircraft. Based at Little Snoring airfield in North Norfolk,
TLAC has been working on getting the aeroplane in to production
since acquiring the former Reality Kid design, on which the KUB is
based. Initial production attempts working from the Reality factory
tooling proved ‘difficult and inaccurate’, according to TLAC and a
program of jig and fixture remanufacture was undertaken. With
new and revised tooling and state-of-the-art welding equipment in
place, production could finally commence. The first factory-built
aircraft is nearing completion and another airframe is finish
welded and awaiting powder coating.
The Sherwood KUB is a conventional, three-axis aircraft with an
enclosed cockpit. It can be powered by engines up to 45hp. TLAC
says that incorporates features not found on other SSDR aircraft,
such as three-stage flaps, a luggage bay, windows that can be
opened in flight, and wings that can be folded in two minutes
without the need for any controls to be disconnected. It can be
readied for trailering in five minutes.
When powered by a Hirth F33 two-stroke engine, it burns six
litres of fuel per hour. Fuel capacity is 23.5 litres with a single tank,
or 47 litres with twin tanks. A high-lift wing and flaps give
‘excellent short field performance’, with still air takeoff and
landing rolls on grass of fifty metres.
TLAC has also been appointed eastern region sales and service
distributor for the Belgian D Motor aero engine (photo above). The
D Motor is a 95hp watercooled, fuel-injected flat four that has an
installed weight of just 57kg, excluding the cooling system. It is
now available as standard for TLAC’s Sherwood Ranger and
Sherwood Scout factory-built aircraft, and as an option for kit
builds. A six-cylinder engine will soon be added to the D Motor
range. For more information visit g-tlac.comSherwood KUB
in production