POPHAM MICROLIGHT TRADE FAIR 1998

By Jim Woodham

Popham is held the first weekend in May, and is the first major event of the year on the British Microlight calendar, providing a chance for people to fly in from around the country and re-establish old friendships, as well as gaze longingly at all the new equipment on offer and perhaps test fly one of the latest ‘hot ships’.

For at least the past 5 years the event has been blessed with brilliant sunshine, but in 1998 it was not to be. Very cold northerly winds prevailed the whole weekend, with surface winds of 20 kts., and at 2000 ft. 30 kts., so there were only a few intrepid flyers who braved the conditions to fly in, providing us all with some entertainment on final approach. Some of the slower aircraft gave an unintentional demonstration of their ability to almost hover at times! The vast majority chose to go to Popham by car, and the event was therefore well attended, despite the weather, and there were plenty of new models to view.

The new Japanese HKS engines were very much in evidence. These are 60 h.p. 2 cylinder, 4 stroke, 600 cc, certified aero engines, and potentially a real challenge to the supremacy of Rotax, and an ideal replacement for their 2-stroke 582. Most of the British microlight manufacturers were demonstrating at least one of their 1998 models fitted with an HKS power unit, and this was the first opportunity for most of us to see one in action.

Pegasus were flying both an AX2000 and a Quantum weight-shift with HKS engines, as well as, of course, their Quantum 582 and top of the range Quantum 912 weight-shifts. Mainair were likewise demonstrating their Blade weight-shift with the HKS engine, as well as the Blade 582 and 912 versions, but perhaps surprisingly they did not have a Kolb 3 axis Twinstar at the show, as this would certainly be a very interesting aeroplane with a 4 stroke power unit.

Thruster also had an HKS engine fitted to their demonstrator, and were also flying the French Xair 3-axis machine for the first time in Britain. This seemed to be a very capable aircraft and looked to be very strong and well built, with an enormous cockpit and an undercarriage which would not be out of place on an agricultural tractor! In Britain it will be competing head on with Pegasus’s AX3, and they even look quite similar in many respects. Perhaps because it is being sold as a kit plane, the price of the Xair is very competitive, (Around £6000 plus engine) but the assembly work appears to be very quick and extremely simple. The demo version was fitted with a Rotax 582, but in view of the large number of HKS powered aircraft at the show, Xair will probably need 4-stroke power of some kind if they are to compete successfully here.

Undoubtedly THE most impressive aircraft at Popham was the Jabiru, being shown in both microlight and ‘group A’ versions. This is an extremely sleek 3 axis all composite plane powered by the 2.2 litre 80 h.p. Jabiru 4-stroke engine. The microlight version will not be legal in Britain until our regulations change “sometime later this year” (We’ve heard it all before!) to allow machines with a maximum take off weight of 450 kg (It is currently 390 kg.).

Both versions are advertised to have a cruising speed of 105 kts. (192 kph), an endurance of 4½ hours, and a range of 500 nm. (890 km.) Now that is what I call an aeroplane! The microlight version has a larger wingspan than the group A version to bring the stall speed within the new proposed legislation, and the fuselage is also longer to improve pitch authority. The aircraft is supplied as kit, with 600 hrs. quoted as the build time, although many parts, including the wings, are supplied almost finished, and are already gel-coated.

Most of the work is therefore fitting out the interior, installing and linking up control surfaces, bonding the two fuselage halves together, and fitting the engine and ancillaries. All this sophistication does not come cheap, and the microlight kit will set you back by around £21500, depending on options. The two examples at the show did not fly until everyone was packing up to leave, but it was worth waiting for. The Jabiru engines were whisper quiet, and both planes took off in formation, apparently heading for home. But a few minutes later, still in formation, they made a very fast, low pass along the runway. Stunning!

There were a number of Powered Para-Gliders for sale at the show, but the poor weather unfortunately kept them all firmly grounded, although someone demonstrated how to use a power pack on a bicycle!

So what was missing? The much advertised Medway Raven Eclipse, a weight-shift machine also fitted with the Jabiru engine, was expected to be there but did not appear, and was later reported to have been forced to abandon an attempt to reach the show by bad weather. Air Creation, previous exhibitors at the show, were not there this year, nor was Murphy represented, perhaps due to the move of their European operations to France. It would have been good to have seen some of the other European manufacturers at the show, but perhaps the current uncertainty regarding the British regulations puts many of them off.

Britain is of course not alone in having unique regulations governing microlight aircraft, and the sooner a common European standard has been implemented, the better it will be for all of us.

Copyright ã ULM Europe 1997, 1998, all rights reserved worldwide