Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand - Kasperwings (1)

The next type of microlight aircraft to appear on the New Zealand Civil Register was the Kasperwing.

The Kasperwing ultralight aircraft was designed in the US by Witold Kasper and Steve Grossruck and was introduced in 1976, well before the FAA's Part 103 for ultralight aircraft was produced, and it won the 1980 EAA best Design Award..  It is a weight shift machine with a single surface wing braced from above by a kingpin and below from the keel.  It was produced by Cascade Ultralites Inc of Issaquah, Washington State.

The Kasperwing's aerodynamics differ from other ultralights/microlights because of the "Kasper Effect" which which relies on wingtip vortices to control roll and yaw, even below the stalling speed of the wing.  This allows the Kasperwing to make a vertical approach to landing while remaining stable in all 3 axes.  The wingtip rudders are also used in vortex generation and as airbrakes.

The length of the Kasperwing is 10 feet (3.04 metres) and its wingspan is 35 feet (10.67 metres).  Its wing area is 180 square feet.  the empty weight is 160 pounds (73 Kg) and MAUW is 380 pounds (172 kg).  With a 20 HP single cylinder Zenoah engine the maximum cruising speed is 45 mph, and the stall speed is a remarkable 18 mph.

As I have posted previously, there was at least one Kasperwing flying in New Zealand before microlights had to be registered, and that was flown by Ken Hoult of Morrinsville (see: HERE).  Ken Hoult went on to be the agent for Kasperwings in New Zealand trading as Cascade Microlights:

In the caption to this photo. Paul Legg writes:  "With the Kasperwing on a small trailer, Ken Hoult can tow his machine through farm gates to and from the flying field.  The Kasperwing does dismantle for roof (w)racking if needed, but most farmers prefer to house their machines".