Just Aircraft Highlander - A few days ago, crews hauled up more boulders and mud stumps, turning the leafy hillside behind the Just Aircraft factory in Walhalla, South Carolina, into a playground unsuitable for soccer. Even my host, Troy Woodland, the company's co-founder, disagreed, calling it a runway. He dives fast, and makes a short final in his green and silver superstole kitplane, heading into a red and suddenly squishy world.
"Doesn't it make you a little nervous if you go out for the first time," Woodland tells me over the intercom, saying maybe there's something wrong with you.
Just Aircraft Highlander
I'm not ashamed to admit it: I get a little nervous when the Earth starts spinning around us
Aircraft N942k (just Aircraft Highlander C/n Ja197 02 10) Photo By Mark Pasqualino (photo Id: Ac919164)
He spills with a powerful burst and pulls back well on the rod Superstole takes off to follow the contents of the hill until the forest suddenly cuts off the power The superstole announced that it had flown – from a height of several feet and we fell with an abnormal rate of descent. I brace myself for effect, but no bone comes out Instead, SuperStol nitrogen-charged shock absorbers and 29-inch Tundra tires take the abuse from our unusual descents. Immediately the forester slammed on the brakes as we hit rocks and tree branches.
This basic sequence is repeated probably a couple of dozen times a day as we enter the smaller areas of Valhalla and its surroundings. Once planted on the ground, the woodsman wasted no time in putting his foot on the steering wheel to bring us back to where we came from, using full power and with effortless speed he moved the stick forward and then brought it back. Hold the handle on the floor and raise a leg The combination of the sudden forward motion and the extra lift from the flaps gives us air We are climbing fast The airspeed indicator shows 35 miles per hour The feeling is similar to being in a helicopter
No other aircraft I've flown can do what the SuperStole can do STOL, as you know, stands for "Short Take-off and Landing". Superstole, then, means
Made possible by short take-offs and landings, large 45-degree flight curves and self-retracting slats, the design was borrowed from the Helio Courier bush plane and lowered to fit this small ammo-built two-seat pilot plane. The only vehicle that would brave the terrain we first rode on would be a farm tractor or an axe, I thought to myself. Yet here we are on a rag-and-tube tail-puller, sliding over deep holes, muddy channels and jagged rocks like it's ideal.
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Somehow, this is normal on this plane At the end of the day I feel good about everything we do The fear is gone - and the reason is simple The SuperStoll descends so smoothly and has such a stable design that every time it takes off and lands, my confidence in the airplane's incredible capabilities increases. What seems normal, will actually land on a real asphalt road Instead, Woodland and I are bounded by trees, lakes and rivers beneath the clouds 2,000 feet above the Smoky Mountains of the Appalachians in farm pastures, neighbors' houses and fields of rough grass and mud. What a way to spend the day
What's really amazing about this plane is that if you have a few hundred feet of space in your yard and an extra $75,000 [in 2014 dollars] on hand, you too can own this amazing plane.
It made its world debut at the Just Aircraft Supershow in Oshkosh in 2012, where Woody and his business partner Gary Schmitt were a hit when they showed the plane to the public for the first time. Superstole has actually been on the drawing board for about 10 years. Only Aircraft was selling a kitplane called the Highlander that offered many of the features needed for a personal airplane, such as light weight, good power, slow landing speeds, and available tundra tires. But to create the ultimate budget jet, changes were needed — big changes
The first modification Woodland designed for the Superstall was its unique A-frame landing gear, a structure borrowed from Miata's Porter and further modified to include shocks found on off-road trucks and ATVs. Next Woodland has improved the engineering of the superstall slats, which are designed to automatically expand whenever the airspeed drops below 55 knots. Hand, slow movement of air In normal operation, Woodland says, the superstall's tail stalls before the wing stalls — and that happens at just 28 knots.
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Woody said that he tried to fly the plane but could not succeed. In order for the wing to stand up, Superstole must be at a high deck angle so he doesn't even try that often. The normal landing procedure is to cut power, hold the stick fully, and let the aircraft descend at 500 to 1,000 feet per minute until impact with the ground. There is no combustion No float This is the kind of abuse that can break many other planes This is normal for SuperSTOL
Another important part of the development effort was convincing Sensenich to create a new 82-inch mounting bracket to pair with the Rotax 912ULS Superstal engine. Ovalland has a water carrier for the personal plane, a self-described mule, a Ukrainian-made Kiev landing gear and an engine that puts out 100 to 110 horsepower. This combination allowed us to descend about 100 feet off the ground The shortest run, though Woodland says he usually prefers to use the available take-off space before getting superstole airborne. Some early Superstall kit builders have opted for larger engines up to 200 hp, which should provide impressive small field performance, especially with the new Sensenitch prop.
The Superstoll's published flight range with the stock Rotax 912ULS engine is only 275 feet with a maximum takeoff weight of 1,320 pounds, the normal limit for an LSA. Another thoughtful design feature is the plane's folding wings, which allow for easy storage in a garage or shed. With the wings folded back, the Superstole is 21 feet, 8 inches long and just 8 feet, 6 inches wide. The landing line is about 100 feet which is aided by the Superstoll's massive Matco disc brakes, meaning it can be a rear plane. A large number of people
However, it is not the best choice for a long trip or even a medium trip Normal cruising speed is a comfortable 87 knots with those big tires hanging in the air But endurance is exceptional with its 24-gallon gas tank and economical Rotax fuel burn. And in the air it feels superstoll like most LSAs we've flown The controls require a light touch, especially the ailerons To center the ball, it is best to lead the turn with the steering wheel using an almost invisible input in the direction of the turn with the stick. I noticed that the plane we flew flew a little higher in cruise, which Woody said he was working on to correct the angle of incidence of the horizontal stabilizer.
Just Aircraft Superstol Xl
Where the SuperStole shines the most is, of course, during take-off and landing My introduction to flying came last spring at Sun's Fun in Lakeland, Florida. Ovalland and I flew the customer from Paradise City, a small grass runway reserved for overhead lights, LSAs and small helicopters. We were unable to leave the area due to the TFR covering the airport during the afternoon show, so we were stuck in formation, where the winds turned into a 10-knot tornado. Although the conditions were not good, the flight surprised me I agreed to come to Valhalla for bushwalking
When I showed up at his door a few weeks later, the Woody Superstole's competitive prowess had made good on its promise to perform in trust form. We left after a lot of grass and descents running over the newly cleared strip behind the factory and from the lake in the valley to the top of the hill in front of a one-story cement factory. The Tugaloo River, on the Georgia border, is a place where we can no longer land
"I'd like to come in and say hello to a friend," Woodland said as he prepared to move to another mountain with a narrow space in the trees.
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