Designed to fly behind a 28-35 hp engine, the airplane gets off the ground in about 75 feet, lifting off at about 25 mph. With a 30 hp Kawasaki 340 engine it’s not uncommon to see a climb out speed of 45 mph at 900 feet per minute, with cruise coming in at around 50-55 mph depending on your engine and prop combination. Visibility is oustanding and landings are a snap with the aluminum, one piece gear. No nasty habits and a 22mph power on stall give the pilot a safe, secure feeling.
The “Cloudster” was designed to fly on low power and for those who enjoy low and slow morning flying at minimum cost. The profile fuselage and narrow cowling provide a clean aerodynamic appeal. With ample wing area and parallel struts, the “Cloudster” is the ideal first-time builder’s ultralight.
The major components of the plane are all wood with metal struts. The plane is available as plans only, full kit or as sub component kits. The airplanes construction is very similar to that of a wood model aircraft, and can be built by anyone using standard hand tools, in an area as small as a 1 car garage and take 350-500 hrs to complete depending on skills, tooling, and work habit.
The design uses conventional gear with 3 axis controls. The pilots legs going up the side of the fuselage to the rudder pedals, making it a a true open cockpit flying machine. The feel is much the same as riding a motorcycle in the air!
See more about the Construction of the Cloudster.
Pops Props Cloudster Specs:
| Dihedral: | 1 1/2 deg |
| Angle of Incidence: | 2 1/2 deg |
| Airfoil: | Modified Clark Y 14% |
| Chord: | 56″ |
| Tail Span: | 7′ |
| Total Length: | 16.5′ |
| Wingspan: | 30′ 2″ |
| Wing Area: | 138 sq/ft |
| Wing Loading: | 3.6 lbs/sq. ft @ 500 lbs gross |
| Cockpit: | Unlimited/Adjustable |
| Fuselage Depth: | 10″ |
| Fuselage Width: | 9 1/2″ |
| Horsepower: | 28-35 hp |
| Fuel Capacity: | 2.5 gallons |
| Range: | 69 mi |
| Cruise: | 50 mph |
| Stall: | 25 mph |
| Climb: | 600-700 ft/min (depending on engine) |
| Ceiling: | 10,000 ft |
| Takeoff Distance: | 175 ft |
| Landing Distance: | 200 ft |
| Gross Weight: | 500 lbs |
| Maximum Loads | +4/-2 G’s |
| Empty weight (Kawasaki 340): | 245 lbs |
| Empty weight (1/2 VW): | 254 lbs |
| Construction Materials: | Wood/metal/fabric |
| Kit: | Yes |
| Build time (kit): | 350-500 hrs est. |
| Plans: | Yes |
| Build time (plans): | 600-750 hrs est. |
