Cloud
Dancer
ultralight, Cloud Dancer ultra lite aircraft, Cloud Dancer
ultralight motor glider, Ultralight News
newsmagazine.
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Ultralight News is a directory of aircraft that generally fit
into what are described as ultralight aircraft, advanced ultralight
aircraft,
ultralite aircraft, ultralight planes, experimental
aircraft, amateur built aircraft, or homebuilt
or kit built aircraft in the United States and Canada. These include weight shift aircraft, more commonly known as microlight trikes, powered parachutes, and powered para-gliders.
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Cloud
Dancer
ultralight, ultra lite aircraft, amateur built, experimental,
homebuilt aircraft.
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The US Aviation Cloud Dancer is a single seat
low wing ultralight motor glider in
a pusher configuration. It is a taildragger with center mounted stick and
and left hand throttle. The rudder control
system uses ruddervators and the wing is equipped with spoilerons. It has an 80% double surface cantilever
wing with 132 square feet of wing area.
The plane is powered by a 277 Rotax 28 hp engine, using a 2.24 to
1 Rotax reduction drive, and has electric start, which allows the pilot to
shut the engine off and then restart in the air. It first flew at Sun in
Fun in 1996, and was being produced by TEAM
aircraft.
When TEAM was unable to produce the Cloud Dancer in kit form Jim Collie
the designer formed AeroDreams to produce it under license from U.S.
Aviation who also produced the SuperFloater sailplane. |
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"The concept was to produce a reasonably
priced motorglider with a 20:1 glide angle and a 200ft/min sink rate - a
blend of good performance and responsive handling. And an 18:1 glide
angle has been achieved with the Rotax 447 engine giving a 700ft/min
climb rate. It is economical using 1.25 gallons/hr at 60mph and takes
off in 200ft.
Another important consideration was for
it to be stored a transported easily and it will fit into a double
garage with its 20ft fuselage and 201/2ft wings. And it's user friendly
with a 420lb empty weight."
Unfortunately Jim was killed while flying
the Cloud Dancer when bonding
failed in the main wing spar laminations.
The project sat on the shelves for a number
of years and then a new version called the
Cumulus was introduced by Dave Ekstrom. |
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Cloud Dancer ultralight motor glider
specifications and performance data.
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Empty Weight: |
252 lbs |
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Gross Weight: |
520 |
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Wing Span: |
40 ft |
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Wing Area: |
132 sq ft |
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Engine:
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277 Rotax |
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Cruise Speed: |
50 |
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Stall Speed: |
27 |
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VNE: |
70 |
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Construction: |
Aluminum tube dacron, bolt together |
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Building time: |
Factory built |
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Manufacturer: |
U.S. Aviation |
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Cloud Dancer ultralight motor glider,
Ultralight News newsmagazine. |
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