Photograph:
A Pour le Merite Blue Max Sabre (Author’s collection)
Country of origin:
Australia
Description:
Single-seat ultralight sport aircraft
Power Plant:
One 21 kw (27 hp) Komatsu Koenig SD570 four-cylinder two-stroke single-ignition radial engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 8.23 m (27 ft)
- Length: 4.5 m (14 ft 8 in)
- Economical cruising speed: 80 km/h (49 mph)
- Stalling speed: 48 km/h (30 mph)
- Fuel capacity: 22 litres (4.8 Imp gals)
- Weight: 115 kg (254 kg)
History:
The Sabre 1K-1R was a high-wing strut-braced ultralight aircraft with an open cockpit marketed by Pour le Merite Ultralights of Nagambie, VIC in the 1980s and was designed to meet ANO 95.10. Its structure utilised two aluminium tubes for spars with fibreglass ribs and leading edges. It was fitted with larger than usual tyres and a spring-steel suspension to allow it to operate from farms or rough fields. A fibreglass pod was available to protect the pilot in colder climates, and the aircraft was available in ready to fly form.
Engines fitted included a four-cylinder Koenig or the Rotax 277 geared engine driving a 129 cm propeller (4 ft 2¾ in). Variants included the 1K and 1R. The Koenig was designed by Dieter Koenig in Berlin, Germany, the SD570 being a four-cylinder radial with an electric starter, a recoil starter not being available. It had a slide type carburettor and a reducing drive and initially produced 18 kw (24 hp) but later models produced 21 kw (28 hp) at 4,200 rpm.