Photograph:
Avid Aircraft Heavy Hauler V 28-1801 at Mangalore, VIC in April 1998 (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
United States of America
Description:
Two-seat amateur built light aircraft
Power Plant:
One 48 kw (65 hp) Rotax 582 two-cylinder, two-stroke, liquid-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan [STOL wings]: 9.11 m (29 ft 10½ in)
- Wingspan [speed wings]: 7.30 m (23 ft 11½ in)
- Length: 5.18 m (17 ft)
- Height: 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
- Wing area [STOL wings]: 11.38 m² (122.5 sq ft)
- Wing area [speed wings]: 9.04 m² (97.31 sq ft)
- Performance: [STOL wings]
- Max cruising speed: 137 km/h (85 mph)
- Stalling speed: 52 km/h (32 mph)
- Max rate of climb at sea level: 427 m/min (1,400 ft/min)
- Service ceiling: 5,335 m (17,500 ft)
- Range with: max fuel 483 km (300 miles)
- Empty weight: 154 kg (340 lb)
- Loaded weight: 385 kg (850 lb)
History:
The Avid Flyer was produced in kit form by Avid Aircraft Inc of Caldwell, Idaho, USA in kit form for amateur constructors, being available in the homebuilt or ultralight category. It could be purchased as a single kit, or as six separate kits to spread the purchase cost. The Flyer, one of a series of designs by this Company, was available in two forms, differing only in the wing installed. Two forms of interchangeable wings were available, high-lift STOL wings fitted with full-span auxiliary aerofoil flaperons, and short-span ‘speed’ wings with a different wing section, the latter providing a cruising speed of 177 km/h (110 mph) and a stalling speed of 65 km/h (40 mph).
The type was a two-seat side-by-side homebuilt with dual controls. Construction of the wing was of aluminium spars with plywood ribs with Dacron covering. The fuselage was welded steel tube with Dacron covering, the engine cowling being fibreglass. Floats, skis, wheel-skis could be fitted in lieu of the tricycle or tailwheel undercarriage. Fuel capacity in the wing tanks was normally 34 litres (7.5 Imp gals) but 53 litre (11.7 Imp gal) tanks were optional. Further models in the Avid range included the Bandit and the Magnum, the former with a Rotax 503 engine, and the latter being a 2-plus-1-seat model having a Lycoming O-320 engine.
Avid produced a range of ultralight aircraft for a variety of purposes and to meet customer needs. Examples of just about the whole range of Avid aircraft have been registered under ultralight regulations in New Zealand, including: Mk IV Speedwing ZK-RWT (c/n 782); Mk IV STOL ZK-PCL (c/n 1388); Flyer Aerobat ZK-FYI (c/n 873) and ZK-VID (c/n AACA/763); Hi-Gross UL ZK-PCM (c/n AACA/1096); Speedwing ZK-MMP (c/n 397); Heavy Hauler ZK-DDD (c/n 744), ZK-OST (c/n 1543-E), ZK-SMH (c/n 745) and ZK-WEN (c/n 1226D); Mk IV Microlight ZK-CAD (c/n 1207), ZK-DBM (c/n1461), ZK-DLR (c/n 1524D), and ZK-JHW (c/n 1434D), etc.
A number of examples have been completed in Ausralia mostly registered under AUF / RAA Regulations, including 24-0487, 28-0829 (c/n N190), 28-0841 (c/n Q261), 28-0482, and 28-0929 (c/n V269).