Country of origin:

South Africa

Description:

Two-seat sport and surveillance aircraft

Power Plant:

One 93 kw (125 hp) Camit six-cylinder 3300-cc four-stroke horizontally-opposed air-cooled engine

Specifications:

History:

The Micro Aviation Bantam series was designed by Max Clear in New Zealand as a microlight sporting aircraft and was made available as a complete ready-to-fly aircraft that complied with the Federation Aeronautique Internationale microlight rules, as well as the BCAR regulations in the United Kingdom.  It is a conventional three-axis aircraft and has sold well around the world to sports flyers.

A number were exported to South Africa. Micro Aviation South Africa was set up to market the aircraft in that part of the world, and eventually commenced local production. It was then developed to meet a local need for a “bush plane”, particularly in the surveillance role when local operators were looking for poachers, amongst other things. A number of changes were then made to the aircraft and it became known as the BatHawk LSA, these including the installation of the Jabiru 3300 six-cylinder engine with more substantial cheek-plates and engine mountings, an increased all-up weight of 540 kg (1,190 lb), stronger undercarriage, larger bush tyres, improved brakes and an increased fuel capacity to 100 litres (22 Imp gals).

Further changes were made to the luggage area, stronger wing spars and wing struts, a re-designed more streamlined nose pod and a larger windscreen to improve visibility. During flight testing of the prototype the test pilot on 1 December 2012 pulled 4G during VNE tests and carried out a display of loops, barrel rolls and stall turns.

The BatHawk has been found to be very suitable for game reserve aerial surveillance, where its slow speeds and relative silence give it almost stealth characteristics. It has been used for fence checking and stock mustering on farms; aerial topdressing and spraying; aerial photography and surveying; reconnaissance and surveillance; regular ranger patrols; carcass location; water-point monitoring; monitoring of rare species; and gathering of scientific data for research purposes.

Examples have been delivered to a number of game reserves on the African continent, including KZN Parks, San Parks, Sabi Game Reserve, SA Wildlife College, Lugenda in Northern Moz and Klaserie PNA.  Aircraft have been supplied to Tanzania, and a base has been set up in Kenya to support aircraft operating in the Serengeti.

According to the Australian distributor, more than 180 BatHawks have been delivered. Two engines were initially made available, the 75 kw (100 hp) Rotax 912 ULS and the Camit unit which produces 90 kw (120 hp). However, in 2016 Camit, which produced an engine which was a modification of the Jabiru engine, went into liquidation and that unit was no longer available. An optional engine has been the 82 kw (110 hp) Honda conversion supplied by Viking. The Camit engine had been built in Queensland by Camit Pty Ltd, a company established in 1986. This Company designed, manufactured and assembled four and six cylinder four-stroke air-cooled engines, these being 2200 cc (134 cub in) and 3300-cc (201 cub in) units, the former providing 61 kw (81 hp) and the latter 95 kw (127 hp).

The seats are positioned side-by-side with dual control, both crew members being protected from the weather by an aerodynamic fibreglass pod and a large wrap-around windshield.  It is fitted with large bush tyres, hydraulic disc brakes, either an 80 litre (17.6 Imp gals) or 100 litre (22 Imp gals) fuel tank, a closed in luggage area and an engine monitoring system. First example in Australia arrived in April 2016 for the Australian distributor for use as a demonstrator. An example became 24-8723 based in York, WA in 2016.

The propeller and the engine are mounted in a tractor position above and ahead of the crew. The empennage is conventional in location and layout and the undercarriage is tricycle with a steerable nose wheel. The wing is strut and lift wire braced, has two tubes forming the spars, one at the leading edge and one at the rear edge of the wing. All parts are manufactured using corrosion resistant aluminium alloy and stainless steel wires, and the airframe and wings are covered with tensional Dacron sailcloth. Attached to the rear spar are full span flaperons of similar construction and covering. They work independently as ailerons and together as flaps. The fin, rudder, tailplane and the elevator are of similar materials and construction. There are tubes from the leading and trailing edges with the section between being flat-sides. The rudder is actuated by cables from the pedals. A Black Max Disc brake system is installed and brakes are actuated by means of a hand lever on the control stick.