Wizard
ultralight aircraft, Wizard experimental aircraft, Wizard experimental light sport aircraft (ELSA), Lightsport Aircraft Pilot News
newsmagazine.
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Lightsport
Aircraft Pilot is a directory of aircraft that generally fit
into what are described as ultralight aircraft, advanced ultralight
aircraft,
light sport aircraft, experimental light sport aircraft, experimental
aircraft, amateur built aircraft, ELSA or homebuilt
aircraft in the United States and Canada. These include
weight shift aircraft, more commonly known as trikes,
powered parachutes, and powered para-gliders.
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Wizard ultralight, experimental
lightsport, amateur built aircraft.
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Manufacturer
Ultralight
Soaring Inc
The following have been taken
from various posting over the internet:
I can not verify how accurate they are:
Wizards were very flimsy due to missing tubes, wires, etc.
The larger leading edge was a marketing gimmick just to
exceed the well designed diameter of the quicks of the time.
Since they kept the small compression struts, they were
actually weaker since QS sleeved and then increased the
diameter of theirs.
The controls would get sloppy after a while due to the
drilled holes elongating, and the large wheels would easily
fail in a sharp turn. |
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They flew fine after the belly bar was bowed for more down
control on the weightshifts. The closed wing tips made the
plane hard to turn, eventually being velcroed rather than
sewed.
The small, loose stab cloth contributed to heavy control
pressures as it did on the rect stab quicks.
The lack of aftermarket support, follow on companies, led to
a 'quick' demise of most flying wizards. Some escaped the
junk pile by hiding out in barns and basements masquerading
as lawn furniture.
A little later J3B model with hard seat and original Rotax
503 is still flying here in Illinois after about 4 owners.
It probably has 500 hours on it by now. Some of the tubes
were bent and
replaced a time or two due to hard landings. The curved ones
are a real problem as you can't buy them. Have to try and
bend them yourself. The latest owner bolted on some tail
stiffening tubes acquired from a wrecked ultralight and says
it turns a lot better now. The original tail flexes enough
to reduce the rudder effectiveness. Such stiffeners were
also added to the QS airframe I believe.
The crusty old Wizard still flies here on a regular basis
cruising in the 45-50 mph range. Too much rusted hardware
and faded sails for my taste though. The current owner, a
machinist had to replace the aluminum angle stock used for
the engine mount because of fatigue cracks at the bolt
holes. The centrifugal clutch cracked it's plates and the
bolts were rusted so they bolted the assemble together as a
solid unit. Over the years this plane has given numerous
pilots forced landing experience.
Really old ultralights that have been used a lot (or not)
need a complete going over. They were never really intended
to last this long. The newer models are so much better. |
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Wizard ultralight -
experimental lightsport aircraft |
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