Hummel Ultracruiser

The Hummel Ultracruiser (also variously called the Ultra Cruiser and UltraCruiser) is an American amateur-built aircraft, designed by Morry Hummel and produced by Hummel Aviation. The aircraft is supplied as a kit or plans for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly aircraft.

Design and development
The Ultracruiser is a development of the heavier Hummel Bird, designed to comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of 254 lb. The aircraft has a standard empty weight of 249 lb.

The Ultracruiser features a cantilever low-wing, a single-seat open, or optionally enclosed, cockpit that is 23.5 in wide, fixed conventional landing gear, or optionally tricycle landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.

The aircraft is made from sheet aluminum. Its 25 ft span wing employs a Harry C. Riblett GA30-618 airfoil and has an area of 112 sqft. The aircraft's recommended engine power range is 28 to 45 hp and standard engines used include the 37 hp 1/2 VW four-stroke powerplant. Construction time from the supplied kit is estimated as 420 hours.

Operational history
By December 2011 100 examples had been completed and flown.

Variants

 * Ultracruiser
 * Base model for the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles category, powered by a 37 hp 1/2 VW.


 * Ultracruiser Plus
 * Model for larger and heavier pilots, powered by a 60 hp Volkswagen air-cooled engine, for the US experimental amateur-built category.