Lewis Ascender

The Lewis Ascender is an American homebuilt bush aircraft designed by Alec Wild and Eric Lewis.

Design and development
The Ascender is a single-engined development of the Wild DoubleEnder, which itself is derived from the Piper PA-18 Super Cub. Work on the Ascender began in 2016, with the aircraft being fully designed in CAD. The wings were initially to be taken from the DoubleEnder, but were later entirely redesigned with mechanically actuated double-slotted flaps. The leading-edge slats present on the DoubleEnder were removed on the new Ascender wing to reduce drag. The Ascender's tail, which resembles that of the Super Cub, features a horizontal stabilizer with a symmetrical airfoil and an enlarged vertical stabilizer. The Ascender's landing gear is fitted with 35-inch tires and oversized disc brakes. The fuselage of the Ascender is built with 4130 chromoly steel, while the wings are aluminum. The cockpit features a large bubble canopy and seats two in a side-by-side layout, and a bench seat behind the cockpit seats two additional passengers. The aircraft was initially powered by a single 180 hp Superior Air Parts XP-400 engine mounted above the cockpit, but this was later replaced by a 225 hp Lycoming YIO-390-EXP. Fuel is provided by a pair of 24-gallon tanks located in the wings. A ballistic parachute can be installed as an option.

Operational history
After a construction period of 18 months, the Ascender was first flown in April 2018. Flight testing resulted in modifications to the engine cowling and ailerons. In July 2018, the Ascender's Superior XP-400 engine suffered a crankshaft failure which resulted in the aircraft ditching in a lake in Alaska and sinking. The aircraft was subsequently recovered and, after two years of repairs, flew once again with a new Lycoming engine.

Alec Wild and Eric Lewis have expressed interest in making an Ascender kit aircraft available to the public.