Name this plane! First time ultralight enthusiast

I recently purchased an ultralight project. Now I have never dabbled with ultralights or light sport I have always flown solid built 172's or warriors and other small general aviation aircraft. That being said I found a rather appealing deal on a project plane that was left behind on a foreclosed property. The big thing that kills me about this is that no wing was ever found so I have everything except the wing. I'm a big guy and have another 20 pounds to lose before I can safely fly in one of these things so I'm hoping to use this project as an incentive to shed some pounds and try out light sport/ultralight flying. I havnt thoroughly explored the aircraft yet but I cannot seem to find any identifying marks as to the make and model. Does anybody what this plane is and if so where I may be able to get a wing?

Thanks in advance,
Nick
http://eaaforums.org/attachment.php?...tid=5454&stc=1http://eaaforums.org/attachment.php?...tid=5455&stc=1

It's a Challenger. Or a Hornet. They both look the same.


http://www.ultralightnews.com/quadci.../whynottoo.htm

I just read the article I posted. I have two buddies who fly these Challenger. One's a two seat and one's a single seat. they both fly great. I posted that link for the picture. It showed a good pic of a Challenger. But I do not agree with what this person wrote. Pilot error is not a design flaw.

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Originally Posted by NHav8r

I recently purchased an ultralight project.

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That's cool! Quad City still supports Challengers (I think) so maybe you can get the parts and info you need to get it running.

Looks like a Challenger alright. You're in luck. It's one of the few ultralights of it's day that still has some factory support.

http://www.quadcitychallenger.com/

There are a lot of them still flying, and probably a lot more that got neglected and stuffed away somewhere like the one you found. You might be able to find a set of wings from another derelict Challenger somewhere. They mostly had sewn dacron wing covers that wouldn't be nearly impossible to make yourself, but they could also be covered with conventional aircraft fabric.

So I finally transported it to my home today (what a nervous ride that was!) it is indeed a challenger as the airspeed indicator has the challenger logo on it. Does anyone know what model or where I might be able to find some manuals or more information on this aircraft? I like to read through manuals and have a full understanding of every aircraft I work on or fly.

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Originally Posted by NHav8r

So I finally transported it to my home today (what a nervous ride that was!) it is indeed a challenger as the airspeed indicator has the challenger logo on it. Does anyone know what model or where I might be able to find some manuals or more information on this aircraft? I like to read through manuals and have a full understanding of every aircraft I work on or fly.

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Call or email Quad City Ultralights from the link Wakataka posted above.

I contacted quad city just waiting on a reply. I purchased this project for $700 does that sound reasonable or did I just buy myself into an endless money pit of a restoration project?

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Originally Posted by NHav8r

I contacted quad city just waiting on a reply. I purchased this project for $700 does that sound reasonable or did I just buy myself into an endless money pit of a restoration project?

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That's terrible. Just to prevent needless suffering, I'll give you $600 for it now! :)

Sure you'll need to invest a few dollars but you'll end up with an inexpensive flying machine and the restoration/flying will be fun!! Can't put a price on that!

It sounded like a good deal initially. It all depends on how much it will cost for me to get a wing and get the BRS recert. And I figured with all the little extras it had the value was there. And I'm not 100% but I do believe I spy a transponder behind the seat or at least something that resembles such.

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Originally Posted by NHav8r

It sounded like a good deal initially. It all depends on how much it will cost for me to get a wing and get the BRS recert. And I figured with all the little extras it had the value was there. And I'm not 100% but I do believe I spy a transponder behind the seat or at least something that resembles such.

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Unless you are flying into and out of controlled airspace like class C and such. I would ditch the transponder if you are trying to save cash. First it will need to be certified before it can go into service. That is a few hundred bucks. I would also, but this is just me, throw the BRS in the trash. If you really need it, by a new one. They do not have the rockets in them anymore, they use something else and not rockets that could explode. If you do want that one redone it's a hassle just shipping it because of the rocket in it.

86 the BRS as you need enough altitude for it to work, and if you have that much you should be able to dead stick the thing.It looks like you got the beginning of a decent flying machine, but no matter what kind it is there is always something to fix,update maintain or improve,it's part of the flying thing. If you don't enjoy doing this yourself it's the wrong hobby unless you have some deep pockets. At first glance it looks like someone spent some extra attention to it with the spinner and the 3 blade prop,and I think you have a choice of wings, as to length in some ads I've seen. If you're lucky that engine may be a 503 or at least a 447, so your money is well spent. I know there are some challenger sites on the web that can find you plans or even replacement parts, so welcome to the group of people that trust themselves to go hang in the breeze.

Having gone to school for aircraft maintenance I have a fair appreciation of how little can go wrong with a routinely inspected and maintained aircraft. Of course this isn't no Cessna. The entire tail on this thing looks like one strong crosswind would leave you spiraling back to earth. Which is the only reason I like the BRS idea for the rare occasional of an airframe failure. Engine failure which I can see being a common issue with one of these engines doesn't worry me too much until I realize most of my properties are in the boonies and you get a choice of birch maple or fir or the occasional mountain top or stream. So for my conscious I will likely keep the BRS. Speaking of engine, I started work to get it running and oh boy... Fuel systems being my specialty, cleaned the carb, I started with that and installed all new poly(tygon) lines the old ones had literally vanished from deterioration. And the damn mud wasps wreaked havoc on this plane! Removing sand from the vacuum port without getting any in the engine is no easy feat. So my fuel system is complete. Then completed the pull start which seems to have a lot of resistance which I'm sure is from all the pulleys that send it into the cabin. Moment of truth, no spark.. Bummer so now I'm working on pulling the stator and all that fun stuff!

Question for you guys! There is a medium sized metal box with a fuse and 2 connectors that hang out the top and it is wires into the stator connectors with roughly 20-22 guage wires. This box isn't connected to anything and I don't see any connectors that connect to it laying around anywhere. Anyone know what this thing is?