Aviation Composites Production
For a description of the format and data included in Production Tables, see here.
Type Description and Production Data
Lotus Microlight
Side by side two-seat single-engined mid-wing, canard monoplane microlight with conventional three-axis control. Composite-construction airframe, totally enclosed, and featuring a tricycle undercarriage with retractable nosewheel. One 23 h.p. KFM 109 ER two-stroke powerplant.
Production Details
| C/n | Initial Registration |
Notes |
| 1 aircraft built for Lotus by Scaled Composites Inc, of Mojave, California, USA, as the Rutan Model 97M. First flew 17 December 1982. | ||
| 0001 | N97ML | Later registered to Group Lotus Car Company PLC as G-MMLC. Returned to the USA in 1988 as N7038W. |
| Total Production 1 | ||
Aviation Composites Mercury
Side by side two-seat single-engined mid-wing, canard monoplane microlight with conventional three-axis control. Composite-construction airframe, totally enclosed, and featuring a tricycle undercarriage. The wing had swept back leading and trailing edges. Pitch control by was elevator on the canard, yaw control by tip rudders, roll control by three-quarter span ailerons. Initially one 50 h.p. Lotus Magnum 4.50 powerplant in pusher configuration, this was later replaced by a 40 h.p. Norton rotary.
| Mercury Specification | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Range | Service Ceiling |
| 32 ft 6 in | 18 ft | 5 ft 9.5 in | 136.5 sq ft | 325 lb | 800 lb | 92 mph/ 80 kn | 115 mph/ 100 kn | 300 mi | 10000 ft |
| 9.91 m | 5.49 m | 1.77 m | 12.68 m2 | 147 kg | 363 kg | 148 km/h | 185 km/h | 483 km | 3048 m |
Production Details
| C/n | Initial Registration |
Notes |
| 1 aircraft built by Aviation Composites Ltd in 1987. | ||
| AC001 | G-INAV | Registered to its designer, Ivan Shaw, York. |
| Total Production 1 | ||
Aviation Composites Rover
Derivative of the Striplin Sky Ranger microlight. Side-by-side two-seat single-engined high-wing monoplane with conventional three-axis control. The strut braced wing had swept back leading edge, unswept trailing edge, and tapering chord. Composite-construction fuselage, partially enclosed (fully enclosure oplional) and featuring a tricycle undercarriage. One 50 h.p. Lotus Magnum 4.50 powerplant mounted above wing, driving tractor propeller.
One aircraft under construction, but apparently not completed.
One aircraft under construction, but apparently not completed.
| Rover Specification | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Range | Service Ceiling |
| 36 ft | 17 ft | 8 ft | 162 sq ft | 330 lb | 760 lb | 78 mph/ 68 kn | 85 mph/ 74 kn | 250 mi | 10000 ft |
| 10.97 m | 5.18 m | 2.44 m | 15.05 m2 | 150 kg | 345 kg | 126 km/h | 137 km/h | 402 km | 3048 m |