Belite Aircraft Introduces Two-Place Pipper

Belite Aircraft, a maker of single-seat ultralight aircraft, has introduced its first two-place model, called the Pipper.

“I wanted to take my wife flying in a Belite aircraft,” explained James Wiebe, CEO of Belite, “and implement my years of learning about what it takes to make a light plane quick to build, strong and affordable for the owner.”

What’s the genesis of the unusual name? “I realized that my many years of building planes had given me the perfect pipper to set my sights with, so the plane was called the Pipper!”

A pipper is defined as the center or bead of a ring gunsight.

This aircraft, said Wiebe, had the following design goals:

With the exception of the engine, instruments and fuel tanks, everything is included in the airframe kit and completion kit. The builder can choose tailwheel or tricycle gear configuration. Wing tanks are available for $900 (set of two, 5 gallons each). Subassemblies are also available.

“I think that the future of experimental aircraft will feature CAD technologies and production technologies which did not exist until recently,” Wiebe said. “Production techniques which are labor intensive add cost and time to aircraft projects. Our vision was to provide a complete kit which can easily be built by an individual in their garage, without special tools, and with state of the art strength and build methodologies.”

First flight is scheduled for March. Introductory pricing on subassemblies for the airframe kit is: rudder, $500; horizontal feathers, $700; rear fuselage, $2,100; cabin, $2,900; wings, $3,800. The components can be purchased together for $8,995, a savings of $1,005. Completion options include taildragger version for $2,295 or tricycle for $2,595.

A limited number of aircraft will be released at this launch price, Belite said.