Preceptor Aircraft
Jagdwaffe
Just curious if anyone out there has built and flown one if the aircraft in the
Preceptor Pup line? I have been looking for info on this aircraft and have
found none. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Patrick Flowers
I kept waiting for someone else to answer this, since I have not built
one myself. Seeing no other response, and being familiar with the
design and the manufacturer, I'll stick my foot in it:
What sort of "info" are you looking for? Have you tried calling
Preceptor Aircraft (704-286-1926) for a brochure? Bob Counts is an
"up-front" guy and will be happy to answer your questions. If you're
looking for web pages, you probably will be disappointed(although a
web search on "Preceptor Aircraft" returned about 30 hits, but no
builder pages). These are decidedly low-tech aircraft whose builders
are not usually on-line. The Pup series(N3, Super Pup, Ultra Pup)
have been reviewed by most of the kit aircraft mags over the years and
are reportedly exactly what they appear to be with typical "cub"
manners. A quick search of the NTSB database yields only 3 non-fatal
accidents(no fatalities) in the past 20 years, none of which appear to
be the fault of the design.
I visited the factory two years ago and spent most of a day chatting
with Bob. I liked what I saw then, but a reorg and relocation
interrupted my kitbuilding plans.
I would offer two caveats:
First, if you're considering the US Part 103 legal N3, be advised that
the factory aircraft come in at 254 lbs(no brakes, wheel pants, etc.).
If you add options or don't build by the book, including judicious use
of covering and paint, you will exceed the 103 limit.
Second, I haven't seen any Preceptor ads lately in Kitplanes(tm) or
Sport Aviation. They moved in June 1997 and have yet to produce a new
brochure(currently they mail photocopies of the old one). They missed
OSH96(then again, I missed OSH97, so I don't know if they were there).
I'm not saying they're in financial trouble, but a couple of the
warning signs are there. The counterpoint here is that you can plans
build this aircraft, so if you don't buy a complete kit up front and
Preceptor folds(I'm NOT saying that's likely), you aren't completely
stuck - it'll just take you longer to finish.
I plan to spend a lot of time talking to these guys at Sun n Fun. The
two place experimental Ultra Pup has always been on my short list of
planes I'd like to build.
Patrick
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Patrick Flowers mailto:pat...@ibm.net
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Pat Sweeney
I have an Ultra Pup ready to begin covering but do not plan to fly it until
this fall. I am in e-mail contact with others who have built and are
flying Ultra Pups. They have been an excellent source of information based
on experience. E-mail me for details.
Pat Sweeney (N106TB)
Jagdwaffe <jagd...@aol.com> wrote in article
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