Arion Lightning
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=Arion Lightning | image=Arion Lightning.jpg | caption=Arion Lightning }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Homebuilt aircraft | national origin=United States of America | manufacturer=Arion Aircraft | designer=Pete Krotje, Ben Krotje and Nick Otterback | first flight= 3 March 2006 | introduced= April 2006 | retired= | status= | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built=150 (2012) | program cost= | unit cost= | }} |
The Arion Lightning is a light-sport aircraft available as a kit aircraft or as a production Special LSA.{{cite web|title=Arion Lightning LS-1|url=http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-communities-and-interests/light-sport-aircraft/getting-started-in-light-sport-aircraft-flying/light-sport-aircraft-folder/arion_lightning_ls-1|accessdate=1 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202020053/http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-communities-and-interests/light-sport-aircraft/getting-started-in-light-sport-aircraft-flying/light-sport-aircraft-folder/arion_lightning_ls-1|archive-date=2 February 2017|url-status=dead}}
Design and development
The Lightning was developed by designers Pete Krotje, Ben Krotje and Nick Otterback.{{cite journal|journal=Plane & Pilot|date=9 February 2010}}
Originally designed as a high speed, low wing composite aircraft for the Jabiru series of engines, the LS-1 was redesigned to meet American light-sport requirements by extending the wings to lower the stall speed and using a fixed pitch propeller.{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}}
The aircraft is made from composites. In the homebuilt kit version its {{convert|30.5|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} span wing has an area of {{convert|91|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} and mounts flaps. The aircraft's recommended engine power is {{convert|120|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} and the standard engine used is the {{convert|120|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Jabiru 3300 four-stroke powerplant. Construction time from the supplied kit is 600 hours.Vandermeullen, Richard: 2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide, Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 43. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
Operational history
In 2007 Earl Ferguson set a record for the quickest time for a flight from Savannah to San Diego in a piston engine land plane weighing between 1,102 and 2,205 pounds using this aircraft.{{citation|newspaper=Shelbyville times|last=Mosely|first=Brian|date=29 March 2008|title=A record-setting flight in a Shelbyville-made plane|url=http://www.t-g.com/story/1321526.html}}
Variants
;Arion Lightning EXP
:US Experimental amateur-built category aircraft
;Arion Lightning XS
:Variant of Lightning EXP supporting up to 160 hp engines, including the Lycoming O-320 and ULPower 390iS.{{cite web|title=Lightning XS Kit|url=http://www.flylightning.net/xs.html|publisher=Arion Aircraft LLC}}
;Arion Lightning LS-1 This is Arion's Light Sport variant. It uses the Jabiru 3300, 120 HP. No other engine is offered in the Light Sport variant
.
:Light-sport aircraft variant with a choice of engines: the {{convert|120|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Jabiru 3300, the {{convert|150|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Lycoming O-320 or the {{convert|210|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Lycoming IO-390.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 28. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. {{ISSN|1368-485X}}
Specifications (Arion Lightning LS-1)
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units?=kts
|genhide=
|crew=
|capacity=2
|length m=
|length ft=20
|length in=8
|length note=
|span m=
|span ft=30
|span in=6
|span note=
|height m=
|height ft=6
|height in=6
|height note=
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=104
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=820
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=1320
|gross weight note=Kit aircraft 1530lbs
|fuel capacity={{convert|22|u.s.gal|L}} or 30 gallon option
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Jabiru 3300
|eng1 type=
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=120
|prop blade number=
|prop name=
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|prop note=
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=
|max speed kts=140
|max speed note=160knts KIT
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed mph=
|cruise speed kts=120
|cruise speed note= 140knts kit
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed mph=
|stall speed kts=38
|stall speed note=45knts clean
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=180
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=
|range miles=600
|range nmi=
|range note=
|endurance=
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=16000
|ceiling note=
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|glide ratio=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=1200
|climb rate note=1500 solo
|time to altitude=
|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading lb/sqft=
|wing loading note=
|power/mass=
|thrust/weight=
|more performance=
|avionics=
}}
See also
{{aircontent
|see also=
|related=
- Aerocomp VM-1 Esqual
- Bye Aerospace eFlyer 2{{cite news |url= https://www.bydanjohnson.com/sun-catches-lightning-sun-flyer-rollout/ |title= Sun Catches Lightning – Sun Flyer Rollout |date= 23 May 2016 |author= Dan Johnson}}
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Arion Lightning}}
- {{Official website|http://www.flylightning.net/}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft
Category:Aircraft first flown in 2006
Category:Aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear
Category:2000s United States sport aircraft