Fleet

The A32 is the latest addition to the Aeroprakt range of aircraft.

Before release, the A32 was in development and testing for over 3 years. Much of this development has centered on ‘state-of-the-art’ aerodynamics. The A32 has undergone an extensive flight-test programme to ensure that theoretical improvements actually work in practice. The results speak for themselves:

The aircraft is aerodynamically ‘clean’

At a glance, it’s easy to see the faired landing gear legs and wheels and the fairings at the top and bottom of the wing lift-struts. The fuselage is smooth with aerodynamic fairings fitted to the wing roots at the leading and trailing edges. What’s not so easy to see at a glance is the work inside the engine bay to reduce significant areas of drag. All these changes result in an aircraft that flies fast, glides well, stalls slow and uses less fuel than many other LSAs.

The cabin is very light and airy

The windscreen curves up level with the top of wing, resulting in excellent headroom and refined aerodynamics. The fuselage ‘monocoque’ needs no diagonal struts inside the windshield, so there is an unimpeded, panoramic view forward. Additionally, there is no horizontal cross-member behind the seats, resulting in easy seat positioning and a low CofG for the luggage compartment in the floor behind the seats.

The doors are fully sealed

The door design incorporates composite frames with convex polycarbonate transparencies, which seal against the airframe to keep noise and aerodynamic drag to a minimum. There is also a special design of door handle mechanism which requires no spring-loading, increasing service life and giving easy access and secure closing.

The seats are set high

The high-set seats have two significant benefits for pilots and co-pilots alike – a great view over the nose and excellent knee room. These benefits have been achieved without compromising one of Aeroprakt’s great signature benefits – there’s no need to duck your head to see under the wing when you’re flying the aircraft. The seats, which tilt forward for luggage access, have storage pockets behind the back-rests and are adjustable fore and aft using a spring locator at the front of the seat.

There is an all-flying tailplane (‘stabilator’) with an anti-servo tab

There are three main reasons for introducing an all-flying tail plane on the A32 – the first on an Aeroprakt aircraft. First, control forces and trim drag are reduced. Second, an all-flying tail is simpler to produce; fewer moving parts means greater reliability. Finally, it has some aerodynamic advantages over a fixed stabiliser/elevator combination enabling more precise control of the aircraft – particularly when taking off and landing.