The AeroLites Bearcat is an American amateur-built aircraft, designed and produced by AeroLites, of Welsh, Louisiana and introduced in 1984. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 91. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 94. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition, page 100. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.
Design and development The Bearcat features a strut-braced parasol-wing, a single-seat open cockpit, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.
The aircraft fuselage is made from welded 4130 steel tubing with the wing constructed with an aluminum structure, with its flying surfaces covered in Dacron sailcloth. The ribs slide into pockets in the fabric. Its span wing employs a Clark Y airfoil and has an area of . Standard engines available are the Rotax 447, the Rotax 503 and the Rotax 582 two-stroke powerplants. Equipment to convert the aircraft for aerial application is also available.
The manufacturer claims that the supplied kit takes 60–90 hours to assemble.
Operational history By 1998 the company had reported that nine Bearcats and two Ag Bearcats were flying.
Variants Bearcat Base model Ag Bearcat Model equipped as an agricultural aircraft, originally equipped with a Rotax 532 engine.
Specifications (Bearcat)
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