The success of the homebuilt market has demonstrated how far many owners are willing to go to have an affordable sportplane. Walk the flightline at OSH and there’s a veritable fleet of Glasairs and Lancairs, more than a few built by hired guns retained by well-heeled owners.
Sensing a market, some successful kitplane makers have eyed the production market warily, realizing there’s a bumpy road between concept and certification. Both Cirrus and Lancair have negotiated this difficult path. The latest company to complete the kit-to-certification task is W.D. Flugzeugleichtbau, GMBH of Germany. They hope to fill the missing link between experimental and production with the introduction of the Fascination D4, an airplane that began life as a kitplane but will soon come to the U.S. as a production model.
The Fascination was designed by ex-German aerobatic team member Wolfgang Dellach as a kit, flying behind an 80 HP Rotax engine. It has a wing tested to ultimate failure at +10 Gs. But the company setting limits at plus or minus 6 Gs. Although Dellach has flown the prototype in airshows, the company is not billing the D4 as an aerobatic airplane.
The German company is certifying the Fascination under the Joint Airworthiness Regulations, which means theyll be licensed like American-registered Extras. When they arrive in the U.S., theyll be inspected by a Designated Airworthiness Representative who will be able to issue a normal category certificate if the construction is up to snuff.
The fast facts are enough to attract some interest, in our view: At $98,500 base price, the D4 is a sleek yank-and-bank sportplane that cruises at 140 knots, burning 5 GPH with a 100 HP engine all for a price tag that barely cracks six figures equipped. Then again, how large a market can the Fascination expect, given its cramped two-place cockpit?
We tested the prototype Fascination D4 courtesy of Jack Harper at Harper Aircraft in Jacksonville, Florida, the sole U.S. distributor. As a prototype, D-MPMM had some warts, but it did allow us to determine that the airplane is more than a designers fantasy awaiting financing.
At the time we tested it in August, the company claimed 60 aircraft on order, including two already in the U.S. Deliveries in this country were scheduled to begin in December, with one airplane per month scheduled to be sent to Harper in Jacksonville.
Airframe
The composite airframe weighs only 650 pounds empty, just a bit more than a medium-sized motorcycle. The airplanes gross weight is 1200 pounds. The 550-pound useful load means that with the 23-gallon fuel tank full, the airplane can haul more than 400 pounds of people and baggage or two 170 pounders and 60 pounds of gear. The voluminous baggage capacity is rated at 100 pounds, but Harper says more than about 50 pounds or so will cause the airplane to settle on its tail if there are no people aboard.
The Fascination is 23 feet long and has a wingspan of 29 feet, making it slightly larger than a two-seat Lancair 360 and smaller than a Cessna 152. The vertical stabilizer height is about six feet. It comes equipped with a ballistic recovery parachute, which rides between the firewall and the engine and deploys through a blow-out panel on the right side of the fuselage. The system is activated by a panel-mounted handle, secured by a locking pin in the handle to preclude inadvertent activation.
The wings are removable, aided by the fact that the fuel is held in a single fuselage tank. Remove a spar pin and the aileron pushrods and flap controls easily slide apart; wiring can be quickly unplugged. The elevators uncouple in about 30 seconds.
With the wings off, the airplane can be trailered for winter storage or vacation trips. The Fascination is about 60 inches wide with the wings and elevators removed. Although some may be tempted to use the removable wings to hangar the airplane at home in the garage, the time involved would probably make it impractical. Removing and replacing the wings takes about an hour and requires two people.
The airplane has retractable tricycle gear of electric/hydraulic design similar to Pipers relatively reliable but occasionally maintenance-intensive system. We wondered if an all-electric gear might make more sense, given the airplanes emphasis on simplicity. Access to the engine compartment is a mechanics dream. The cowling is split vertically and someone who knows the ropes can have the cowling off without tools in 16 seconds. (Yes, we timed it.)
Rotax Power
The Rotax 912S that drives the airplane is a 100 HP water-cooled four-stroke engine with a TBO of 1200 hours. When the engine runs out, the core can be exchanged for a new engine for $5500. (Take that Continental and Lycoming.) The cylinder barrels are air-cooled, while the heads are plumbed to a radiator mounted behind the fish mouth under the prop.
The engine is designed to run on auto fuel, but will tolerate use of 100LL. Use of avgas routinely will lead to fouled plugs and sticky valves, Harper says. Electrical power is supplied through a single 200-watt alternator, unlike the Rotax-powered Diamond Katana, which uses one alternator to power the engines electronic ignition and another to drive the avionics. (This Rotax variant has conventional magnetos.)
Trying It On
Cockpit access is via a canopy that swings up and back. Getting in and out doesnt take any more agility than any other low-wing airplane, in our estimation. There are, however, a couple of caveats. The two throttle controls are on the outboard edges of the instrument panel and when theyre closed, theyre positioned right where your foot swings through in the out-to-in maneuver. If you push them in before you get out the problem is avoided, as long as you remember to close them again before engine start.