This Day in History: 1985-04-25

Charles Ligeti completed the first flight of his “joined wing” ultralight Stratos aicraft on 25 April 1985. The first flight lasted for 45 minutes. The aircraft was powered by a 24 hp (18 kw) three-cylinder Konig engine and featured an extremely clean aerodynamic design. It was constructed of fibreglass with carbon fibre spar caps and Kevlar spar shear webs. The aircraft had fixed landing gear, with two main wheels mounted in tandem under the fuselage and small outrigger wheels in the wing-tips. In October 1985 the Stratos won the Crusader Cup for “best presented aircraft and highest airmanship of its operator” at the Light Weight Aircraft Association’s annual ultralight fly-in at Yarrawonga, Victoria. The aircraft was taken to the United States and flown at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Airshow at Oshkosh, at the Airfair at Seattle, and the World Expo at Vancouver, in 1986. Sources: Aircraft, December 1985; Aeropedia