U-Fly-It Light Sport Aircraft Aerolite 103 checklists
2 variation(s) of the U-Fly-It Light Sport Aircraft Aerolite 103 airframe. Same airframe, different configurations: engine swaps, panel rebuilds and gross weight changes are the norm in this class, so what one builder had to change is often exactly what the next one needs to know.
About this airframe
- Make
- U-Fly-It Light Sport Aircraft
- Model
- Aerolite 103
- Category
- Part 103 ultralight
- Engine
- Hirth F-33 (two-stroke piston), Kawasaki 340 (two-stroke piston)
- Propeller
- ground adjustable
- Landing gear
- fixed tricycle
As recorded in the checklist files; not a substitute for the aircraft's own documentation.
All variations
- NOT REVIEWED Aerolite 103 (Hirth F-33) — Normal and Emergency Procedures
normal, emergency, preflight · 6 sections · 48 items - NOT REVIEWED Aerolite 103 (Kawasaki 340 swap) — Normal and Emergency Procedures
normal, emergency, preflight · 6 sections · 55 items
What differs between them
Hirth F-33 · 48 items · 4 memory
Baseline file for this airframe.
Kawasaki 340 · N512JM · 55 items · 5 memory
Forked from aerolite-103-hirth-f33
Engine swap from the Hirth F-33 single to the Kawasaki 340 twin, with electric start added. What that forced, in order of how much it matters: (1) Engine start is rewritten — the twin has two carburettors, so the choke behaviour differs and a carburettor synchronisation check was added to the preflight, which has no equivalent on the single. (2) A master switch and battery now exist, so they appear in the before-start and shutdown flows and in the engine-failure memory items; the baseline aircraft has no electrical system to isolate. (3) Static RPM in the before-takeoff run-up changed with the re-pitched propeller. (4) A new caution about battery state, because there is no alternator and a Part 103 vehicle has no required inspection to catch a tired battery. Everything else — airframe preflight, Part 103 limitations, engine failure after takeoff, shutdown discipline — is unchanged from the parent and was deliberately left alone so that a reader diffing the two files sees only the consequences of the swap.
Modifications
engine_swap(changes procedures) — Hirth F-33 single cylinder replaced with a Kawasaki 340 twin. Both are published options for this airframe, but the twin has two carburettors, a different warm-up behaviour and a different static RPM, so the start and pre-takeoff sections are not interchangeable.electrical_system(changes procedures) — Small battery and electric start added with the engine swap, plus a master switch the baseline aircraft does not have. Creates a new failure mode the single-cylinder pull-start aircraft did not have: a flat battery on a Part 103 vehicle with no alternator.propeller_change(changes procedures) — Propeller re-pitched for the higher-power twin. Static RPM target differs from the baseline; the figure here is a placeholder.
Configuration
- section engine-start: title 'Engine Start' -> 'Engine Start (Kawasaki 340, electric)'
- engine: Hirth F-33 -> Kawasaki 340
22 procedural difference(s)
Warnings and cautions
addedin before-takeoff — CAUTION: A two-stroke should be treated as an engine that will stop without warning. The twin is smoother than the single it replaced, which makes it easier to trust and no more likely to keep running. Do not depart over terrain that offers no landing option.removedin before-takeoff — CAUTION: A single-cylinder two-stroke should be treated as an engine that will stop without warning. Do not depart over terrain that offers no landing option.addedin part-103-limitations — CAUTION: Weight check after the engine swap: the twin and the added battery are heavier than the single they replaced. Confirm the aircraft still meets the Part 103 empty weight limit, because exceeding it makes this an unregistered aircraft rather than an ultralight vehicle.addedin preflight — CAUTION: There is no alternator. The battery starts the engine and is not recharged in flight. A battery that turned the engine over slowly today will not start it at a away-field, and nothing in Part 103 requires anyone to notice that before you go.
Memory items
addedin engine-failure-after-takeoff — Master switch -> OFF [MEMORY]
Control settings
responsein before-takeoff — Full throttle static RPM: PER ENGINE MANUAL -> PER ENGINE MANUAL FOR THIS PROPELLER PITCHresponsein engine-start — Choke: OFF AS ENGINE PICKS UP -> OFF PROGRESSIVELY AS ENGINE PICKS UP
Other changes
addedin before-takeoff — Both cylinder head temperatures -> IN RANGEdetailin before-takeoff — Full throttle static RPM: explanatory detail changedremovedin before-takeoff — Engine temperatures -> IN RANGEaddedin engine-start — Choke, both carburettors -> ON TOGETHER AS REQUIRED FOR TEMPERATUREaddedin engine-start — Master switch -> ONaddedin engine-start — Starter -> ENGAGE IN SHORT BURSTSaddedin engine-start — Both cylinder head temperatures -> RISING AND ROUGHLY EQUALdetailin engine-start — Warm up: explanatory detail changedremovedin engine-start — Start engineaddedin preflight — Master switch -> OFFaddedin preflight — Both carburettors -> LINKAGE FREE AND EVEN, SYNCHRONISATION MARKS ALIGNEDaddedin preflight — [Electrical (added with the swap)]addedin preflight — Battery terminals and mount -> SECURE, NO CORROSIONdetailin preflight — Fuel quantity and mix: explanatory detail changedaddedin shutdown — Master switch -> OFF
Make your own variation — the editor will fork any of these and record the lineage for you.
Related training: Part 103 and sport-pilot study material · search the FAA handbooks · airport frequencies and weather