American homebuilt pusher aircraft
The Aero Dynamics Sparrow Hawk MK II is an American homebuilt, two seater,[1] single-engine, pusher monoplane, manufactured by Aero Dynamics Limited. It was designed by former Boeing design engineer Charles "Chuck" Herbst.[2][3][4]
Design and development
The Sparrow Hawk is a twin boom, twin fin, ultralight aircraft built with mixed construction materials most notably including Kevlar, carbon fiber and polyurethane foam.[5][6] It uses a Rotax 532 two-stroke aircraft engine in pusher configuration.[7] It employs a cantilever, shoulder wing, fixed landing gear and a two-seat enclosed cockpit.[2]
In 2022, Sparrow Hawk Aviation Ltd announced that they had plans to redesign and improve the Sparrow Hawk, though no redesigns have been made to the aircraft design yet.[8]
Operational history
The Sparrow Hawk had its official public debut in July 1985 at the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In, as two Sparrow Hawks, registered as N5793F and N5832M, attended.[6] The manufacturer and model of N5793F is recorded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as an "Ultralight Aircraft Ltd Sparrow Hawk Mk II",[9] while N5832M is recorded as an "Aero Dynamics Ltd Sparrow Hawk MkII".[10]
A Sparrow Hawk (registered N8728A) was displayed at the Air Display and Air Races event at Cranfield Aerodrome in the United Kingdom, on 20 September 1987.[11][12] The same aircraft was exhibited at the SBAC-organized Farnborough Airshow in September 1988.[13]
