Aeroprakt A22LS Foxbat
The 2020 A22LS Foxbat features additional upgrades which improve the flight experience as well as safety even more, with new heavy duty 3mm pre-formed acrylic windshield which helps to reduce cabin noise levels and assist with ease of cleaning of the screen. A new super-bright LED landing light system in the nose cowling is standard. New center console storage design allows for phone, keys and other small items to be stored safely and neatly. In addition to this, the side-door access luggage container is now metal instead of fabric and has an increase payload of 30kg. Lastly, all Y-stick optioned models come with the 'long-leg' cutaway along the lower edge of the instrument panel, significantly improving knee room and overall comfort.
The A22LS Foxbat is currently the mainstay of the Aeroprakt fleet, with over 200 flying in Australia. A metal airframe with tricycle landing gear high-wing aircraft with two side-by-side seats, it’s well known and popular with owners and pilots for a number of reasons.
It has amazing Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) capabilities; an experienced pilot can take-off, fully loaded, in as little as 75 metres and land in about the same distance. Its stall characteristics are very benign, making it an ideal training aircraft, or a plane for someone who wants an easy and fun ride.
The slow speed flight handling characteristics are safe and positive right down to speeds as low as 35 knots, making it the perfect aircraft for stock spotting and mustering.
It has a massive cabin that ensures a comfortable and roomy flight every time, and is also capable of carrying a an impressive load – typically 200-210kgs of people and baggage, even after adding a full 114 litres of fuel. On top of all that, the view out is almost as good as that of a helicopter or gyro, leading to a beautiful flight every single time
Ideal as a first aircraft and training
Forgiving, easy handling and predictable characteristics make the A22LS Foxbat an excellent trainer or first aircraft. Add to that the large airy cabin, with fantastic views in all directions, the direct and responsive pushrod connected controls and safe tried-and-tested stall characteristics and you have a recipe for sheer enjoyment
Short Take Off & Landing
The real key to the Foxbat is its ability to take off and land in short spaces - sometimes even more safely than a traditional taildragger. At the heart of this capability is the high-lift wing with slotted flaps, which gives control right down to (and in the hands of an experienced pilot) even below stall speeds. Add the very light weight on the nose wheel and you have a great paddock plane
Removable doors with photo window option
Although the Foxbat doors cannot be safely opened in flight, the aircraft is cleared for flying with one or both doors removed before take off. This is great for flying on hot days in the outback but can create a bit of a breeze in the cabin! So there is also a 'photo window' option available for either door, enabling photographers a draft-free (and warmer!) way of taking photos without the distorting effect of the door perspex
Yoke or center stick controls
The Foxbat (and Vixxen) are almost unique in offering owners a choice of either a centre 'Y' stick with side throttles or more traditional GA-style twin yokes controls with a centre 'T' throttle with brake handle incorporated. Each owner has their own preference and on our aircraft there is now no price difference between the two
Your choice of tyre size and wheel spats
The standard wheel rims on all Aeroprakt aircraft are 6" in diameter. However, they can be fitted with different size tyres, ranging from the standard 15" diameter 15x6.00x6" through the 17" diameter 6.00x6" up to the 17" diameter wider tread 8.00x6" so called 'tundra' tyres. Mud flaps can be fitted with all tyre sizes but wheel spats are solely available for the standard 15x6.00x6" tyres. At cruise power settings, the three wheel spats add about 5 knots to the cruise speed
Versatile, affordable flying
Safe, affordable flying is the aim of so many pilots - we try to achieve that aim by keeping the purchase price of the aircraft as reasonable as possible. The aircraft are designed with ease - and thus lower cost - of maintenance in mind. And the legendary Rotax 912ULS engine burns around 17-18 litres an hour overall - about half the fuel burn of many 2-seat GA aircraft. Optional equipment such as amphibious floats or a glider towing mechanism are available as well
Specification
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Vne (never exceed speed) | 124 knots |
| Typical cruise TAS | 40-108 knots |
| Stall TAS (landing configuration) | 32 knots |
| Take-off roll | 110 metres |
| Take-off to 50' | 250 metres |
| Landing roll | 91 metres |
| Landing from 50' | 366 metres |
| Flap limit speed | 80 knots |
| Best climb @ MTOW | 690 feet per minute at 54 knots |
| MTOW (land plane) | 600 kg |
| Typical empty weight | 310 kg |
| Fuel capacity | 113 litres usable |
| Carry including fuel | 290 kg |
| Usable load after full fuel | 219 kg |
| Cruise endurance (912ULS) | 5 hours + 45 minutes reserve |
| Glide Ratio | 9 to 1 |
| Wing span | 9.55 metres |
| Length | 6.23 metres |
| Height | 2.26 metres |
| Main gear track | 1.7 metres |
| Operational load limits | +4 -2 G |
| Tested at 650 kgs to | +6 -3 G |
