XTC Diehl Aero-Nautical Amphibian

Way ahead of its time, Diehl Aero-Nautical's XTC was designed in the early '80s as an amphibious, 3-axis, retractable gear, canard-style Ultralight. It featured composite construction, floating hull layups of Kevlar(R), main gear of unidirectional fiberglass Scotchply(R), and spruce spars with the wing spars reinforced with carbon fiber. Most of the 70 or so kits were built as Experimental.

Former XTC dealer, Richard Alexander, enjoyed building his plane and getting to know the other dealers. Flight training was at held at Thief River Falls, MN - a long drive from his home near Boston. Dealer Bob McFarland rode back to Harrisburg, PA, and shared stories of his time as a WWII glider pilot. Hundreds of good friends enjoyed the excitement of the early days of Ultralights - the rebirth of fun flight. Since this was before the Internet, there seems to be scant information about this amazing and historic project, and so Alexander digitized and provided this video record. Sadly many involved with the XTC dream, such as McFarland, have passed on without sharing more of their stories. We hope this inspires new builders,, and we look forward to the dawn of electric recreational aircraft.

Видео XTC Diehl Aero-Nautical Amphibian канала Origamido Studio