Structural Design Considerations for Ultralight Aircraft

Ultralight aircraft are popular with many flying enthusiasts because of their relatively low cost to own and fly. One of the most common designs is the high wing cable supported ultralight. Because of its simple shape and method of construction owners like to modify the structure and aerodynamic surfaces to attempt to improve the performance of the aircraft. One of the more common modification requests is for the conversion from a cable supported to a strut supported aircraft. The objective of the modification is to reduce the drag and improve the performance of the ultralight. The purpose of this study is to determine the structural performance of the cable supported aircraft and compare it to the structural performance of a strut supported version of the same aircraft and to provide an estimate of the change in drag associated with the conversion from cable supported to strut supported.