From the AOPA article: [url] http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All- ... -stretched [/url]
Seems Just Aircraft is putting a 180 HP UL engine into the STOL. Runs on autogas or avgas. They claim a 3000 feet per minute climb.
Already a popular kitplane among those with a yen for backcountry flying, the Just Aircraft SuperSTOL is getting a stretch— two and a half feet of extra fuselage that will allow installation of more powerful engines.
The SuperSTOL Stretch XL performed well in the first phase of flight testing, and the Walhalla, South Carolina, company plans to debut the new model at the Sun 'n Fun International Fly-In and Expo in Lakeland, Florida, April 21 through 26.
Contract test pilot Harrison Smith reported in a company news release that the 180-horsepower UL Power 520i engine (also new to the market) increased climb and cruise performance of the original SuperSTOL (the SuperSTOL Stretch XL will climb with that powerplant at 3,000 feet per minute, and cruise at 109 mph at 2,600 rpm).
“The additional length in the Stretch XL provides handling similar to a high horsepower Super Cub,” Smith said in the news release. “What’s really nice is that the UL Power 520 can burn [automotive gasoline] with up to 15 percent ethanol. The fact that the engine has six cylinders virtually eliminates vibration.”
The fuselage was extended by two feet aft, and six inches in the forward section, all in the name of accommodating heavier engines.
The UL 520 weighs 255 pounds, and the Stretch XL can handle a heavier powerplant than that, up to 315 pounds (the weight of a Lycoming O-320, which delivers up to 160 hp). The original SuperSTOL was typically powered by a Rotax 912 (100 hp, about 165 pounds) or a Rotax 914 (115 hp, 175 pounds).
