The Weedhopper

The Weedhopper is a well known plane among the UL initiated. Some love it and some hate it. It happens to be one of my personal favorites. In fact, my first plane was a Weedhopper. No the first picture was not mine. The second one was.


This plane is very docile in the air. Being 2-axis control it is easier to learn how to fly it than if you had to coordinate rudder, elevator and ailerons. It will roll in a turn without ailerons because of the dihedral pitch in the wings. It will cruise around 50-55 mph if setup right. An interesting thing about the Weedhopper is that around 60 mph and higher it will climb no matter what. I found mention in the Weedhopper Yahoo Group that some of the Weedhoppers owned by members will climb with full down elevator at full engine power.

Speaking of engines, the typical engine on a Weedhopper is rated at 40 hp or more these days. Although the original engine was only 18 hp. The brand that has been sold with the Weedhopper for the last 25 years or so has been Rotax. The first Rotax used was the 277. Later they came with 377, 447, & 503. Now, many people have rebuilt older ones and put the engine of there choice. Hirth, Zenoah, 2SI(know in the early days as Cuyuna) are just some of the names you'll find powering a Weedhopper these days. I've even seen a picture of one with a Subaru car engine hanging on the front. There where pictures of it flying as well. I wouldn't recommend that engine though.

Well, I mentioned the Weedhopper Yahoo Group above. If your interest has been peaked by my small post, you may become a member and learn a whole lot more at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/weedhopper. A link is also to the right.