by Jim Bethea

Flying in Egypt at Giza.

"Permission to bring airplanes into the Riau Islands? Wah! Bukan main itu hebat, Jim! How did you do it?"

"I showed the chief this picture and convinced him these were real airplanes, not just the little ultralights he had heard about. Some of these have just been certified by the American FAA as licensed aircraft. He became real excited about it."

My friend Pak Munir admired the photo of an open-sided, high-winged, tandem-seat plane. Then he stared in amazement at the signed document giving me permission to be the first to introduce privately-owned aircraft into the islands just south of Singapore. As the third highest government official in the region, Munir could fully appreciate the miracle that I held in my hand. "That must be a very special plane, Pak Jim. What kind is it?"

"A GT-500, from a company called Quicksilver...."

Quicksilver flying off the coast in Thailand.

Quicksilver Manufacturing, Inc. makes some of the best loved and most respected ultralight-type airplanes in the world. If you have doubts about this, ask Kaptain Zainol bin Taib in Malaysia or Tim de Pedro in Thailand, Joan Casal’s in Spain (who bought 15 a couple of years ago), Agusto Jouvin in Ecuador, Wilfred or Rodrigo Guzman in Chile and others in countries around the world. Ask the NEOS (Near Earth Observation System, www.neosltd.com) scientists who chose a Quicksilver to fly their "satellite in a suitcase" to map ecological systems in the tropics and glaciers in the far north. Ask the many companies on every continent that have imitated or used Quicksilver parts and designs. In the USA, you can ask the 46 percent of registered flight instructors who use Quicksilver trainers. Best of all, ask the opinions of pilots whose choices since the early years of the ultralight era have made Quicksilver into the largest manufacturer of sportplanes in the world.

Then why did the company nearly disappear? More importantly, what has caused the recent sudden resurgence of Quicksilver? What about the future?

Meet Carl Von Hirsch — Chilean expatriate who came to America by way of nine years in Europe, entrepreneur and industrialist, a living example of those who came to this land and built a nation. The result of his success is Astur Manufacturing, Inc, located close to the original Quicksilver factory in Temecula, California. A former owner of what was then known as Quicksilver Aircraft contracted with Carl to make key parts. Then a quagmire of legal problems and financial troubles trapped Quicksilver to the point that the delivery of planes and parts slowed to a crawl. In the vacuum, others began to copy "Quicksilver" parts, further undermining profits and deepening the murky liability sinkhole.

Quicksilver GT400.

Finally, in order to preserve the parts manufacturing for his own machine shop, Carl bought control of Quicksilver. The Quicksilver product line was saved but now the new entity, Quicksilver Manufacturing Inc, became the target of a pre-existing suit. About the same time, another well-known ultralight producer was forced into bankruptcy by the expenses of defending a similar suit — even though they won! In this instance, Quicksilver was able to defend the case and survive. The legal issues are now in the past and Carl looks to the future with confidence.

One of the reasons for his confidence is the professional excellence of the company itself. Everything has been well documented and well engineered from the beginning. There are rooms of file cabinets in a large office facility. Operations manuals, manufacturing and even employee manuals are comparable in quality to those of the large general aviation companies. The manufacturing processes use some of the most modern equipment available. Materials are constantly being evaluated and thoroughly tested to find the best combinations for Quicksilver aircraft. Inspection of finished parts in the quality control department is draconian. Completed kits are shrink-wrapped on numbered boards and shipped quickly around the world. The kits are acknowledged to be the best packaged and easiest to assemble of any. (One friend recently put a new MX together in just three days. No welding, gluing, doping, painting, drilling, cutting or reshaping was needed. Every single item was provided in the first delivery. This is a major factor in the popularity of Quicksilver planes.)

A partial view of the Quicksilver factory.

Another reason for Carl’s confidence is the Quicksilver team. Terry Ward provides able assistance in overall direction of the company. Dave Cronk is designer of the GT and co-designer of the original Quicksilver planform. Tom Price is still head engineer, having been with Quicksilver since the early 1980’s. Todd Ellefson is the sales manager for North America (1-888-442-2359) with an extensive network of dealers and distributors such as Bever Borne in Louisiana (1-504-536-3994/www.air-technic.com). Larry Clark takes care of customer service at the California factory (1-909-506-0061/www.quicksilveraircraft.com). Diane Murray is head of advertising. Marketing in other countries is handled by John Lasko (1-909-506-0061). Carl actively travels to other parts of the world and knows many of the foreign dealers personally.

Quicksilver GT500.

Bever Borne comments that the dealers are the backbone of Quicksilver’s sales and service. The regional distributors stock parts for quick delivery to local dealers. They are building an infrastructure of flightparks which are professional training and service centers. Bever’s own new facility is a model for this system which he says will become the future of the ultralight industry.

Carl has confidence that his company is poised to take advantage of coming changes in the ultralight world. Combining Astur’s modern equipment — waterjet cutters, CNC lathes, punch presses, forklifts, extensive facilities and more — with Quicksilver’s proven designs and reputation, means the airplane kit manufacturer is no longer dependent on unpredictable sales trends to stay in business. The same machines that make parts of a GT-500 or MX also produce parts for Boeing 747s, motorcycles and automobiles. Quicksilver can also rapidly adapt production when the long-awaited Sport Plane category is announced by the FAA.

Coming in for a landing from the pilot’s perspective.

Quicksilver’s two-seaters will be perfectly poised to "take-off" into the new markets that will result from the Sport Plane classification. The original idea was to bridge the gap between FAR 103 ultralights and general aviation by creating a new category for aircraft of up to 1200 pounds to include what is now loosely termed "fat ultralights." Pilots could be qualified similar to present BFIs but able to carry a passenger without being restricted to "instructional flights only." If this happened, companies like Quicksilver would benefit radically.

At present, the Primary Category under FAR 21.24 (1993) is the closest existing FAA classification for planes just over the ultralight limits. They can be up to 2400 pounds weight, carry up to four passengers and be flown over congested areas. They can also be bought directly from the factory or other builders ready-to-fly without being 51 percent completed by the owner such as is required for Experimental Category kit planes.

Todd Ellefson and Jon Thornburgh at Sun n Fun.

There are only nine aircraft registered in the Primary Category, all certified GT-500s. These are identical to other GT-500s except for having aviation radios, transponders and N-numbers. Quicksilver’s professional engineering and production standards made it possible for the GT-500s to be the only ultralight trainers currently certified by the FAA.

The first certified GT-500 was bought by an airline captain and instructor named Jon Thornburgh. On March 24th of this year Jon’s GT-500 was used for the first-ever flight check by a FAA examiner in a Primary Category legal ultralight trainer. Todd Cervantes, one of Jon’s students, passed the test successfully to qualify for his private pilot license (see www.aero-news.net, April 6 issue).

Curiously, there could be three almost identical GT-500s sitting side-by-side but classified in different aircraft categories. One could be an ultralight trainer, another registered as an Experimental aircraft and the third an FAA-certified Primary Category plane. The trainer can be flown by a qualified ultralight instructor without a FAA pilot’s license. A pilot’s license is required for the other two but those pilots are not allowed to fly the trainer without also becoming instructors!

Jon points out that certified GT-500s are also perfect for the Recreational Pilot License. This is perhaps the most under-utilized license of all with there being only about 280 total in the USA. Requirements are actually LESS than those to qualify as an ultralight instructor. A medical examination is needed but it is not necessary to demonstrate radio and navigation proficiency in the flight test. Most instructors do not appreciate the time and cost saved in comparison to a PPL, which is why there are so few Recreational licenses. Jon Thornburgh is one of the exceptions and has probably trained more Recreational Pilots — including helicopter — than any other instructor. (By the way, there is another existing aircraft category which Jon says is the best-kept secret in aviation — the motor-glider. Pilot requirements are 10 hours dual instruction and no medical, cross-country, night, radio or electronic-navigation proficiency. Look for Jon’s article explaining this in a future issue of UltraFlight magazine.)

Carl von Hirsch’s optimistic confidence in Quicksilver is also based on the airplanes themselves. The GT-400 is the single-seat version of the tandem GT-500. Introduced in 1984, it has not changed except in cosmetic variations. Performance is great, such as 1,450 fpm climb with a Rotax 503 engine. The GT-500 flown solo is said to be able to reach 10,000' in less than nine minutes. A new GT-400 kit sells for $12,995 and the GT-500 kit for $26,995.

The MX series, offered since 1983, are perhaps the most popular ultralights in the world. All except the new strut-braced MXII Sport have the classic triangular kingpost above the wings as well as wires and open tubular structure. An MX Sprint sells for $8,995; the MX Sport is $9,995 and the two-seat versions of these are $12,995 and $13,495 respectively. The main difference is improved performance in the Sport models though all provide excellent STOL, slow-flight and crosswind handling with three-axis controls. Their docile, predictable flight characteristics and extremely short take-offs make them among the easiest and safest ultralights to fly. The MXII Sport is advertised as the best-selling, two-seat light recreational aircraft in the world.

Jon Thornburgh recently test flew the prototype strut-braced MXII Sport and reports that it seems to fly faster without the drag of wires and kingpost. Roll rate is very fast like all of the full-aileron MXs. The biggest improvement in performance is in somewhat shorter take-off distance. Perhaps the greatest advantage of the streamlined struts is to help overcome the strong psychological resistance of GA pilots moving into ultralights. As such, the strut-braced MX is a good transition plane.

"Bukan main, itu hebat!" my friend Munir had said. In Malay, the words mean "No kidding, that’s great!"

Quicksilver. Among the best and the oldest...around the world!