Sadler Vampire
American Microflight · United States · first flew 1982 · light aircraft
The Sadler SV-1 Vampire is a single-seat ultralight sport aircraft developed in the United States in the early 1980s. It is unusual among ultralights in both its layout and its all-metal construction.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 5.33 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Twin fin |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Pod-and-boom layout with twin booms joined by a common horizontal stabiliser
- Pusher engine at the rear of the pod that holds the open cockpit
- Folding mid-wing cantilever and fixed tricycle undercarriage
Look for a small open-cockpit pod with a pusher engine behind it, twin tail booms and a high-mounted tailplane joining them. The wing is a cantilever mid-wing and folds for transport.
Specifications
- The Sadler Vampire has a length of 5.33 m (17 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 8.53 m (28 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 101 km/h (63 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It won the Grand Champion Design award at the EAA Fly-in at Oshkosh in August 1982. Designer William Sadler founded American Microflight to build it and series production began in February 1983.
Variants
Later versions included shorter-winged SV-1 to SV-3 models built in Australia and the armed A-22 and Piranha. A UAV version was built for General Atomics, and the Vampire is again in production in Australia.
Where you'll see it
By 1984 production had reached four a month. In 2010 the company and its one prototype were offered for sale, and later Australian firms produced developments of the design.
Related aircraft
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