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Milholland Legal Eagle
Role	Ultralight aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Better Half VW
Designer	Leonard Milholland
Introduction	1998
Status	Plans available
Number built	Legal Eagle - over 100 (as of 2011); Double Eagle - 6 (as of 2011)

The Milholland Legal Eagle is an American high wing, strut-braced, single engine, tractor configuration, conventional landing gear-equipped ultralight aircraft that is available as plans from Better Half VW of Brookshire, Texas, and is intended for amateur construction.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

The Legal Eagle is so named because it is capable of being built in compliance with the United States FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles regulations, even when equipped with a four-stroke engine.^[1]^[7]

Design and development

The Legal Eagle features an open cockpit and is powered by a 30 hp (22 kW) Half VW engine.^[1]^[7] As of 2023, the Legal Eagle and Legal Eagle XL can alternatively be powered by a 23 hp (17 kW) Briggs and Stratton Vanguard engine.^[8]

The design features a fuselage of welded 4130 steel tubing, mated to an all-wood wing made from spruce (and derived from the Mini-MAX).^[2] The struts and tail surfaces are made from 6061 T6 aluminium tubing. The flying surfaces are covered with doped aircraft fabric. The rear fuselage is normally left as an open truss structure to save weight and to ensure that the aircraft does not exceed the FAR 103 maximum speed of 55 knots (102 km/h; 63 mph). Like the fuselage, the taildragger landing gear is sprung steel.^[1]^[4] Additional plans were released that would allow Legal Eagle and Legal Eagle XL planes to be modified to allow wing-folding within 30 minutes.^[9]^[10]

The aircraft has been developed into several variants of the basic design including the XL version for larger pilots and a two-seat ultralight trainer and light-sport aircraft.^[7]^[11]^[12]^[2]

Variants

Legal Eagle: Basic model with a 244 lb (111 kg) empty weight, powered by a 30 hp (22 kW) Half VW engine or 23 hp (17 kW) Briggs and Stratton Vanguard engine. ^[1]^[6]^[7]^[13]^[14]
Legal Eagle XL: Model for larger pilots with a wider and taller seat, greater wing area and longer tail. 246 lb (112 kg) empty weight^[6]^[7]^[11]
Double Eagle: Model with two seats in side-by-side configuration with a 385 lb (175 kg) empty weight and a 900 lb (408 kg) gross weight. Designed as an ultralight trainer and Light Sport Aircraft. Powered by a 60 hp (45 kW) Volkswagen air-cooled engine giving a 70 mph (113 km/h) cruise speed.^[6]^[7]^[12]^[13]

Specifications (Legal Eagle)

Data from Cliche, Better Half VW and Kitplanes^[1]^[5]^[13]^[15]

General characteristics

Crew: one
Length: 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m)
Wingspan: 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m)
Height: 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Wing area: 107 sq ft (9.9 m²)
Empty weight: 244 lb (111 kg)
Gross weight: 500 lb (227 kg)
Fuel capacity: 5 US gallons (19 litres)
Powerplant: 1 × Half VW horizontally opposed twin-cylinder, four-stroke, single ignition aircraft engine, 30 hp (22 kW)
Propellers: 2-bladed Culver wooden

Performance

Maximum speed: 60 mph (97 km/h, 52 kn)
Cruise speed: 50 mph (80 km/h, 43 kn)
Stall speed: 25 mph (40 km/h, 22 kn)
Never exceed speed: 80 mph (130 km/h, 70 kn)
Range: 100 mi (160 km, 87 nmi)
Rate of climb: 300 ft/min (1.5 m/s)
Wing loading: 4.7 lb/sq ft (23 kg/m²)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Cliche, Andre: Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide 8th Edition, page B-37. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. ISBN 0-9680628-1-4
^ ^a ^b ^c Buchanan, Sam: "Legal Eagle XL: An RV-6 owner discovers the simple pleasures of building and flying an airplane that rewards low and slow," November 16, 2012, Kitplanes retrieved April 17, 2020
^ Gibson, Graeme (n.d.). "Leonard Milholland's Better Half VW Engine & the Legal Eagle Ultralight". Retrieved May 26, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
^ ^a ^b Milholland, Leonard (2002). "Frequently Asked Questions on Leonard Milholland's Legal Eagle Ultralight". Retrieved May 26, 2010.
^ ^a ^b Vandermeullen, Richard: 2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide, Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 46. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 33. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 35. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ISSN 1368-485X
^ "Briggs and Stratton Engine Plan".
^ "Folding Wings and Tail Plan".
^ "Folding Tail Part 2". YouTube. December 26, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Gibson, Graeme (2009). "Introducing the Legal Eagle XL". Retrieved May 26, 2010.
^ ^a ^b Gibson, Graeme (2007). "The Double Eagle - A Light, Strong, Simple & Inexpensive Airplane". Retrieved May 26, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c Downey, Julia: 2008 Kit Aircraft Directory, Kitplanes, Volume 24, Number 12, December 2007, page 44. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
^ "Briggs and Stratton Engine Plan".
^ Gibson, Graeme (2002). "The Legal Eagle Ultralight Specifications". Retrieved May 26, 2010.