The Rebel
is an all-aluminium, side by side, high wing, tail dragger with
several engine options, long range cruising capability and more leg,
head, and shoulder room than you’ll find in any comparably priced
aircraft kit. It is adaptable to oversize tires, straight and
amphibious floats, as well as skis, making it the plane for all
seasons, all reasons. Visibility from the Rebel is exceptional. The
low profile cowling offers excellent forward visibility and the
wide, outward folding door windows give a perspective of the
countryside and cityscapes that turns every flight into an engaging
adventure.
Combining the looks of popular
classics from the 1940’s with modern technology for performance, the
Rebel offers pilots and passengers quick transport to the airways,
river banks, lake shores, ski slopes, back country and islands in
recreation country. What a great way to tour the Southwest or
Northeast! What fun for exploring the Florida keys, the San Juan
Islands of Washington, or the vast expanses of Canada. It’s even fun
in Nebraska!
With minimal effort, you can
install the standard floor in the aft fuselage and use the space for
sleeping, turning your Rebel into a camper. If your family expands
or you want to enlarge the circle of friends you take along, you can
add a third seat and take a child along, or an adult weighing up to
175 pounds.
You can do it! Building a Rebel is
probably a whole lot easier, quicker, and more economical than you
think. You do not need any special skills, nor any materials beyond
what you can order for a kit. We’ve even covered all the logical
options so you can get it all at once... from one source. If you
have access to the space of a one car garage, and some common hand
tools, you can start building. If you’re willing to give it your
spare time attention on a steady basis, you’ll be at the flightline
in less than a year.
Once there, you’ll find a
wonderful experience awaits you. Taking off in something you’ve
built yourself is a thrill. When that "something" happens to be a
Rebel, the thrill becomes an absolute joy.
Ground handling of the Rebel is
superb due to excellent forward visibility, differential hydraulic
braking, a kick-out steer-able tail wheel, and the wide-stance gear.
Pour the coals to it and most people are startled to see how quickly
the tail comes up (about two plane lengths) and how soon the
aircraft levitates off the runway. It takes all of 175’ with two
people on board. Rate of climb, starting at sea level is around
1,000 fpm with the O-235 engine. There are three powerplant options,
ranging from 80 to 160 horsepower. That puts cruise, at 75 percent
power, in the 90 - 120 mph spectrum. Full span flaperons are
responsive in slow flight, right down to stall. With a couple of
notches of flap, you can cruise around for hours at 50 mph, taking
in the sights below. Fly the final approach at 55 mph and expect to
flare around 40. Flying a tail dragger has never been easier.
Most pilots can transition from tricycle to conventional gear with a
few hours of dual... something you can do in your own Rebel...
before the first 40 hours are flown off.
When you’re done with the fun, two
people can remove the wings in about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The
stabilizer and elevator fold up to accommodate the wings for
trailering. In that configuration, the Rebel can be towed on its own
gear for home storage or maintenance, or it can be mounted on a
simple trailer for longer hauls.
Rebel Airframe
With the exception of the flaperon
covering, which is fabric, the Rebel airframe is aluminium. We chose
aluminium over composites, wood, as well as tube and fabric, because
it has known measurable strength qualities, it stands up to
ultraviolet, is generally faster to build because it’s easy to work
with, and it gives a nice finish to any airplane. Aluminium aircraft
also have better resale value, though we doubt that consideration
will come up for quite some time once you discover the benefits of
owning and flying a Rebel.
Any welding required for the Rebel
is done at the factory. Steel parts are powder coated to assure
longevity. Aluminium sheets are pre-punched to assure correct
alignment and expedite riveting. No jigs are required...just a
straight, level work table.
Fuselage
The Rebel fuselage uses semi-monocoque
construction. Bulkheads are stamped aluminium. The skins are .020"
6061–T6 aluminium, giving the fuselage exceptional strength. An
aluminium sub-floor installed over the lower bulkhead sections
provides a good base for seat mounting and, perhaps more
importantly, a crushable floor for energy absorption and crash
protection. Pre-bent aluminium tubing is used to frame the doors,
which are covered by aluminium skins on the lower half and large
Lexan windows above. Hinges across the midsection of the doors allow
the large side windows to fold outward and down...even in flight.
Great for summer sight seeing, or photography.
Where high strength is required,
fittings are cut from 2024-T3 aluminium. For the engine mount,
rudder pedals, and control column , 4130 chrome-moly steel is used.
All hardware used in the fuselage and wings is AN spec aviation
hardware.
There are no "left" & "right"
fuselage sides- and no "top" & "bottom" either! All 4 panels are
identical, eliminating any chance for confusion. Also, all of the
corner-wrap sections have the same radius, and are interchangeable.
This commonality of parts makes for much easier building.
Six inch wheels with high profile
tires are standard for the Rebel, giving it rough field and river
bed landing capability. The standard bungee suspension provides
excellent shock absorption. An optional aluminium spring gear is
available, reducing drag and smoothing out off-airport landings.
Murphy 1500 and 1800 Series straight floats, and amphibious floats
are also available. The Rebel also flies and lands beautifully on
skis.
The Cabin
Spacious is the word for it. The wide
doors and track mounted seats were designed to allow big, tall
people easy access to the cockpit. Unless you can make Michael
Jordon look short, you’ll be able to run the seats back to the point
that your legs fall short of the rudder pedals. Same thing applies
to headroom. The doors of the Rebel are four inches farther apart
than a Cessna 172. So there’s plenty of shoulder and hip room. The
seats are designed for long cross country endurance and offer
exceptional comfort as well as freedom of movement. As noted
earlier, a third "sideways" seat is available for positioning behind
the two front seats. This optional seat can carry a child or an
adult weighing up to 175 pounds. The seat can be removed to increase
the capacity of the enormous cargo area.
The instrument panel is wide and
has a wrap-around look that makes checking instruments very
convenient. There’s enough room to accommodate a full IFR panel.
There’s plenty of room for personalizing your Rebel panel. Wiring
the Rebel for night flying is easy.
Fuel read outs are accomplished by
looking at clear sight tubes that are mounted in front of the root
rib and give instant, accurate indications, at a glance, of fuel on
board.
Visibility, as we’ve said, is
extraordinary. In addition to the sights provided by the standard
blown, one-piece windshield and the two fold-down windows mounted in
the doors, it’s possible to add up to six skylight ports in the
ceiling. If that isn’t enough, fly your Rebel without the doors...
the aircraft doesn’t seem to know the difference... but you sure
will.
Optional vacuum formed interior
panels will add to the finished appearance and reduce noise levels
in your Rebel.
Wings
There are three spars , 14 nose ribs and
13 main ribs in each wing, which are all covered with three sheets
of pre-punched aluminium sheet. Pre-formed leading edge material
covers the nose ribs creating a D-Cell, which ties into a box
section that is formed by the main ribs and upper and lower skins.
This results in exceptional strength. 12 full-length extruded
stringers help stiffen the skin against torsion and shear loads. The
wing is joined to the fuselage by extra heavy fail-safe 2024-T3
aluminium fittings. A single streamlined, custom extruded strut is
used for high strength and low drag. Wing tips are gel coated
fibreglass.
The Rebel features "wet" wings for
fuel storage. Two 22 (U.S.) gallon tanks are standard, giving the
Rebel considerable range, even with the larger engines.
Controls
The control system on the Rebel uses
push-pull tubes connected to a massive 2-inch torque tube which
operates the full span flaperons. This results in swift and accurate
response to control input. The flaperons are lowered with a mixer
box controlled by a teleflex cable and flap lever which has been
placed within easy reach of the pilot. Flaperons have the advantage
of being lowered in 6 degree increments to a maximum of 18 degrees
and can be put into a 5 degree reflex position to increase cruising
speed and give a smoother ride, thus giving the Rebel a very large
flight envelope.
Tail Group
A simple box design, utilizing pre-bent
channels, covered with aluminium skins forms the vertical and
horizontal surfaces of the tail. The horizontal members fold upward
for storage or transport and are braced in flight position by small
aluminum struts.
The elevator and rudder are
controlled with 1/8-inch stainless steel aircraft cable. For
elevator control these cables are attached to dual push-pull tubes.