Dean Wilson's Ellipse

[Carter 0]

Anyone able to lead me to plans, unfinished kits or completed folding wing Ellipse. Even information on specs would be helpful. Looks like a solid option to a Sportsman 2+2. Need something I can trailer home, put on lotus floats and land on water and snow. Thanks, Bill

[dholly 718]

Actually, I remember seeing a partially completed Ellipse offered on Barnstormers or fleaBay within the past couple/few years. Looked nearly complete, nice job too. It was re-listed a few times, don't know if it sold or was withdrawn. A couple forum members here have a close enough relationship with Dean Wilson that they might be able to ask him if he knows of any leads. Not sure if he even keeps tabs on stuff like this though, it seems once he moves on to a new project the past is set aside. It would be a unique ride for sure. Good luck.

[C5Engineer 1170]

I remember that airplane on Barnstormers also. I was wishing I had the extra 30K laying around.

[dholly 718]

For less than $30k you can now have the entire Ellipse manufacturing jigs and patterns package. Wouldn't it be great if someone put this into kit production? I read the wings have so many individual parts and are so complicated to build, a quick build option with factory made wings might be the only way to offer an Ellipse kitplane. But then, the sheer number of parts probably make it unfeasible. Perhaps a Wilson fan or Avid history buff will keep it alive.

[EDMO 1078]

Doug, Some of us - me - Don't know squat about the Eclipse - and have never seen any virtues of it - So why would we even be interested when there are so many "simple-to-build" kits around?

EDMO

[akflyer 1427]

Ed, cause our Avids dont have 4 seats or go fast

 

[EDMO 1078]

Ed, cause our Avids dont have 4 seats or go fast

 

And I redesigned the Kitfox into a 4 place (aka Maule) before the Sport Pilot License came out - Well, it still didn't "go fast"! And I don't have a medical now.....

Too many "go fast" planes to choose from already - all you need is money - but they are not light weight, "high-performance" like the STOL Avid/Kitfoxes...."To each his own".

We can be grateful for Dean's first design, and enjoy flying them.

Plenty of spam cans around to haul 4 or more, IMO.

EDMO

[Av8r3400 1179]

Ellipse, not eclipse.  The name describes the wing design.  One of the things that made the Spitfire of WW2 fame, such a wonderful airplane was it's elliptical shaped wing.  I think this had more than a passing influence on Wilson's wing design of the Ellipse.

 

 

Apparently the flying qualities of the design were so amazing that it was well worth the complexity of the wing (having no two ribs the same).

[dholly 718]

Not every industrial design is optimized for the masses. Clearly, a 4-place folding Ellipse wing kit plane was a design ahead of it's time. Anytime someone thinks up and delivers a bold or better mousetrap I am in awe, at times due to the complexity, simplicity, effeciency or sometimes even a combination of them. I watch the show "How Do They Make That?" and find myself facinated by some of the nearly 100 year old production machines that still make mainstream stuff to this day. Just who had the gumption, creativity and determination to make the machines that make the machines back then? This great country was built on the foundation of those visionaries willing to take a gamble or even risk it all. We should be instituting policies to promote another Industrial Revolution here in America rather than support programs that educate and send all the new talent back to their own countries. 

[akflyer 1427]

Well said Doug.

 

Joey has been feeding me pictures of Deans latest project and I am in awe at the craftsmanship and inovation that he has.  It is unfortunate that men like him cant live forever to keep old traditions alive mixed in with the new technologies that they are also exploring.

 

No, I don't have a man crush on the guy, but he is a person I would love to be able to spend some time with and learn from.  There are not many craftsman of his caliber being brought up today.

 

[EDMO 1078]

Dean Wilson can never get enough praise for designing our little birds. Unfortunately, his thunder and profits were redirected to another, and he never really got his true tributes, except by us, IMO.

EDMO