The Evektor VUT100 Cobra (also called the VUT 100 and VUT-100) is a Czechlight aircraft under development by Evektor-Aerotechnik, of Kunovice. The aircraft is intended to be supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.[1]
As of 2017 the manufacturer lists the aircraft as "in development".[2]
Around 1990, Czech company Moravan Otrokovice started a project to modernise its Zlín Z 42/Z 43 family of light aircraft.[3] The redesign proved so complete that the company treated it as a new project with the designation Z 90 and displayed a mockup of it at the 1991 Paris Air Show.[3][4] However, market conditions at the time were unfavourable, and work on the Z 90 halted without the aircraft entering production.[4] Some work that had been done on the Z 90 was used in the Kappa 77 KP 2U-SOVA ultralight design, which allowed aspects of the design to be proven in practice.[4]
By 2001, the market for general aviation aircraft had recovered sufficiently for the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade to sponsor a new project to continue development of the Z 90 under the name VUT100.[4][5] This project would be a collaboration between different Czech aviation manufacturing companies and the Institute of Aerospace Engineering at the Brno University of Technology.[3][4]
The VUT100 is a hybrid construction of metallic and composite materials. Its 10.2 m (33.5 ft) span wing has an area of 13.11 m2 (141.1 sq ft) and mounts flaps. The engines fitted vary, depending on the model and the cabin is 1.22 m (48 in) in width. The VUT100 is stressed for +3.8/-1.52g in the normal category and +4.4/-1.76g in the utility category.[1][6]
Base model with a 200 hp (149 kW) Lycoming IO-360-A1B6four-stroke powerplant, an empty weight of 830 kg (1,830 lb) and a gross weight of 1,330 kg (2,930 lb), giving a useful load of 500 kg (1,100 lb).[1][6]
Evektor VUT100-131i SuperCobra
Higher powered model with a 315 hp (235 kW) Lycoming IO-580-B1A four-stroke powerplant, an empty weight of 880 kg (1,940 lb) and a gross weight of 1,450 kg (3,200 lb), giving a useful load of 570 kg (1,260 lb).[1][6]
^Baltus, Jan (28 November 2023). "Z praxe na akademickou dráhu" [From practice to academic career]. Technický týdeník. Prague: Business Media CZ. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
