Article reprinted courtesy of EAA EXPERIMENTER, August, 2000

Saved from Extinction!  ASAP's Chinook Plus 2 is a winner.

by Dan Johnson (website - www.bydanjohnson.com)

The term white knight usually refers to someone who rides in to save the day. In the world of finance, this may be a venture capitalist who offers money to a struggling company. In the world of light aviation, it's a company who rescues a popular design and keeps it alive and well. In the case of Canada's Chinook ultralight/light plane, the white knight was Brent Holomis and his company, ASAP, shorthand for Aircraft Sales And Parts. The Vernon, British Columbia, company is today a full-fledged manufacturer, building two of our northern neighbor's best-selling ultralight aircraft.

Some years ago, you may have known this bunch of aviation enthusiasts as Canadian Ultralight Manufacturing. Over the years, ASAP's business has expanded, and the western Canada company now sells the Chinook Plus 2 as well as the Beaver RX550. The family business has a machining function and supports CNC (computer numerically controlled) mills, a nearly perfect fit
with their growing aircraft-building business.

Before being rescued by ASAP, the Chinook had been designed and built by Birdman Enterprises, who did a great job of originating this machine. With some 700 Chinooks flying, Canadians in particular and microlight enthusiasts
all over the world are celebrating ASAP's support of this unique light aircraft. ASAP has now logged better than ten years as its producer.

Checking out the view from the front seat shows the great forward visibility available in the Chinook Plus 2. While the aircraft Dan Johnson flew was equipped with a MaxPak instrument panel (inset), final instrument choice is the owner's discretion.

Instrumentation for the rear-seat passenger/pilot is basic, but enough for instructional purposes.

Engine options include the two-stroke, dual carb Rotax 503 (far left) or the four-stroke HKs 700E engine. The subject aircraft for this flight test article was equipped with the HKS engine.
One of the trademarks of Chinook aircraft is its football-shaped, molded fuel tanks hanging outboard on the wings of the aircraft.	Dual control sticks in the tandem aircraft include a brake handle and easy-to-access push-to-talk button.

What Makes It Singular?
Though the Chinook's wide cockpit gives it a pudgy appearance from some vantage points, the design slips through the air quite well. I found a remarkably low sink rate in slow idle descents. The Chinook also has light and powerful ailerons, which makes it easy to guide through the air. In general, the plane's handling is quite pleasant despite, or perhaps because of, its unorthodox shape.  The Chinook was not always fully enclosed, but the one I flew had full doors and an enclosed cabin supporting and protecting two occupants in tandem seating. Entering a Chinook means lifting yourself over about 6 inches of cockpit to the side of the seat. This could prove a bit challenging for less flexible aviators, but once you swing into position, you'll love the roominess. Even with a rear-seat passenger's feet on rudder pedals right alongside your seat bottom, space is plentiful. If you have some extra girth yourself, the Chinook might accommodate you more comfortably than some other designs.

  In the cockpit you'll finds common controls such as a center-mounted joystick with brake lever on the front side. No complaints there, but the throttle for the front-seat pilot is located to the left and behind the front-seat position. It is a single throttle quadrant with two handles, one extended forward and one aft. The idea is a single throttle control that both occupants can reach. Dual throttle positions wouldn't add much weight, but they would be more convenient to reach and make such an important control more accessible. As I flew from the front seat, I had to pat around - like reaching for your wallet in the dark - to find the throttle. From the rear, it's a good reach forward. Given the location, no hand rest is available to steady your hand motion during fine power adjustments.  In a more user-friendly placement, the Chinook's right-hand side features a control panel holding ignition switches, a master switch, a starter, a primer, and a prop control lever (optional). This panel is only provided
for the front-seat operator, however.

ASAP has installed the MaxPak instrument panel with its full range of instrumentation. The electronic panel switches from cylinder to cylinder (to obtain CHT or EGT) and offers other controls by switch. It was the easiest instrument deck to read that I've ever used. Below the MaxPak, ASAP has installed a few more temperature and pressure gauges to monitor the four-stroke HKS engine.  Getting ready for takeoff, as you turn to secure the door with ASAP's little bungee cord fastener, you can't help but notice the massive amount of clear area surrounding you. The fastener is rather basic to hold the large door securely closed, but fortunately air pressure does most of the job.

The Chinook's electric-start HKS fired exactly as you'd expect a four-stroke to. It caught quickly and settled into a humming preparation for taxi, its distinctive sound adding to the Chinook's one-of-a-kind image. The twin cylinder Japanese aircraft engine certainly has its own sound.  I'd been told (in all early HKS installations) to watch for oil temperatures higher than 200 degrees and for adequate oil pressure. ASAP's installation typically ran under 180 degrees, showing they had it figured well. The HKS seemed hardly to be working to fly me and the Chinook around. I imagine that it would do nearly as well even loaded with two large pilots. This impression has been confirmed flying other HKS-powered ultralights with two on board.

Holomis and crew nestled the two-cylinder HKS behind the rear cabin bulkhead. Lowering the engine below the upper wing trailing edge helps the upper surface remain uncluttered and efficient. It also gives the Chinook smooth lines visually. Holomis expresses a lot of satisfaction with the engine distributed by HPower Ltd. and sees a market for the 60-horse, HKS-powered Chinooks among pilots who prefer the reliability and long life of four-stroke engines. They'll also like the smooth torque power through a wide operating range and the very low fuel usage. Many HKS users report a fuel burn as low as 2.0 gallons an hour, less than a 503 doing the same work and under half that of a Rotax 582.

Smooth Liftoff

On a breezy day, I appreciated the low and wide stance of the Chinook while
taxiing. You hardly feel like you're operating a taildragger because the deck angle is nearly flat. Even pilots without taildragger experience could consider flying this ultralight as you can handle the Chinook almost as though it were a tri-gear design.

Launching and landing the Chinook is extraordinarily easy. Every variation of speed, approach angle, or descent technique I attempted seemed to work. The all-around visibility from the front seat also contributed to good launches and landings in the Chinook.   Yet another reason for the easy landings is the good roll control the aircraft possesses. And it doesn't hurt that the large enclosure provides excellent slip potential. For this reason, flaps would add little to that performance and, indeed, the aircraft has none.

Climb was strong thanks to the high-torque HKS. It isn't so much the rate of climb with the four-stroke engine as it is the way the 700E bears the load of a highly pitched prop. Most two-stroke engines express a sound of laboring when you nose up steeply and climb for a sustained time. The HKS kept pushing me aloft without the slightest protest.

Fuel at a Glance

You are always sure about the fuel quantity in the Chinook as a glance out either side quickly shows the remaining fuel in the football-shaped translucent gas tanks. A few detractors believe airplanes shouldn't carry their fuel dangling from a wing strut, but the Chinook's cockpit has little room for tanks. The only downside is the fuel lines must be routed a good distance, and they run through the cabin to provide an easily accessed fuel control valve.  Despite the naysayers, Chinooks have been operating with this unorthodox fuel setup for years without any problems to my knowledge. And with the majority of the Chinook's fuel kept well away from the pilot, any incident presents less of a fire hazard thanks to this design.

I liked flying the Chinook from the front, and the rear seat looks less interesting, though I've never sampled it. The rear occupant's head is mere inches away from the engine. While I know of no problems related to this closeness, noise and vibration are surely worse, and entry requires twisting around the strut placement.

Great Useful Load

A 380-pound Chinook (empty) can carry a maximum of 950 pounds, leaving 570 pounds of useful load. Subtract 60 pounds for fuel (10 gallons), and you are left with 510 pounds of payload, or two 255-pound occupants. That's a lot of beef. Flown solo, your rear seat "cargo" could be quite significant. Flying it solo, I saw the Chinook reach 90 mph with the HKS engine. High cruise appeared to be in the range of 75 to 80 mph, and an economical cruise brought it down to about 60 to 65 mph. At the latter power setting the HKS may burn only a couple of gallons an hour, yielding an endurance of close to five hours with standard tanks. During power-off stalls the ASI (air speed indicator) read 35 to 40 mph in several trials, most often hovering toward the lower end of that range. In all cases stalls were mild and uneventful. With full power, the Chinook simply keeps climbing even with the stick in the full back position. The nose wanders a bit, but not frighteningly so. Power-off stalls were very
mild as well, breaking but only subtly. I can guess that stalls at gross might climb close to 40 mph, but the stall characteristics probably stay similar.

One surprising performance characteristic of the Chinook is its low sink rate. This wing design has impressed me before, and its descent rate near 350 fpm beats virtually every other ultralight two seater I've flown. Glide didn't seem quite as strong even though these two values are linked.  My two complaints in the safety arena are that the Chinook Plus 2 has no shoulder harnesses and does not advertise an option for them and that it has no parachute. Now that ASAP is also in the parachute business, that may change on their show planes. I hope the lack of proper shoulder restraints will also be upgraded.

Parting With Your Cash

The Holomis family has an easy-going manner. They've shown determination by remaining in the ultralight business for a decade, so there's little risk associated with sending off a major deposit to buy your own Chinook. Though either of ASAP's airplanes, the Chinook Plus 2 or the Beaver, will provide enjoyable flying, those with a taste for more refined handling will prefer the Chinook. Its super wide, fully enclosed cabin will keep you comfortable in cooler weather- even with bulky clothes on- and on longer flights. Add the HKS engine to the basic Chinook airframe ($8,450), and you can have an impressive ultralight kit for a bit over $15,000. Shipping, options, and finishing will add to this figure, but for a four-stroke reputation this represents a fair value. Of course, since the plane is Canadian, you must further consider things like currency fluctuations. However, the Holomis
family is used to dealing with Yankees, so give them a call to find out the latest pricing for yourself. The company also offers a wide range of optional accessories that you might want.

Chinook offers good performance and handling at a reasonable price. If you need some extra space and if you love wide open visibility, this efficient-flying aircraft may be what you need to enjoy year-round flying.