In 1980 Slusarczyk surveyed pilots at Sun 'n Fun and AirVenture to find out what they wanted in a new ultralight aircraft design. The survey revealed pilots were looking for: an enclosed cockpit with removable doors three axis controls flaps and not flaperons struts in place of cable-bracing the choice of tricycle gear, with a steerable nose wheel or conventional landing gear, with a steerable tail wheel pusher configuration When the resulting Hawk first flew in January 1982 it was the first ultralight aircraft with an enclosed cockpit and to use strut bracing. The aircraft was intended to meet the requirements of the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles category, including that category's maximum 254 lb (115 kg) empty weight. The Hawk wing is strut-braced, constructed from aluminum tubing and covered with either pre-sewn Dacron envelopes or doped aircraft fabric. The wing also features flaps. The fuselage is of similar construction and uses a curved boom tube for its main structural member. The curved tube allows the tail to be located higher, out of the wing's downwash, especially when the flaps are extended. Landing gear for all models is optionally tricycle or conventional. The Hawks are available as aircraft kits, quick-build kits, or completed aircraft. For detailas of the six single seat and two two-seat variants, click here. Specifications below are for the Classic single seat variant. Single seat variants Two seat variants
