Lockwood Drifter

The Lockwood Drifter is a family of high wing, single engine, pusher configuration, open cockpit, one and two-seat kit aircraft that was first introduced in the 1980s by Maxair and remains in production today by Lockwood Aircraft of Sebring, Florida.

Development

The Drifter was first marketed by Maxair in the 1980s as both a single seat and two seats-in-tandem kitplane. The original single seater was light enough when fitted with the 28 hp (21 kW) Rotax 277 engine to qualify for the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles category, with an empty weight of 240 lb (109 kg).

After Maxair went out of business, the design was picked up in 1997 by Lockwood Aircraft who produced kits for a number of single and two-seat versions, mostly differing by installed engine. The Lockwood versions are all wire-braced using a kingpost to support the ground wires. Over 1000 wire-braced Drifters have been completed and flown.

The aircraft was also adapted and redesigned by Austflight ULA of Boonah, Queensland, Australia, as the Drifter SB, indicating that it is "Strut Braced" instead of wire braced. The Drifter SB was sold in the USA in the 1990s by Tiger Aviation of Trenton, South Carolina. Over 500 strut braced Drifters were completed and flown.