| Puma ultralight, advanced ultralight and lightsport aircraft category aircraft. |
| Rating from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best or easiest. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Design - Structure, history, safety, resale value, | | | | | | |  | | | |
The PUMA design, construction and materials have proven themselves over the past 20 years. There has been no evidence of safety related problems with the plane, and it meets or exceeds some of Europe's most demanding certification programs. The downside is that there are only 65 aircraft flying in the world as of December 2007.
Only one of these is in North America. The North American distributor is starting to set up a dealer network, but is still in the early stages. For these reasons resale value would be lower than a more established manufacturer. |
| Kit - Construction style, complexity, knowledge requirement | | | | | | | | | | |
The kit comes ready to assemble with no building required. The assembly process in kit form is mainly engine installation, instruments, and wiring. For Canadian customers the distributor has an agreement with Aeropropulsion in ST-Lazare Quebec, for customers wanting an engine installation at a fix cost and under full Rotax warranty (engine plus installation).
Otreb Technologies also has a number 1 877 FLY-IPUM which customers can call free of charge. |
| Factory - Years in business, kits produced, kits flying. | | | | | | | | | | |
| The factory has been producing aircraft for over 20 years, it gets a low rating because it has only produced 65 aircraft. |
| Manuals - Ease of reading, completeness, drawings and diagrams | | | | | | | | | | |
| Manuals currently supplied with the kit are the Rotax engine and installation manual, and PUMA operating manual. Otreb Technologies is also working on additional instrument and assembly manuals, which are step by step pictures/drawing in both English and French. |
| Cockpit - Comfort, noise, visibility, | | | | | | | | | | |
| The PUMA gets a very high rating for pilot comfort, and visibility, and if flown again with the added sound proofing that Otreb has installed would probably rate a 10. |
| Ground handling and suspension - System, complexity, does it work | | | | | | | | | | |
The ground handling characteristics on the PUMA are something that I had a problem with. I have flown many aeroplanes which use a castering nosewheel and brakes for steering. I have also flown many thousands of hours in planes with hand lever brakes. But this is the first time I have flown a plane with a center mounted throttle, with a center mounted lever brake system which is used for steering.
Most craft using a castering nosewheel use toe brakes, this means the pilot can use the throttle, rudder and brakes in combination to steer the plane and he DOES NOT have to reach over or release any of the control systems.
For a pilot especially in an emergency situation to have to let go of the control stick, reach over his/her body to work a throttle and or brake lever is not something that I would think the average pilot would feel comfortable with. |
| Flight Controls - Pressure, comfort, effectiveness, | | | | | | | | | | |
| These section rates a 10 on all points. |
| Propulsion Package - Reliability, noise, vibration, | | | | | | | | | | |
The Rotax power plant, and PUMA engine installation, with thermostat rates this a 10. The fact that the exhaust seems to be a little noisier, is countered by the extra performance it seems to supply.
As a pilot I would also like be able to check my oil and radiator system without having to remove the cowls. This would only require the installation of two trap doors, one on the top of the cowl, the other on the side. |
| Performance - Compared to other craft with same weight, power and style of control systems. | | | | | | | | | | |
| The PUMA rates a 10 here. There are very few ultralight/lightsport aircraft that I have flown that give you the performance that the PUMA does on only 80 HP. |
| Overall Rating | | | | | | | | | | |
The PUMA rates a 83 out of a possible 100. Many of the negatives have nothing to do with the plane itself but rather, the number of craft flying, etc. If you take these out of the equation it rates over 90.
The main negative in my opinion is the throttle and steering arrangement, which will be both confusing and cumbersome for most conventional and ultralight/lightsport aircraft pilots. |
