We manufacture many accessories and modifications for the Challenger line of aircraft. All of the modification that you se listed here have been used by us on our own aircraft and most customer aircraft that we have assembled. If you have any questions concerning a specific modification, please give us a call or send us and email and we will be happy to discuss the benefits of them with you.
| Item | Price | |
| Stainless U-Brackets |
These Stainless U-Brackets are direct replacements for the aluminum U-Brackets supplied by the factory with every Challenger, and are far superior in strength. Extensive mechanical testing has been done, including tension, compression and cyclic load tests, all of which far exceed the initial testing done on the factory-supplied aluminum U-Brackets. Tension tests resulted in the 1.625" brackets exceeding 8,000 pounds of peak tension force (straight pull) before deformation (60% higher than the aluminum brackets). Tension testing of the 1.625" brackets at angles between 30 and 90 degrees also exceeded the tests of the aluminum brackets by between 19% and 117%, and compression testing of wing spar brackets exceeded 4,200 pounds. Cyclic load testing was done at 85,000 cycles @ 2,000 pounds of tension, with no deformation, cracks or failure. The Stainless U-Brackets are slightly heavier than the aluminum, but the weight difference is minimal. Each 1.625" stainless U-Bracket is 2.96 ounces heavier than the aluminum bracket (a set of 4 stainless 1.625" U-Brackets will add a total of only 11.84 ounces to your Challenger). The 2" U-Bracket is 3.21 ounces heavier than a 2" aluminum bracket (a set of 4 stainless 2" U-Brackets will add a total of only 12.84 ounces to your aircraft). If you replace all 8 brackets, you will add a total of just over 1.5 pounds to the empty weight of your aircraft (the equivalent weight of about 1 quart of fuel). |
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| Challenger Nose Cone with Access Hatch: If you are building a Challenger, you will love this option (if you already have a Challenger, see the Retrofit Nose Cone Hatch below). This new style nose cone fits all Challenger II models (CH-2, CH-2 Special, XS-50, XL-65 and LSS). The Nose Cone Access Hatch provides easy access to your panel, battery, strobe driver, ELT, other electronics, rudder cables, etc. After years of retrofitting the hatches into the standard nose cones, we now offer the hatch assembly molded in during the manufacturing process, for precision fit and finish. $550. Pictures (NOTE: All Challenger nose cones are too big to be shipped by UPS or FedEx, and must be shipped by Commercial Carrier (truck) or Greyhound Package Express (via Greyhound Bus Lines). Greyhound is the most economical, and generally runs about $55. When ordering the Nose Cone, we will send you an invoice for shipping after we have your exact shipping address.) | $550 | |
| Challenger Nose Cone Access Hatch - Retrofit Kit: Same as above, to be retrofitted onto any 2 seat Challenger nose cone that does not already have an access hatch. $135. Pictures | 135 | |
| 5" Shock Absorbing Nose Gear: This great option is a direct retrofit replacement for the existing 5" nose gear. Unlike some of the expensive gas shock designs and other spring shock styles that require welding, this upgrade installs in about 30 minutes and requires no welding. Includes new nose fork and all hardware to install. | 165 | |
| 6" Shock Absorbing Nose Gear. The 6" shock absorbing nose gear can be used on any Challenger model that uses 6" main wheels. | 195 | |
| Heavy Duty Nose Gear Shaft (pre-cut and pre-drilled for Shock Absorbing Nose Gear Upgrade). These Heavy Duty Nose Gear Shafts are sleeved with 4130, which is pressed into the shaft. They weigh only 4 ounces more than the previously available heavy wall aluminum nose gear shafts (no longer produced by the factory). Steering pushrod tangs included and pre-installed. If using the fixed (non-shock absorbing) nose fork, order the undrilled Heavy Duty Nose Gear Shaft below. | 165 | |
| Hinged Front Windscreen. If you have grown tired of sliding in the front seat of your Challenger by working your way around the windscreen, this is exactly what you need. Retrofit modification installs easily to your existing windscreen in about an hour and allows direct access to the front seat. Includes everything you need to install. Pre-formed tubes, complete instructions and detailed photos. You will wish that you had installed this option a long time ago! Picture | 145 | |
| Basic Hydraulic Brake Package, With 2 Ply Tires. Complete retro-fit or new installation brake package, features Black Max hydraulic brake system, 6 X 4 Aluminum Wheels, with imported 13 x 5 x 6 tubeless 2 Ply tires, all installation hardware, plus new axle weldments. This package allows you to use your existing 6" Challenger main wheel fairings (when using our Wheel Fairing Installation Kit, listed below). Pictures | 544 | |
| Basic Hydraulic Brake Package, With 4 Ply Tires. Same package as above, upgraded to 13 x 5 x 6 tubeless 4 Ply Carlisle Tires. | 624 | |
| Fiberglass Gear / Basic Hydraulic Brake Package. Includes all items listed above (includes 4 ply tires), plus fiberglass gear legs. | 744 | |
| Fiberglass Gear / Tundra Tire and Brake Package, with 4 Ply Tires. Includes all items above, plus 15 X 6 X 6 tundra type tires (4 Ply, Carlisle brand). Pictures (The wheels and tires in this package are to large to use with your existing 6" Challenger main wheel fairings. To use wheel fairings on this package, you will need Tundra Style Wheel Fairings, listed below.) (NOTE: This gear package ships via UPS or FedEx Ground, and is an OVERSIZED parcel. Shipping is $47) | 794 | |
| 5" Polished Aluminum Nose Wheel Assembly. Complete 5" nose wheel assembly that matches the one piece wheels in all of the wheel/brake packages above, and comes with the complete hub/bearing assembly, 4 ply tubeless tire and new axle and wheel spacers. Direct replacement for your factory Challenger 5" plastic or aluminum nose wheel. | 142 | |
| 6" Polished Aluminum Nose Wheel Assembly. Complete 6" nose wheel assembly that matches the one piece wheels in all of the wheel/brake packages above, and comes with the complete hub/bearing assembly, 4 ply tubeless tire and new axle and wheel spacers. Direct replacement for your factory Challenger 5" plastic or aluminum nose wheel. | 163 | |
| Wheel Fairings for Tundra Style Tires. Designed for our 15 X 6 X 6 Tire packages above, these extremely lightweight fiberglass wheel fairings (only 2.5 lbs each), provide streamline drag reduction and increase airspeed. Available in standard finish (ready to sand and paint) or with high gloss polished colored gel coat (order below) in a variety of colors. Sold per wheel. Pictures | 140 | |
| Wheel Fairing Installation Kit. Includes all of the mounting brackets and other materials needed for easy installation. Sold per fairing. | 19 | |
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Wheel Fairing High Gloss Gel Coat Finish.
Available by selecting one of the following gel coat colors: Black, White, Yellow, Red. These fairings are polished to a high gloss shine, and do not need to be painted. Pictures |
30 | |
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Metal Flake Finish.
Optional metal flakes can be molded into the colored gel coat. To order a metallic finish, select one of the 4 gel coat colors above, then choose your flake color. Metal Flake Colors: Blue, Red, Gold, Silver, Orange and Pearl. |
40 | |
| Custom Upholstered Seats. Available in a variety of colors, these plush fabric upgrade seats drastically change the appearance and comfort of your Challenger. When ordering, specify front or rear, and send us an email indicating your color selection. Custom embroidery ("Challenger" your name, N number, etc.) available for only $20 per seat (order below). Picture | 275 | |
| Custom Seat Embroidery. | 22 | |
| Heater. We make them here, for installation on the 503 (and 447 with slight modification) motors. Includes the heat collector, butterfly apparatus, single cockpit control, flange and ducting for the cockpit. These heaters are complete kits, and ready to install on your aircraft. Picture |
175 |
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| Nose Gear Support Plate. Fabricated out of aluminum plate, and provides additional lateral support for the nose gear. Helpful in side load landings (not that you would ever do that). Picture | 65 | |
| Swivel Tail Wheel. Standard tail wheel is fixed, so when the plane is on the ground you must pick up the tail to move it around. It moves straight forward and straight back without any problem, but is a little awkward to turn. Recommended for pavement or other hard surface operation. Requires use of your existing bent aluminum tail wheel brackets. Picture | 20 | |
| Aluminum Front Seat Back Support. Standard design has a small piece at the top area of the seat, and another small piece near the bottom. We suggest adding this update to provide solid support for the entire seat back area. | 35 | |
| Aluminum Rear Seat Back Cargo Pocket. The standard configuration for the rear seat is a small piece of thin wood, hinged at the bottom, which serves as a support for the rear seat back, and allows access to the fuel tank. We suggest replacing the wood with an aluminum door, which we fabricate to include a pocket on the rear that will hold 3 quarts of engine oil (or other small items). Will work with 5 or 10 gallon tank, will not work with Canadian 15 gallon tank or the 17 gallon aluminum tank. Picture Picture 2 | 110 | |
| Front Sling Seat Conversion Kit. Complete retrofit kit to convert your old sling style seat to the new aluminum version. (This item converts the seat bottom only. You can use the existing canvass seat back with this seat bottom conversion, or purchase the Front Seat Back Support sold above). | 136 | |
| Rear Sling Seat Conversion Package. Complete retrofit kit to convert your old sling style seat to the new aluminum version. (This item converts the seat bottom only. You can use the existing canvass seat back with this seat bottom conversion, or purchase one of the following items: Rear Seat Back Support sold below, or Rear Seat Cargo Pocket sold above). | 136 | |
| Aluminum Rear Seat Back Support. Replaces the small piece of wood that makes up the rear seat back with 6061-T6 aluminum | 39 | |
| Aluminum Engine Area Bulkheads. The area in front of and below the motor of the Challenger is normally covered with fabric on the standard planes. We suggest installing aluminum in place of the fabric on both surfaces. It ads very little weight, but is much easier to wipe down (there will be oil on these areas frequently) and it looks much looks better (in our humble opinion). It also helps if you ever drop a spark plug while changing them (no fabric to puncture), and makes it much easier and cleaner looking to run your wiring harnesses through. Includes all necessary nylon snap grommets. Picture | 95 | |
| Aluminum Instrument Panel. .050 aluminum, and made to the same size and shape as the standard wood panel template supplied by Challenger. Can be supplied with a bend to vertical towards the top or bottom (no extra charge) to allow additional leg/knee room for the front seat occupant. (on the standard panels). Larger sizes and shapes are available, based on your instrumentation. Also available cut to fit your instruments, switches, etc. Email us for a very reasonable quote. Picture | 65 | |
| Lower Wing Rib Kit. This kit contains10 lower wing ribs (5 per wing), plus all gusset plates, rivets, fabric rivets, 1/2 Rib Reinforcing Tape and fabric rivets necessary for installation. Allows you to have fabric attachment points on the lower wing skin, and also adds to the overall appearance of the plane. Not for use with sailcloth or Mylar wing covering. Cost is $225. | 225 | |
| Stainless Exhaust Clamps. The standard clamping devices for the Rotax muffler are a series of springs that are often problematic. They often break, and can damage your prop if they fall off in flight. The exhaust brackets in this modification are made of stainless steel, use all AN hardware, increase safety and reduce the possibility of expensive prop damage by a broken spring. Price is per clamp, and 2 are required. Trust us, you want this option. Picture For all Rotax 2 stroke engines, as well as Hirth engines. Also available for HKS 700/E and 912 series (specify 4 stroke when ordering). | 50 | |
| High Density Seat Bottom Cushion. Suggested for the bottom cushion of the pilots seat (or both, if you like your passengers that well). Good for increasing the comfort level on longer flights (1.5-2 hours or more). | 19 | |
| High Density Seat Back Cushion. Same high density foam as listed above, but cut to replace the factory foam in the back part of the seat. | 23 | |
| Aileron Gap Seals. We use a 3M material, which does not crack or dry out. Consists of enough material for both wings. This is not required on Sailcloth or Mylar wings. | 11 | |
| Removable Nose Cone Panel. The standard installation for the fiberglass nose cone is to permanently attach it to the airframe. The problem with this is the fact that the battery and Hotbox usually need to go in the front of the nose, making it difficult to service them if necessary. It is also difficult to get to the rear of the instrument panel with a permanently attached nose cone. We cut a panel in the top front of the nose cone, allowing access to the battery, panel and Hotbox, as well as nose gear assembly. The access panel is approximately 12’ wide and 18" long (front to rear of aircraft), and held in place with stainless machine screws (which can be painted to match your aircraft) and plate nuts. The panel is cut out using a jig, then a lip is glassed on the inside to install the plate nuts to, and support the panel. The cut out panel is reused as the access door. (Done by our friend and co-worker John, whose wife Patti cracks the whip and makes him do them to her exacting specifications ;-)). Cost is installed on YOUR nose cone. If your nose cone has not yet been shipped to you by the factory, you can have the factory ship it directly to us to make this modification. Finished cone is shipped to you freight collect. Picture | 225 | |
| Battery and Hotbox Mount Structures. We use this option on every aircraft we assemble. We extend the front of the longerons about 10" and make a platform out of extruded "L" angle to support the battery and Hotbox. The battery then sits in front of the rudder pedal stop bar. The Hotbox is mounted above and aft of the rudder pedals, in front of the instrument panel. Mounted here, both are out of the way, and do not get kicked or bumped when entering or exiting the aircraft. If you choose to have the access panel cut into the nose cone, the battery and Hotbox are directly below the panel opening, allowing easy access to the connections on both. Picture | 90 |
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