TL-96 Star

The TL-96 Star is TL-Ultralight's original design and the ancestor of the entire Sting range. It first flew in November 1997 and more than 150 examples were registered. For the Czech manufacturer the Star marked the transition from the ultralight trikes and fabric-covered high-wingers of the early years to composite aircraft construction; from it came the all-carbon Sting of 2001, which is listed in Germany as the TL-96 Sting.

The Star is a two-seat low-wing aircraft built entirely from composites – glass and carbon fibre. Distinctive features are the one-piece forward-hinging canopy and the all-flying stabilator with an anti-balance tab. Span is quoted as 9.20 m and wing area as 12.2 m²; sources give the fuselage length as either 6.50 m or 5.50 m. Power comes from the 80 hp Rotax 912 UL-DCDI, an air- and water-cooled four-cylinder boxer, driving a three-blade composite propeller; a Czech database also lists the Rotax 914. Maximum takeoff weight is 450 kg, the limit of the European ultralight class at the time.

Performance is respectable for 80 hp: 220 km/h cruise at 75 percent power, 255 km/h maximum level speed, a 275 km/h VNE and a 6,500 m service ceiling. The glide ratio is quoted as anything from 16:1 with the engine stopped to 16.8:1, and range as 740 to 1,000 km – here too the sources disagree, and both range figures are calculations without reserve. Sources also disagree on climb: 6.0 m/s and 5 m/s at sea level are both quoted. The accessible documents contain no dependable figure for stall speed or for take-off and landing distances; for those, the individual aircraft's flight manual applies. Fuel burn is around 11 l/h, noticeably less than the later, more powerful types.

Strengths: economical, light, a good glide, very fast for an 80 hp ultralight, and today the most affordable type in the TL range. The weaknesses are plain. Published data is contradictory and rests largely on secondary sources – empty weight between 265 and 290 kg, tank capacity between 50 and 60 litres, fuselage length quoted as either 6.50 m or 5.50 m; no data sheet or factory manual is publicly accessible. What is documented is a 450 kg maximum takeoff weight, not the 472.5 or 473 kg sometimes quoted in listings, and no retrofit 600 kg approval exists for this type.

There is also a safety note that concerns both types listed under the TL-96 designation: on 25 July 2020 an aircraft of the TL-96 series crashed near Wesel, Germany, after a structural failure, killing three people. Which of the two types was involved cannot be established unambiguously from the sources checked; the German BFU investigation report is authoritative. Any TL-96 Star purchase therefore deserves a thorough pre-purchase inspection by a shop experienced with composites, complete documentation of all annual inspections and airworthiness directives, and a current weighing report. Do that, and you get an economical, quick and historically interesting ultralight for cross-country flying two-up. Anyone who needs maximum payload, a 600 kg approval or seamless factory support for a current production series should look at the Sting S4 or TL-3000 Sirius instead.