The Sorrell Hiperlight is a family of single and two seat, negative stagger biplanes, designed for amateur construction.
The design was sold initially by Sunrise Aircraft of Sheridan, Oregon and is currently produced by Thunderbird Aviation of Ray, Michigan.
Development
The single seat SNS-8 Hiperlight was designed by the Sorrell brothers in 1982 at the request of the US Rotax engine distributor to provide an enclosed cockpit aircraft design to utilize the 28 hp (21 kW) Rotax 277 engine. The resulting aircraft was a scaled-down version of the very successful Sorrell Hiperbipe aerobatic cabin biplane and with an empty weight of 247 lb (112 kg) fit the US ultralight category. The series designation of "SNS" stands for Sorrell Negative Stagger.
The aircraft is described as easy to fly, with light control forces and well balanced controls. The aircraft has full-span ailerons on the bottom wing that droop together when the stick is pulled back, giving the same effect as flaps in the landing flare.