Airborne Edge

Last updated
Edge
N269D Airborne Edge X (10145650115).jpg
Role Ultralight trike
National origin Australia
Manufacturer Airborne Windsports
Status In production
AirBorne Edge XT-912 T2-6180 AirBorne Edge XT-912 (8305504873).jpg
AirBorne Edge XT-912
AirBorne Edge X Classic Airborne Edge X Classic (6193462734).jpg
AirBorne Edge X Classic

The Airborne Edge is a line of Australian two-seat ultralight trikes designed and produced by Airborne Windsports of Redhead, New South Wales. The aircraft are supplied as a completed aircraft and not as a kit. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Ultralight trike powered hang glider with a Rogallo wing and a three-wheeled undercarriage

An ultralight trike is a type of powered hang glider where flight control is by weight-shift. These aircraft have a fabric flex-wing from which is suspended a tricycle fuselage pod driven by a pusher propeller. The pod accommodates either a solo pilot, or a pilot and a single passenger. Trikes grant affordable, accessible and exciting flying, and have been popular since the 1980s.

Airborne Windsports ultralight trike and hang glider manufacturer in Australia

Airborne Windsports, also called Airborne Australia and officially Airborne Windsports Pty Ltd, is an Australian ultralight trike and hang glider aircraft manufacturer based in Redhead, New South Wales. The aircraft are supplied as factory completed aircraft and are not available as kits.

Redhead, New South Wales Suburb of City of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia

Redhead is a coastal suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia 16 kilometres (10 mi) south of Newcastle's central business district on the Pacific Ocean. It was named for the appearance of its headland when viewed from the sea.

Contents

Design and development

The Edge features a cable-braced hang glider-style high-wing, weight-shift controls, a single-seat, open cockpit, tricycle landing gear and a single engine in pusher configuration. It has been produced in many different sub-models and is known in 2012 as the Classic. [1] [2]

Tricycle landing gear aircraft undercarriage arranged with main gear under the wing or fuselage and a third set under the nose

Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or landing gear, arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle gear aircraft are the easiest to take-off, land and taxi, and consequently the configuration is the most widely used on aircraft.

Pusher configuration arrangement of propellers on an aircraft to face rearward

In a vehicle with a pusher configuration, the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). According to British aviation author Bill Gunston, a "pusher propeller" is one mounted behind the engine, so that the drive shaft is in compression.

The aircraft wing is made from bolted-together aluminium tubing, with its single or optionally double surface wing covered in Dacron sailcloth. Its 33.3 ft (10.1 m) span wing is supported by a single tube-type kingpost and uses an "A" frame control bar. The landing gear features suspension on all three wheels, with the main gear bungee suspended and the nose wheel suspended with rubber blocks. The nose wheel steering includes a dampener and drum brakes. The main wing support mast folds down to allow wing installation. The aircraft can be broken-down for ground transport or storage and assembly for flight can be accomplished in 30 minutes. [1]

Aluminium Chemical element with atomic number 13

Aluminium or aluminum is a chemical element with symbol Al and atomic number 13. It is a silvery-white, soft, nonmagnetic and ductile metal in the boron group. By mass, aluminium makes up about 8% of the Earth's crust; it is the third most abundant element after oxygen and silicon and the most abundant metal in the crust, though it is less common in the mantle below. The chief ore of aluminium is bauxite. Aluminium metal is so chemically reactive that native specimens are rare and limited to extreme reducing environments. Instead, it is found combined in over 270 different minerals.

Landing gear aircraft part which supports the aircraft while not in the air

Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft and may be used for either takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally both. It was also formerly called alighting gear by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin Company.

Bungee cord Elastic cord composed of one or more elastic strands forming a core, usually covered in a woven cotton or polypropylene sheath

A bungee cord, also known as a shock cord - and in Australia, an occy strap or octopus strap - is an elastic cord composed of one or more elastic strands forming a core, usually covered in a woven cotton or polypropylene sheath. The sheath does not materially extend elastically, but it is braided with its strands spiralling around the core so that a longitudinal pull causes it to squeeze the core, transmitting the core's elastic compression to the longitudinal extension of the sheath and cord. Specialized bungees, such as some used in bungee jumping, may be made entirely of elastic strands.

The Edge includes full dual controls for flight training, including dual steering, dual control bar extenders and two throttles. Engines supplied include the twin cylinder, two-stroke air-cooled 50 hp (37 kW) Rotax 503 or the liquid-cooled 64 hp (48 kW) Rotax 582. [1]

Flight training training of aircraft pilots and aircrew

Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills.

Rotax 503 two-stroke engine

The Rotax 503 is a 37 kW (50 hp), inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.

Rotax 582 two-stroke piston aircraft engine

The Rotax 582 is a 48 kW (64 hp) two-stroke, two-cylinder, rotary intake valve, oil-in-fuel or oil injection pump, liquid-cooled, gear reduction-drive aircraft engine manufactured by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It is for use in non-certified aircraft operating in day visual flight rules.

Operational history

The Edge was flown in west Africa in aerial support of an elephant conservation project and was also used in Indonesia to monitor endangered orangutan populations. [5]

Elephant Large terrestrial mammals with trunks from Africa and Asia

The elephants are the large mammals forming the family Elephantidae in the order Proboscidea. Three species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. Elephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Elephantidae is the only surviving family of the order Proboscidea; other, now extinct, members of the order include deinotheres, gomphotheres, mammoths, and mastodons.

Indonesia Republic in Southeast Asia

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world's largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands, and at 1,904,569 square kilometres, the 14th largest by land area and the 7th largest in combined sea and land area. With over 261 million people, it is the world's 4th most populous country as well as the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, contains more than half of the country's population.

Orangutan Genus of mammals

The orangutans are three extant species of great apes native to Indonesia and Malaysia. Orangutans are currently only found in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. Classified in the genus Pongo, orangutans were originally considered to be one species. From 1996, they were divided into two species: the Bornean orangutan and the Sumatran orangutan. In November 2017 it was reported that a third species had been identified, the Tapanuli orangutan.

Variants

Edge 582 Executive
Fully equipped model with all the options, including full cockpit fairing and wheel pants, with the Streak double-surface high performance wing and liquid-cooled 64 hp (48 kW) Rotax 582 engine. Sold circa 2000. [1] [3]
Edge X 503 Wizard
Basic model without fairings to reduce weight and cost, with a single surface wing and air-cooled 50 hp (37 kW) Rotax 503 engine. Sold circa 2000. [1] [3]
Classic S
Model sold circa 2004. An Edge model with all options and a liquid-cooled 64 hp (48 kW) Rotax 582 powerplant. [2]
Edge X TS-912/Streak II XT
Model with all options sold circa 2005, with 80 hp (60 kW) Rotax 912 four stroke powerplant and the double surface Streak XT wing. Cruise speed of 75 mph (121 km/h) and price of US$36,353 in 2005. [4]
X-Series Classic
Production model as of 2012, with 64 hp (48 kW) Rotax 582 engine, optional Wizard or Streak wing [5]

Specifications (Edge Wizard)

Data from Cliche [1]

General characteristics

Aircraft engine engine designed for use in powered aircraft

An aircraft engine is a component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines, except for small multicopter UAVs which are almost always electric aircraft.

Performance

  • Cruise speed: 55 mph (89 km/h; 48 kn)
  • Stall speed: 35 mph (56 km/h; 30 kn)
  • g limits: +6/-3
  • Rate of climb: 750 ft/min (3.8 m/s)

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cliche, Andre: Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide 8th Edition, page C-10. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. ISBN   0-9680628-1-4
  2. 1 2 3 Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04, page 92. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X
  3. 1 2 3 Downey, Julia: 2000 Trike and 'Chute Directory, Kitplanes, Volume 17, Number 2, February 2000, page 48. Kitplanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851
  4. 1 2 Downey, Julia: 2005 Trikes 'Chutes and Rotorcraft Directory, Kitplanes, Volume 22, Number 2, February 2005, page 49. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
  5. 1 2 AirBorne Australia (2011). "X-Series Classic" . Retrieved 12 January 2012.
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