| Redback | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Ultralight trike |
| National origin | Australia |
| Manufacturer | Airborne Windsports |
| Status | In production |
The Airborne Redback is an Australian two-seat flying wing ultralight trike designed and produced by Airborne Windsports. [1]
The aircraft is named after the native Australian Redback spider. [1]
The aircraft was designed to comply with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight category, including the category's maximum gross weight of 450 kg (992 lb). The aircraft has a maximum gross weight of 401 kg (884 lb). It features a cable-braced hang glider-style high-wing, weight-shift controls, a two-seats-in-tandem open cockpit, tricycle landing gear and a single engine in pusher configuration. [1]
The aircraft's Wizard model wing is made from bolted-together aluminium tubing, with its single surface covered in Dacron sailcloth. Its 9.96 m (32.7 ft) span wing is supported by a single tube-type kingpost and uses an "A" frame control bar. The standard powerplant is the 37 kW (50 hp) Rotax 503 twin cylinder, air-cooled, two-stroke aircraft engine. [1]
When introduced the Redback was a single configuration model, with no cockpit fairing and no options available. In 2012 the model has evolved and offers tundra tires, intake and exhaust silencer, training bars and an aero-tow system as optional equipment. [1] [2]
Reviewers Noel Bertrand et al., writing about the no-options approach in 2003 said, "The Red Back only exists in one configuration with no options — an intelligent course of action taken by this Australian manufacturer made possible by the very complete specification...All the right ingredients are there; Australian and American pilots adore them." [1]
Data from Bertrand [1]
General characteristics
Performance