Cloudbaser Trikes Cloudbaser

Last updated
Role Ultralight trike
Manufacturer Cloudbaser Trikes
Status Production completed

The Cloudbaser Trikes Cloudbaser is a flying wing ultralight trike that was designed and produced by Cloudbaser Trikes. The aircraft was supplied as a kit and was also available as plans for amateur construction. [1]

Flying wing tailless fixed-wing aircraft with no definite fuselage

A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft that has no definite fuselage. The crew, payload, fuel, and equipment are typically housed inside the main wing structure, although a flying wing may have various small protuberances such as pods, nacelles, blisters, booms, or vertical stabilizers.

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.

Homebuilt aircraft planes constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity

Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch," from plans, or from assembly kits.

Contents

Production has been completed and new aircraft are no longer available. [1]

Design and development

The aircraft was designed to comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of 254 lb (115 kg). The Cloudbaser has a standard empty weight of 185 lb (84 kg). It 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. [1]

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 is made from bolted-together aluminum tubing, with its single surface wing covered in Dacron sailcloth. Its 185 sq ft (17.2 m2) area wing is supported by a single tube-type kingpost and uses an "A" frame control bar. Because of the light weight of the aircraft, standard hang glider wings can be used. The landing gear features a steerable nose wheel. The standard recommended engine is the Rotax 447 twin cylinder, two-stroke single ignition powerplant of 40 hp (30 kW). [1]

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.

The Rotax 447 is a 41.6 hp (31 kW), inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.

The Cloudbaser was designed for minimalism and also portability. The use of a single surface wing makes it easier to fold up and transport on a car-top rack. Set up time is reported to be 30 minutes. [1]

Minimalism movements in various forms of art and design

In visual arts, music, and other mediums, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Donald Judd, John McCracken, Agnes Martin, Dan Flavin, Robert Morris, Anne Truitt, and Frank Stella. It derives from the reductive aspects of modernism and is often interpreted as a reaction against abstract expressionism and a bridge to postminimal art practices.

A two-seat version was also marketed by the company. [1]

Specifications (single seater)

Data from Cliche [1]

General characteristics

Performance

  • Cruise speed: 50 mph (80 km/h; 43 kn)
  • Stall speed: 28 mph (45 km/h; 24 kn)
  • Rate of climb: 1,100 ft/min (5.6 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 E-47. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. ISBN   0-9680628-1-4
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