Pegasus Booster

Last updated

Booster
Role Powered hang glider
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Pegasus Aviation
Status Production completed
Unit cost
US$5000 (circa 2000, without wing)

The Pegasus Booster is a British powered hang glider that was designed and produced by Pegasus Aviation. [1]

Powered hang glider

A foot-launched powered hang glider (FLPHG), also called powered harness, nanolight, or hangmotor, is a powered hang glider harness with a motor and propeller in pusher configuration. An ordinary hang glider is used for its wing and control frame, and the pilot can foot-launch from a hill or from flat ground, needing a length of about a football field to get airborne, or much less if there is an oncoming breeze and no obstacles.

Contents

Design and development

The booster was sold either as an engine package or as a powered hang gliding harness, to which the pilot could add any standard hang glider wing. When ready to fly the aircraft features a cable-braced hang glider-style high-wing, weight-shift controls, single-place accommodation, foot-launching and landing and a single engine in pusher configuration. [1]

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 uses a standard hang glider wing, made from bolted-together aluminium tubing, with its single surface wing covered in Dacron sailcloth. The wing is supported by a single tube-type kingpost and uses an "A" frame control bar. The engine is a lightweight, two-stroke, single cylinder Radne Raket 120 of 14 hp (10 kW), which is mounted at the rear of the pilot's prone position harness pod, with the propeller at the very rear. [1]

Aluminium Chemical element with atomic number 13

Aluminium 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.

The Radne Raket 120 is a lightweight single cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine used for powered hang gliders, paramotors and ultralight aircraft that is built by Radne Motor AB of Haninge, Sweden.

Prone position body position in which one lies flat with the chest down and back up

Prone position is a body position in which the person lies flat with the chest down and the back up. In anatomical terms of location, the dorsal side is up, and the ventral side is down. The supine position is the 180° contrast.

Variants

Pegasus Booster
Version produced by Pegasus Aviation in the late 1990s period. [1]
Solar Wings Booster Mk I
Version produced by Solar Wings in the early-2000s period. Was noted as being compatible with the Woody Valley harness that was popular in Europe in that time period. [2]
Solar Wings Booster Mk II
Version produced by Solar Wings in the mid-2000s period. Was noted as being not compatible with the Woody Valley harness that was popular in Europe in that time period. [2]

Specifications (Booster)

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: 25 mph (40 km/h; 22 kn)
  • Stall speed: 14 mph (23 km/h; 12 kn) depending on the wing selected
  • Rate of climb: 400 ft/min (2.0 m/s)

Related Research Articles

Eipper Quicksilver

Quicksilver is a line of single and two-place high wing, single-engine, ultralight aircraft that evolved from weight-shift hang gliders including Bob Lovejoy's High Tailer.

The Blue Yonder EZ Fun Flyer is a Canadian twin-engined ultralight aircraft that was designed by Wayne Winters and is produced by Blue Yonder Aviation of Indus, Alberta. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.

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.

The GibboGear Butterfly is an American single-seat, flying wing ultralight trike that was designed by Mark Gibson and produced by his company, GibboGear of Winter Haven, Florida. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.

Pegasus Quantum

The Pegasus Quantum is a British two-seat, ultralight trike that was designed and produced by Pegasus Aviation and later by P&M Aviation. The aircraft was supplied as a completed aircraft.

The Concept Prowler is an American flying wing ultralight trike that was designed and produced by Concept Aviation of Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Lookout Mountain SkyCycle, also marketed as The Freedom Machine, is an American ultralight trike that was designed by Matt Taber, produced by Lookout Mountain Flight Park of Rising Fawn, Georgia and introduced in 1997. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction and also as plans.

The Spartan DFS Trike is an American ultralight aircraft designed and produced by Spartan Microlights. The aircraft was the first ultralight introduced that could be flown with a hang glider-style wing as an ultralight trike or with a powered parachute wing.

The BP Parawing is an American paramotor/powered parachute designed and produced by Spartan Microlights.

The Flylight Doodle Bug is a British powered hang glider that was designed and produced by Flylight Airsports starting in 1999. The aircraft is now out of production.

Swedish Aerosport Mosquito

The Swedish Aerosport Mosquito is a Swedish powered hang glider designed and produced by Swedish Aerosport and introduced in 1995.

The PowerTrike Light is a German ultralight trike and powered parachute, designed and produced by PowerTrike of Mackenbach. The aircraft is supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.

The Silent Family Silent Glider M is a German ultralight trike motor glider, designed by Helmut Grossklaus and produced by Silent Family of Westerrade. The aircraft is supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.

The Adventure R series is a family of French paramotors that was designed and produced by Adventure SA of Méré, Yonne for powered paragliding. Now out of production, when they were available the aircraft were supplied complete and ready-to-fly.

The Airtime Explorer is an Australian powered hang glider harness that was designed and produced by Airtime Products of Airlie Beach, Queensland. Now out of production, when it was available, it was supplied assembled.

The Wasp SP Mk2 is a British powered hang glider that was designed and produced by Wasp Systems of Crook, Cumbria. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied complete and ready-to-fly.

The Winds Italia Raven is an Italian powered hang glider that was designed by champion hang glider pilot Randy Haney and produced by his company Winds Italia of Bologna. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied complete and ready-to-fly.

The Winds Italia Orbiter is a family of Italian paramotors that were designed by Randy Haney and produced by his company Winds Italia of Bologna for powered paragliding. Now out of production, when the series was available the aircraft were supplied complete and ready-to-fly.

Winds Italia

Winds Italia was an Italian aircraft manufacturer based in Bologna that was founded by Canadian hang glider champion pilot Randy Haney. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of paramotors and powered hang glider harnesses in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft for the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules and the European microlight category.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Cliche, Andre: Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide 8th Edition, page C-32. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. ISBN   0-9680628-1-4
  2. 1 2 Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04, page 75. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.