Airborne Outback

The Airborne Outback is an Australian two-seat flying wing ultralight trike that was designed and produced by Airborne Windsports in the mid-2000s.^[1]

Design and development

The Outback was developed as an off-airport aircraft, with a carriage that lacks a fairing and other encumbrances to "all-terrain" operations. It features a cable-braced hang glider-style high-wing, weight-shift controls, a two-seat, open cockpit, tricycle landing gear and a single engine in pusher configuration.^[1]

The aircraft single surface Wizard model wing is made from bolted-together aluminium tubing, 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 landing gear has optional tundra tires. The standard engine factory-supplied was the Rotax 582 liquid-cooled two-stroke powerplant of 48 kW (64 hp). The aircraft has demonstrated operations from sand dunes.^[1]

The basic Outback model was later developed into the Airborne XT series that still dominates the company's product line in 2012.

Specifications (Outback)

Data from Bertrand^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: one
• Capacity: one passenger
• Wingspan: 9.96 m (32 ft 8 in)
• Wing area: 17.6 m² (189 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 165 kg (364 lb)
• Gross weight: 401 kg (884 lb)
• Fuel capacity: 48 litres (11 imp gal; 13 US gal)
• Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 582 twin cylinder, two-stroke, liquid-cooled aircraft engine, 48 kW (64 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 93 km/h (58 mph; 50 kn)
• Cruising speed: 67 km/h (42 mph; 36 kn)
• Stall speed: 52 km/h (32 mph; 28 kn)
• Rate of climb: 4 m/s (790 ft/min)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Airborne Windsports.