The Sunair Sunlight is a German
ultralight trike
An ultralight trike or paratrike is a type of powered hang glider where flight control is by weight-shift control, weight-shift. These light-sport aircraft, aircraft have a fabric Rogallo wing, flex-wing from which is suspended a tricycle fusel ...
electric aircraft
An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity.
Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights.
Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, ...
, designed and produced by
Sunair UG of
Scheidegg, Bavaria
Scheidegg is a market town and municipality in the district of Lindau in Bavaria in Germany and a licensed Kneipp cure spa and open-air health resort.
Geography
Located in the Westallgäu region, the municipality of Scheidegg consists of the t ...
. The aircraft is supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.
[Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 222. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X]
Design and development
The Sunlight was designed as an electric powered, self-launching
motorglider
A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: a fixed-wing Aircraft#Heavier-than-air – aerodynes, aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (M ...
for the German class. It features a
cable-braced hang glider
Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised, fixed-wing heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...
-style
high-wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...
, weight-shift controls, a single-seat open cockpit with the pilot accommodated in recumbent position fabric zip-up pod,
tricycle landing gear
Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...
and a single engine in
pusher configuration
In aeronautical and naval engineering, pusher configuration is the term used to describe a drivetrain of air- or watercraft with propulsion device(s) after the engine(s). This is in contrast to the more conventional tractor configuration, wh ...
.
The aircraft is made from bolted-together
aluminum
Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
tubing, with its single surface wing covered in
Dacron
Polyethylene terephthalate (or poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P), is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and foods ...
sailcloth. The wing is supported by a single tube-type
kingpost and uses an "A" frame weight-shift control bar. The powerplant is a
Elektromotor electric motor
An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...
, recharged in flight by small
solar cell
A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell (PV cell), is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect. s.
Specifications (Sunlight)
See also
*
Sunair Magic
References
External links
*{{Official website, http://www.sun-air.eu/sunlight_trike.html
Sunlight
Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible spectrum, visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrare ...
2010s German sport aircraft
2010s German ultralight aircraft
Single-engined pusher aircraft
Electric aircraft
Ultralight trikes