The AEF Monotrace is a French
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 ...
, designed and produced by
AEF Air Lift System of
Houilles
Houilles () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is a northwestern suburb of Paris, located from the center of Paris.
History
Until 2000, the command post of the French Navy's Ball ...
. 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 198. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X]
Design and development
The Monotrace was conceived as a soaring trike with retractable main
landing gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...
. It was designed to comply with the
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...
microlight
Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...
category, including the category's maximum gross weight of . The aircraft has a maximum gross weight of . It also complies with the requirements of the US
FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles
Ultralight aircraft exist outside of the United States. In most countries, ultralights are a class of aircraft. A completely different legal concept is valid within the USA. The FAA makes explicitly clear that ultralight vehicles are not air ...
rules. 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, quadracycle landing gear 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
aluminium
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 a composite partial
cockpit fairing
An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ...
. A full fairing that can be adjusted in flight to provide wing trim is optional. The 50% double surface wing is 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, is supported by a single tube-type
kingpost and uses an "A" frame weight-shift control bar. The powerplant is an air-cooled,
two-stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...
,
Simonini Mini 3 engine, with the
Simonini Mini 2+ or the
Electravia engines optional. The landing gear consists of four wheels: a fixed nose wheel and fixed main centre-line wheel and two retractable outrigger wheels. The aircraft has an empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of .
A number of different wings can be fitted to the basic carriage, including the standard
Ellipse Titan and the optional
Ellipse Fuji
The Ellipse Fuji is a French high-wing, single-place, hang glider that was designed and produced by La société Ellipse of Étuz.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', pages 43 and 98. Pagefast L ...
.
Specifications (Monotrace)
See also
*
Electravia Monotrace-E, an electric-powered variant
References
External links
*{{Official website, http://www.aef-gliders.com
2000s French sport aircraft
2000s French ultralight aircraft
Single-engined pusher aircraft
Ultralight trikes