T2-6180 AirBorne Edge XT-912 (8305504873)

The Airborne Edge is a line of Australian two-seat ultralight trikes designed and produced by Airborne Windsports of

Redhead, New South Wales Redhead is a coastal suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie, Greater Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia south of Newcastle's central business district on the Pacific Ocean. It was named for the appearance of its headland, Redhead Bluff, when v ...

. The aircraft are supplied as a completed aircraft and not as a

kit Kit may refer to: Places *Kitt, Indiana, US, formerly Kit * Kit, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province * Kit Hill, Cornwall, England People * Kit (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kit (surname) Animals * Young animals: ...

.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page C-10. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 92. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485XDowney, Julia: ''2000 Trike and 'Chute Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 17, Number 2, February 2000, page 48. Kitplanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851Downey, Julia: ''2005 Trikes 'Chutes and Rotorcraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 22, Number 2, February 2005, page 49. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851

Design and development

The Edge 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 In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...

. It has been produced in many different sub-models and is known in 2012 as the ''Classic''. The aircraft wing is made from bolted-together aluminium tubing, with its single or optionally double surface wing covered in Dacron sailcloth. Its span wing is supported by a single tube-type kingpost and uses an "A" frame control bar. The landing gear features suspension on all three wheels, with the main gear bungee suspended and the nose wheel suspended with rubber blocks. The nose wheel steering includes a dampener and

drum brake A drum brake is a brake that uses friction caused by a set of shoes or pads that press outward against a rotating cylinder-shaped part called a brake drum. The term ''drum brake'' usually means a brake in which shoes press on the inner surfac ...

s. The main wing support mast folds down to allow wing installation. The aircraft can be broken-down for ground transport or storage and assembly for flight can be accomplished in 30 minutes. The Edge includes full dual controls for

flight training Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

, including dual steering, dual control bar extenders and two throttles. Engines supplied include the twin cylinder, two-stroke air-cooled Rotax 503 or the liquid-cooled Rotax 582.

Operational history

The Edge was flown in west Africa in aerial support of an elephant conservation project and was also used in Indonesia to monitor endangered orangutan populations.

Variants

;Edge 582 Executive :Fully equipped model with all the options, including full cockpit fairing and wheel pants, with the Streak double-surface high performance wing and liquid-cooled Rotax 582 engine. Sold circa 2000. ;Edge X 503 Wizard :Basic model without fairings to reduce weight and cost, with a single surface wing and air-cooled Rotax 503 engine. Sold circa 2000. ;Classic S :Model sold circa 2004. An Edge model with all options and a liquid-cooled Rotax 582 powerplant. ;Edge X TS-912/Streak II XT :Model with all options sold circa 2005, with

Rotax 912 The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, late ...

four stroke powerplant and the double surface Streak XT wing. Cruise speed of and price of US$36,353 in 2005. ;X-Series Classic :Production model as of 2012, with Rotax 582 engine, optional Wizard or Streak wing

Specifications (Edge Wizard)

References

External links

* {{Airborne Windsports aircraft 1990s Australian ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Ultralight trikes