The Airtime Explorer is an Australian

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 often in pusher configuration, although some can be found in tractor configuration. ...

harness that was designed and produced by

Airtime Products Airtime Products was an Australian aircraft manufacturer based in Airlie Beach, Queensland. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of paramotors and powered hang gliders in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft for the US FAR 103 U ...

Airlie Beach, Queensland Airlie Beach is a coastal locality and resort town in the Whitsunday Region of Queensland, Australia. In the , Airlie Beach had a population of 1,312 people. Geography Airlie Beach is one of many departure points for the Great Barrier Reef ...

. Now out of production, when it was available, it was supplied assembled.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 63. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

When combined with 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 wing, the single-engine

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 ...

Explorer features weight-shift controls, foot-launching and landing. The powered harness is mated to a standard

wing. The wing is supported by a single tube-type king post and uses an "A" frame control bar. The engine is a

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 ...

, single cylinder

Radne Raket 120 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.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ...

of , and fitted with a 3.5:1 ratio

reduction drive A reduction drive is a mechanical device to shift rotational speed. A planetary reduction drive is a small scale version using ball bearings in an epicyclic arrangement instead of toothed gears. Reduction drives are used in engines of all kinds ...

. The

nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

harness mounts the engine and , or optionally fuel tank. Dual retractable skids are provided to protect the propeller during take-off and landing. Electric starting and a

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

folding propeller are standard features.

Specifications (Explorer)

References

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Explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

2000s Australian ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Powered hang gliders

Design and development

Specifications (Explorer)

See also

References