The Alpaero Sirius, also called the Noin Sirius, is a French

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 ...

strut-braced In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...

, pod-and-boom,

cruciform tail The cruciform tail is an aircraft empennage configuration which, when viewed from the aircraft's front or rear, looks much like a cross. The usual arrangement is to have the tailplane, horizontal stabilizer intersect the vertical tail somewhere ...

, single-seat

motor glider 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 aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (MoP), capable of sustained soaring flig ...

that was designed by Claude Noin and produced by his company, Alpaero of

Châteauvieux, Hautes-Alpes Châteauvieux (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Hautes-Alpes department The following is a list of the 162 communes of the Hautes-Alpes department of France ...

. It was available as plans for amateur construction and also as a kit, but has been discontinued.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 312. BAI Communications, July 1998.

Design and development

Named for the

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

, the prototype Sirius was made from wood, tube and

aircraft fabric Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...

and first flew in August 1984. The prototype had an wingspan. The production Sirius

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

is predominantly made from

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass c ...

, with wooden bulkheads. The span tapered wing has a wooden spar and

Styrofoam Styrofoam is a brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), manufactured to provide continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and as a water barrier. This material is light blue in ...

wing rib In an aircraft, ribs are forming elements of the airframe structure of a wing, especially in traditional construction. By analogy with the anatomical definition of "rib", the ribs attach to the main spar, and by being repeated at frequent inter ...

s reinforced with fibreglass and features air brakes on the top surface for glidepath control. The wing's

leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...

is fabricated from hot-wire cut foam, laminated with fibreglass. The wing and rudder are fabric covered. The fixed

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 ...

is a centre-line bicycle gear, with auxiliary

wing tip A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...

and tail wheels. The main wheel has a

drum brake A drum brake is a brake that uses friction caused by a set of Brake shoe, shoes or Brake pad, pads that press outward against a rotating bowl-shaped part called a brake drum. The term ''drum brake'' usually means a brake in which shoes press o ...

. The

König SC 430 The König SC 430 is a three-cylinder, two-stroke, single ignition radial aircraft engine designed for powered paragliders and single place ultralight trikes.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page G-5 Cybair ...

engine, or alternatively the

JPX D-320 The JPX D-320 and D330 are a family of France, French twin-cylinder, horizontally opposed, two-stroke aircraft engines.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page G-4 Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. The engine w ...

engine, is mounted behind the

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...

and beneath the tail boom 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 ...

and features a propeller guard plate just behind the main wheel. The propeller is a fixed pitch two-bladed design with small diameter. The cockpit width is and the best

glide ratio In aerodynamics, the lift-to-drag ratio (or L/D ratio) is the lift generated by an aerodynamic body such as an aerofoil or aircraft, divided by the aerodynamic drag caused by moving through air. It describes the aerodynamic efficiency under give ...

is 23:1. In 1998 the design was available as plans for

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

220 or as a kit for US$7900. Building time from the kit was estimated as 700 hours.

Variants

;Sirius-C :Model for the European

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.

Specifications (Sirius)

References

External links

* {{Alpaero aircraft 1980s French sailplanes Homebuilt aircraft Motor gliders Aircraft first flown in 1984