The Avian Rio is a British

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 ...

, single-place, recreational

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 ...

, designed by Steve Elkins and Neil Hammerton and produced by

Avian Limited Avian Limited is a British aircraft manufacturer that produces a line of recreational and competition hang glider Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised, fixed-wing heavier-than- ...

Hope Valley, Derbyshire The Hope Valley is a rural area centred on the village of Hope, Derbyshire, in the Peak District in the northern Midlands of England. The name also applies to the post town that includes the surrounding villages. Valley Although the Hope V ...

.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 42. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

The Rio was designed as a sports glider for recreational local and cross-country flying, while still being light in weight and easy to fly. The Rio 15 model the sole version produced and is made from

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 the wing covered in

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sailcloth. Its span wing has a nose angle of 120° and an

aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a geometry, geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangl ...

of 6:1. The acceptable pilot hook-in weight is . The model number indicates the wing area in square metres. The glider can be broken down to a package, in length for ground transportation on a car top.

Specifications (Rio 15)

References

External links

Official webpage archive
on

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

{{Avian Limited aircraft Hang gliders