The Back Bone Shadow is a family of French

paramotor Paramotor is the generic name for the harness and propulsive portion of a powered paragliding, powered paraglider ("PPG"). There are two basic types of paramotors: foot launch and wheel launch. Foot launch models consist of a frame with harnes ...

s that was designed by Thierry Simonet and produced by

Back Bone Back Bone was a French aircraft manufacturer based in Tallard and founded by Thierry Simonet. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of paramotors in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft for the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules ...

Tallard Tallard (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Location Tallard is to the south of Gap, close to the road from Gap to Marseille. The motorway A51 ends just to the ...

for

powered paragliding Powered paragliding, also known as paramotoring or PPG, is a form of ultralight aviation where the pilot wears a back-pack motor (a paramotor) which provides enough thrust to take off using a paraglider. It can be launched in still air, and on ...

. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied complete and ready-to-fly.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 64. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

The Shadow was designed to comply with 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 as well as European regulations. It features a

paraglider Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched Glider (aircraft), glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a :wikt:harness, harness or in ...

-style wing, single-place accommodation 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 fuel tank capacity is . Each model in the line is named for its metric propeller diameter. As is the case with all paramotors, take-off and landing is accomplished by foot. Inflight steering is accomplished via handles that actuate the canopy brakes, creating roll and yaw.

Variants

;Shadow 100 :Model with a RDM 100 engine in

with a 4:1 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 ...

and a diameter two-bladed wooden propeller. Empty weight is . ;Shadow 113 :Model with a RDM 100 engine in pusher configuration with a 4:1 ratio reduction drive and a diameter two-bladed wooden propeller. Empty weight is . ;Shadow 115 :Model with a RDM 100 engine in pusher configuration with a 4:1 ratio reduction drive and a diameter two-bladed wooden propeller. Empty weight is .

Shadow 100 specifications

References

{{Back Bone aircraft

Shadow A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensio ...

2000s French ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Paramotors