The Bautek Skycruiser is a German

ultralight trike An ultralight trike or paratrike is a type of powered hang glider where flight control is by weight-shift control, weight-shift. These light-sport aircraft, aircraft have a fabric Rogallo wing, flex-wing from which is suspended a tricycle fusel ...

, designed and produced by

Bautek Bautek is a German aircraft manufacturer based in Kenn. The company specializes in hang gliders and ultralight trike An ultralight trike or paratrike is a type of powered hang glider where flight control is by weight-shift control, weigh ...

Kenn, Germany Kenn is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality situated in the western region of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the border with Luxembourg. It is characterized by its encompassing red sandstone hills adorned with vineyards and located within the Mo ...

. The aircraft is supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 207. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

The Skycruiser was Bautek's first trike design and was designed to comply with the German 120 kg

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. The aircraft features 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

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 ...

, weight-shift controls, a single-seat open cockpit,

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...

with finned

wheel pants An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ...

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 aircraft is made from bolted-together

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 its double surface wing covered in

Dacron Polyethylene terephthalate (or poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P), is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and foods ...

sailcloth. Its span Bautek Pico L wing is supported by a single tube-type kingpost and uses an "A" frame weight-shift control bar. The powerplant is a specially modified and tuned twin cylinder, air-cooled,

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

, Briggs & Stratton Vanguard 1000 engine. This engine provides good fuel economy with a low noise level of 55 dB and produces a cruise speed of . The aircraft has an empty weight of without the wing fitted and a gross weight of . The fuel tank holds of fuel. The Skycruiser is German DULV certified.

Specifications (Skycruiser)

References

External links

* {{Bautek aircraft 2000s German sport aircraft 2000s German ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Ultralight trikes Aircraft first flown in 2009