The Bautek Spice is a German

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,

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 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 ...

and introduced in 2003.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 43. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

The Spice was derived from the

Bautek Twister Bautek is a German aircraft manufacturer based in Kenn. The company specializes in hang gliders and ultralight trikes.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 43. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 20 ...

design. Major changes in the Spice include a

Mylar BoPET (biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate) is a polyester film made from stretched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and is used for its high tensile strength, chemical stability, dimensional stability, transparency reflectivity, an ...

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 ...

, the lower wing surface extended to 90% of the top surface, a smaller keel pocket and newly designed

winglet Wingtip devices are intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft by reducing drag. Although there are several types of wing tip devices which function in different manners, their intended effect is always to reduce an aircraft' ...

s and

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 ...

s. The aircraft 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 132° 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 7.7:1. The aircraft has a broad hook-in weight range from . The Spice was produced in just one size, with a wing area of . It was certified as DHV 2-3.

Specifications (Spice)

References

{{Bautek aircraft Hang gliders