The Bilsam Sky Walker I is a Polish

powered parachute A powered parachute, often abbreviated PPC, and also called a motorized parachute or paraplane, is a type of aircraft that consists of a parafoil with a motor and wheels. The FAA defines a powered parachute as ''a powered aircraft a flexible or ...

designed and produced by

Bilsam Aviation Bilsam Aviation Industries Sp. z o.o. is a Polish aircraft manufacturer based in Poznań. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of ultralight aircraft in the form of plans and kits for amateur construction and ready-to-fly airc ...

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

. The aircraft is supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 80. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X The company's website is non-functional and has been so since about 2008, so it is not clear if the company is still in business.

Design and development

The Sky Walker I was designed to comply with the US

FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles Ultralight aircraft in the United States are much smaller and lighter than ultralight aircraft as defined by all other countries. In the United States, ultralights are described as "ultralight vehicles" and not as aircraft. They are not requ ...

rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . It features a parachute-style wing, single-place accommodation,

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

and a single

two stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

Radne Motor AB engine in

pusher configuration In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in no ...

. The Bilsam TNA

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 direct ...

engine is a factory option. The aircraft carriage is built from a combination of

composite material A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...

and steel tubing. In flight steering is accomplished via handles that actuate the canopy brakes, creating roll and yaw. On the ground the aircraft has foot pedal-controlled nosewheel steering. The main landing gear incorporates spring rod suspension. The aircraft has an empty weight of without the engine fitted and a gross weight of , and a full fuel capacity of . The Sky Walker I can be fitted with a choice of three wings, Matrix, Pelikan or Condor all manufactured by Bilsam.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2005-06'', pages 86-87. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2005. ISSN 1368-485X The Sky Walker II is a two-seat variant with an enclosed cockpit.

Specifications (Sky Walker I)

References

External links

* {{Bilsam aircraft Sky Walker I 2000s Polish sport aircraft 2000s Polish ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Powered parachutes