The DAR Solo is a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

ultralight aircraft 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 Aircraft flight control system, conventional three-a ...

, designed by Tony Ilieff and produced by

Aeroplanes DAR Aeroplanes DAR Ltd (''"Аероплани ДАР" ЕООД'' - DAR aeroplanes EOOD) is a privately owned Bulgarian aircraft manufacturer based in Sofia, established in 1995. The company produces ultralight aircraft. The company name commemorates ...

, first flying in August 2008.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 17. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 20. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

The aircraft was designed to comply with the US FAR Part 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules as well as the German 120 kg class (called the ''Solo 120'') and deregulated 115 kg class in the United Kingdom. It features a

strut-braced In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...

high wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft (in which a r ...

, 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 ...

and a single engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, a tractor configuration is a propeller-driven fixed-wing aircraft with its engine mounted with the propeller in front, so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. This is the usual configuration; the pusher configuration ...

. The aircraft is built with a composite

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

and an

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 ...

wing. Its span wing has

flaperon A flaperon (a portmanteau of '' flap'' and ''aileron'') on an aircraft's wing is a type of control surface that combines the functions of both flaps and ailerons. Some smaller kitplanes have flaperons for reasons of simplicity of manufactur ...

s and employs a single strut on each side supported by an optional

jury strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...

. The standard engines used when the type was introduced were the

Hirth F33 The Hirth F-33 is a single cylinder, two stroke, carburetted aircraft engine designed for use on ultralight aircraft, including powered paragliders and ultralight trikes. the engine is noted for its extremely light base weight of . It is ma ...

and the Hirth F23

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 of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...

powerplants. The design offers combinations of three types of wings, three types of engines and four types of wheels.

Specifications (Solo)

References

External links

*
Official video
{{DAR aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft 2000s Bulgarian ultralight aircraft

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...

High-wing aircraft