The Groppo XL and Groppo Trail are very similar single engine,

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

seat,

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 ...

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 and built in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Both can be supplied complete or in kit form. The two models differ chiefly in

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

type.

Design and development

Apart from their undercarriage configurations, the XL (

tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a Human-powered transport, human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) Three-wheeler, three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for pa ...

) and Trail (

tailwheel Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

) are essentially the same aircraft, with common layout, aerodynamics, dimensions and engine choices. The high wings have constant chord and blunt tips. They are braced to the lower

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 ...

with a single

lift 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 ...

on each side. The

ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

are piano hinged, with plain flaps inboard. Fin and rudder are straight edged and swept but the

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

horizontal surfaces are rectangular; the port

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

carries a trim tab. Both wing and tailplane can be folded back for transport, the wings rotating by 90° about their axis to lie alongside the fuselage. The wings are made from aluminium. The flat sided fuselage is built around a welded

chrome-molybdenum steel 41xx steel is a family of SAE steel grades, as specified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Alloying elements include chromium and molybdenum, and as a result these materials are often informally referred to as chromoly steel (common v ...

frame which is skinned with riveted metal. A

composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic material ...

cowling covers the

flat-four A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine or boxer engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the box ...

engine which may be an

Rotax 912UL The Rotax 912 is a flat-four engine, horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally-aspirated, four-stroke engine, four-stroke aircraft engine with a Propeller speed reduction unit, reduction gearbox. It features Radiator (engine cooling), l ...

Sauer S 2400 UL The Sauer S 2400 UL is a 4 stroke aircraft engine for homebuilt and ultralight aircraft.
Sauer Flugmotorenb ...

Sauer S 2200 UL The Sauer S 2200 UL is a 4 stroke aircraft engine designed for homebuilt and ultralight aircraft.
Sauer Fl ...

Jabiru 2200 The Jabiru 2200 is a lightweight naturally aspirated, pushrod four-stroke, flat four, air-cooled aircraft engine produced by Jabiru Aircraft. Design and development The conventional direct-drive engine is fitted with an alternator, silencers, ...

, Westlake A80 or other engine of similar power, driving a GT two-blade

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

. The cockpit seats two in tandem under the wing, with a transparency built into the

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 ...

for a better upward view from the front seat. There is a wide, upward hinged,

starboard Port and starboard are Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z), nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the Bow (watercraft), bow (front). Vessels with bil ...

side glazed door for access into both seats. There is a rear-view transparency in the fairing behind the accommodation, over the tapered fuselage.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 58. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. The Trail has a fixed tailwheel undercarriage, with the mainwheels mounted onto the lower fuselage on cantilever aluminium spring legs. Ground steering is by differential

hydraulic brakes A hydraulic brake is an arrangement of brake, braking mechanism which uses brake fluid, typically containing glycol ethers or diethylene glycol, to transfer pressure from the controlling mechanism to the braking mechanism. History During 1904, Fr ...

. Larger wheels are an option for rough ground operation. The XL has similarly sprung mainwheels, though mounted further aft and in fairings. Its nosewheel is also faired. The Trail is derived from the XL and made its first appearance at

AERO Friedrichshafen AERO Friedrichshafen is a trade show dedicated to European general aviation. It is held yearly in April on the shores of Lake Constance at the exhibition center of Friedrichshafen, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Ger ...

in April 2009, though it is not known if it had then already flown.

Operational history

50 Trails had been built by the end of 2010. UK marketing began that year and one aircraft was UK registered in December 2010.

Specifications (Rotax 912 engine)

References

External links

*
Groppo Trail: Italy’s Affordable LSA
review on AVweb {{Nando Groppo aircraft 2000s Italian sport aircraft High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 2009