The Solar Wings Scandal is a family of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

s that was designed and produced by Solar Wings of

Manton, Wiltshire Manton is a suburb of the town of Marlborough in Wiltshire, England, just off the A4 Bath Road. History A settlement of twelve households and an estate held by Miles Crispin were recorded at ''Manetone'' in the 1087 Domesday Book. In the 17th ...

. Introduced in 1995 it is now out of production. When it was available the aircraft was supplied complete and ready-to-fly.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 48. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003.

Design and development

The Scandal series was designed as a high performance competition glider. It 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 ...

and

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

tubing, with the 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. Some models have a kingpost and top rigging, while others, notably the XK and XK-R, are topless. The models are each named for their wing area in square metres.

Variants

;Scandal 12.4 :Small-sized model for lighter pilots, introduced in 1995. Its span wing is cable braced from a single kingpost. The nose angle is 127°, wing area is and the

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 ...

is 7.1:1. The pilot hook-in weight range is . ;Scandal 13.6 :Mid-sized model for middle weight pilots, introduced in 1995. Its span wing is cable braced from a single kingpost. The nose angle is 127°, wing area is and the aspect ratio is 7.3:1. The pilot hook-in weight range is . ;Scandal 14.4 :Large-sized model for heavier pilots, introduced in 1995. Its span wing is cable braced from a single kingpost. The nose angle is 127°, wing area is and the aspect ratio is 7.44:1. The pilot hook-in weight range is . ;Scandal S 12.4 :Small-sized model for lighter pilots. Its span wing is cable braced from a single kingpost. The nose angle is 131°, wing area is and the aspect ratio is 7.1:1. The pilot hook-in weight range is . The glider model is BHPA certified. ;Scandal S 13.6 :Mid-sized model for middle weight pilots. Its span wing is cable braced from a single kingpost. The nose angle is 131°, wing area is and the aspect ratio is 7.3:1. The pilot hook-in weight range is . The glider model is BHPA certified. ;Scandal S 14.4 :Large-sized model for heavier pilots. Its span wing is cable braced from a single kingpost. The nose angle is 131°, wing area is and the aspect ratio is 7.44:1. The pilot hook-in weight range is . The glider model is BHPA certified. ;Scandal XK :Model introduced in 1997. Its area wing is topless. ;Scandal XK-R 13.6 :Mid-sized model for middle pilots introduced in 2000. Its span wing is topless. The nose angle is 131°, wing area is and the aspect ratio is 7.3:1. The pilot hook-in weight range is . The glider model is BHPA certified. ;Scandal XK-R 14.4 :Large-sized model for heavier pilots introduced in 2000. Its span wing is topless. The nose angle is 131°, wing area is and the aspect ratio is 7.44:1. The pilot hook-in weight range is . The glider model is BHPA certified.

Specifications (Scandal XK-R 14.4)

References

{{P&M Aviation aircraft

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...

Hang gliders