The Sport Flight Talon is a

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 ...

pusher configuration In aeronautical and naval engineering, pusher configuration is the term used to describe a drivetrain of air- or watercraft with propulsion device(s) after the engine(s). This is in contrast to the more conventional tractor configuration, wh ...

single-engine,

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

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 ...

, that was produced by Sport Flight Aviation of

Sandy, Oregon Sandy is a city located in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, settled 1853 and named after the nearby Sandy River (Oregon), Sandy River. Located in the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range, the city serves as t ...

in kit form for amateur construction.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page B-59. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Downey, Julia: ''2008 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 24, Number 12, December 2007, page 73. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 256. BAI Communications. Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 162. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 127. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. The aircraft is no longer offered on the company website and seems to be out of production.

Design and development

The Talon was developed from the Maxair Drifter and introduced into the market in 1989. The aircraft shares the Drifter's main

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 ...

tube, used as the aircraft's spine. The rudder pedals attach to the front of the tube, the seat and wing support structure to the center and the tail to the rear of the tube. The main improvements over the original Drifter include

strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. A stay is sometimes used as a synonym for ...

-braced wings with

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 ...

s, flaps, streamlined baggage area, optional enclosed cockpit,

wheel pants An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ...

and brakes. The addition of many options and extras over the basic Drifter design means that the Talon cannot be constructed in the US

FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles Ultralight aircraft exist outside of the United States. In most countries, ultralights are a class of aircraft. A completely different legal concept is valid within the USA. The FAA makes explicitly clear that ultralight vehicles are not air ...

category, due to exceeding the maximum category empty weight and must instead be registered as a

in the USA. In other countries, such as Canada, the Talon fits the ultralight or microlight aircraft category. The aircraft's structure is made from

6061-T6 aluminum 6061 aluminium alloy (Unified numbering system, Unified Numbering System (UNS) designation A96061) is a precipitation hardening, precipitation-hardened aluminium alloy, containing magnesium and silicon as its major alloying elements. Originally ...

, with the main landing gear struts of

4130 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 va ...

. The aluminum frame wing is covered in pre-sewn

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 ...

envelopes. Construction time from the kit is reported as 120 hours. The basic Talon design has been developed into a series of single and

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 ...

two seaters, with varying powerplants.

Variants

;Talon Magnum :Single seat model, power range , standard engine

HKS 700E The HKS 700E is a twin-cylinder, horizontally opposed, four stroke, carburetted aircraft engine, designed for use on ultralight aircraft, powered parachutes and ultralight trikes. The engine is manufactured by HKS, a Japanese company noted for ...

of . Optional engines include the

Rotax 447 The Rotax 447 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995. Design and developme ...

, the

Rotax 503 The Rotax 503 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke engine, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by Rotax, BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pp. 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1 ...

and the

Rotax 582 The Rotax 582 is a two-stroke cycle, two-stroke, two-cylinder, rotary intake valve, oil-in-fuel or oil injection pump, liquid-cooled, gear reduction-drive aircraft engine manufactured by Rotax, BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It is for use in non-ce ...

. Twenty had been constructed by December 2007. ;Talon XP :Two-seats-in-tandem model, power range , standard engine

of . Optional engines include the

, the

and the

. This model has an increased

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

of . Seventy had been constructed by December 2007.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 120. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X ;Talon Super Magnum :Single model, standard engine

of , with the

or the

optional. This model is the XP model with the rear seat area converted into additional baggage space. It has an increased wingspan of . Fits the FAI microlight class. ;Talon Typhoon :Single seat

aerobatic Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...

model.

Specifications (Talon XP)

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.sport-flight.com/ Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft