The Wills Wing U2 is an American
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 ...
, designed and produced by
Wills Wing
Wills Wing, Inc is an aircraft manufacturer originally based in Orange, California. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of hang gliders in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft, plus hang glider harnesses and accessories.Bertrand, ...
of
Orange, California
Orange is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District ...
since 2003. The aircraft is supplied complete and ready-to-fly.
[Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 50. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ]
Design and development
The U2 was conceived as a recreational intermediate glider with performance nearing that of competition gliders, like the
Wills Wing T2 Wills may refer to:
* Will (law), a legal document
Places
Australia
* Wills, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Boulia
* Division of Wills, an Australian electoral division in Victoria
United States
* Wills Township, LaPorte County, Indiana
...
. The U2 is made from
7075 aluminium alloy
7075 aluminium alloy (AA7075) is an aluminium alloy with zinc as the primary alloying element. It has excellent mechanical properties and exhibits good ductility, high strength, toughness, and good resistance to fatigue. It is more susceptible t ...
tubing, with the 84% 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. The U2 includes a variable geometry (VG) system that tensions the sail for higher glide performance.
The two models available are each named for their wing area in square feet.
The glider is also sold by
Tecma Sport
Tecma Sport is a French aircraft manufacturer based in Saint-Pierre-en-Faucigny and formerly in La Roche-sur-Foron. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of hang gliders and paragliders in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft. The ...
of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
as the Techma Sport U2.
Variants
;U2 145
:Small-sized model for lighter pilots. Its span wing is
cable-braced from a single
king post. The nose angle is 125–128° depending on VG setting, 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 6.8:1. The glider empty weight is and the pilot hook-in weight range is . The glider model was HGMA certified in 2003.
;U2 160
:Large-sized model for heavier pilots. Its span wing is cable braced from a single kingpost. The nose angle is 125–128° depending on VG setting, wing area is and the aspect ratio is 6.8:1. The glider empty weight is and the pilot hook-in weight range is . The glider model was HGMA certified in 2003.
Specifications (U2 145)
References
External links
*
Official U2 owners manual{{Wills Wing aircraft
U2
Hang gliders