The Ventura 1200 was a proposed

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

ultralight trike An ultralight trike or paratrike is a type of powered hang glider where flight control is by weight-shift control, weight-shift. These light-sport aircraft, aircraft have a fabric Rogallo wing, flex-wing from which is suspended a tricycle fusel ...

that was designed by Ventura of

La Frette, Isère La Frette () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Isère department The following is a list of the 512 communes in the French department of Isère. The communes cooperate ...

. The aircraft was intended to be supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft and was announced at Blois 2007. It was shown again at Blois 2011, but it is likely only prototypes were produced before the company went out of business.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 224. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011.

Design and development

The Ventura 1200 was designed to comply with the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...

microlight 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 conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

category, including the category's maximum gross weight of . The aircraft has a maximum gross weight of . It features a cable-braced

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 ...

-style

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 ...

, weight-shift controls, a two-seats-in-

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 ...

open cockpit with an integral

cockpit fairing 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. ...

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 ...

with

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 a single engine in

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 ...

. The prototype's

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 ...

was made from composites, with its double surface Air Creation iXess wing 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 ...

tubing and 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 span wing is supported by a single tube-type kingpost and uses an "A" frame weight-shift control bar. The powerplant is a twin cylinder, air-cooled,

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

dual-ignition Dual Ignition is a system for spark-ignition engines, whereby critical ignition components, such as spark plugs and magnetos, are duplicated. Dual ignition is most commonly employed on aero engines,Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, ...

BMW R1200

motorcycle engine A motorcycle engine is an engine that powers a motorcycle. Motorcycle engines are typically two-stroke or four-stroke internal combustion engines, but other engine types, such as Wankel engine, Wankels and electric motors, have been used. Altho ...

that was specially modified by the French engine specialty company

Sodemo Moteurs Sodemo Moteurs is a motor vehicle engine tuning company based in Magny-Cours, near Nevers, France, owned by Guillaume Maillard. Formed in 1981, and based within the ground of the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Sodemo is most associated with the tun ...

. The propeller is driven via an in-house developed

reduction drive A reduction drive is a mechanical device to shift rotational speed. A planetary reduction drive is a small scale version using ball bearings in an epicyclic arrangement instead of toothed gears. Reduction drives are used in engines of all kinds ...

. The prototype has an empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of .

Specifications (Ventura 1200)

References

{{reflist

External links

Company website archives
on

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

Photo of a Ventura 1200
2000s French sport aircraft 2000s French ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Ultralight trikes