The Windward Performance DuckHawk is an American mid-wing, single-seat,

15-metre class The IYRU Fifteen Metre class yachts are constructed to the First International rule of 1907. A total of twenty 15mR yachts were built between 1907 and 1917, the four that have survived are still actively raced. History The IYRU International Ru ...

glider, that was designed and produced by

Windward Performance Windward Performance is an aircraft design house and manufacturer located in Bend, Oregon. The company is owned and led by Greg Cole. Windward Performance has helped numerous companies with technical expertise and in house they designed and develo ...

Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the 2020 U.S ...

.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 138. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. It first flew in 2011. Since 2016 the aircraft has been no longer advertised as available by the manufacturer.

Design and development

The DuckHawk is a development of the

Windward Performance SparrowHawk The Windward Performance SparrowHawk is an American mid-wing, single-seat glider that was designed and produced by Windward Performance.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 60. Pagefast Ltd, La ...

and is intended as a higher performance glider than its predecessor, with very high structural limits and V_ne. The DuckHawk has less than 10% parts commonality with the SparrowHawk. It features a cantilever wing, a single-seat enclosed cockpit under a bubble canopy and retractable monowheel gear. The aircraft is made from preimpregnated carbon fiber. Its span wing employs a Greg Cole-designed

airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine. ...

, has an area of and an aspect ratio of 30:1.

Operational history

By December 2016 four examples had been

registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration, including three "V" models and one "E" model.

Variants

;DuckHawk E :Electric motorglider version, first example registered with the FAA in 2011. ;DuckHawk V (Veloce) :Base model with an empty weight of , a maximum gross weight of and load limits of +7/-5g. The first example was registered with the FAA in 2014 and three have been built. ;DuckHawk SV (Super Veloce) :Proposed model with a 64% thicker spar, thicker fuselage, an empty weight of , a maximum gross weight of and load limits of +11/-9g. None completed. ;DuckHawk VNX :Proposed model with thicker wing skins, an empty weight of , a maximum gross weight of , maximum speed of and load limits of +11/-9g. None completed.

Specifications (DuckHawk V)

References

External links