Wings of Change is an Austrian
aircraft manufacturer
An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry.
...
based in
Fulpmes
Fulpmes is a market town and a municipality in Stubaital, Tyrol, Austria. In 2015 it had a population of 4,250, of whom 14.5% did not have Austrian nationality. Fulpmes is the center of iron production in the area, and lies at the base of the Schl ...
, founded by Markus Gründhammer. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of
paraglider
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched Glider (aircraft), glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a :wikt:harness, harness or in ...
s in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft.
[Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 36. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ]
By 2003 the company had a range of gliders in their line including the
Chinhook Bi two-place
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 ...
, the intermediate
Taifun and
Twister
Twister most commonly refers to a tornado.
Twister or Twisters may also refer to:
Aviation
* Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike
* Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design
* Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paragli ...
, plus the performance
Tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
.
Reviewer Noel Bertrand said of the company in a 2003 profile, "Markus Gründhammer still manages to make the safest paragliders without losing anything in performance."
The company's 2011 and later line includes gliders with such names as the
Deathblade,
Predator
Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...
and
Psychohammer.
Designer Gründhammer said of his Deathblade paraglider, a glider with an
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 ...
of 13.01:1, wing with 113 cells and a top speed of , "finally, a wing that meets my expectations of performance and flying qualities and equally challenges my skills. Some guys need a Ferrari. As for me, I build my own paragliders in order to advance as a test pilot and also on a personal scale. To me, the motivation of finding ever new dimensions and testing out the limits of feasibility means developing mental strength and feeling 'pure life'."
The company also builds the Skyman line of lightweight mountain gliders for activities such as
bivouac flying
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or in a cocoon-like 'pod' suspended belo ...
.
Aircraft
Summary of aircraft built by Wings of Change:
*
Wings of Change Acrominator
*
Wings of Change Braveheart
*
Wings of Change Chinhook Bi
The Wings of Change Chinhook Bi () is an Austrian two-place paraglider that was designed by Markus Gründhammer and produced by Wings of Change of Fulpmes. It is now out of production.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisu ...
*
Wings of Change Crossblade
*
Wings of Change Deathblade
*
Wings of Change Druid
*
Wings of Change Edonis
*
Wings of Change Reinhold
*
Wings of Change Ötzi
*
Wings of Change Predator
*
Wings of Change Psychohammer
*
Wings of Change Speedy Gonzales
*
Wings of Change Taifun
*
Wings of Change Tsunami
*
Wings of Change Tuareg
*
Wings of Change Twister
*
Wings of Change X-Fighter
*
Wings of Change XPlor-air
*
Skyman Amicus
*
Skyman The Rock
*
Skyman CrossCountry
*
Skyman Heartbeat
*
Skyman CrossAlps
*
Skyman PassengAir
*
Skyman Tandem
*
Skyman Reinhold II
*
Skyman Furio
References
External links
*
{{Wings of Change aircraft
Aircraft manufacturers of Austria
Paragliders
Austrian brands