Xplorer UltraFlight is a South African
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
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...
and founded by Keith Pickersgill. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of
paramotors
Powered paragliding, also known as paramotoring or PPG, is a form of ultralight aviation where the pilot wears a back-pack motor (a paramotor) which provides enough thrust to take off using a paraglider. It can be launched in still air, and on ...
in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft for the US
FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles
Ultralight aircraft in the United States are much smaller and lighter than ultralight aircraft as defined by all other countries.
In the United States, ultralights are described as "ultralight vehicles" and not as aircraft. They are not requ ...
rules and the European
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) 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 mainta ...
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 aile ...
category. The company also provides paramotor
flight training
Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills.
Flight training can be conducted under a st ...
.
[Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 77. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ]
The company has produced a number of paramotor designs. In the mid-2000s these included the
Xflyer and the
XS, both powered by the
Solo 210
The Hirth F-36 is a single-cylinder, two-stroke, carburetted aircraft engine designed for use on ultralight aircraft, especially powered paragliders and ultralight trikes. It is noted for its extremely small equipped weight of including exh ...
engine. In 2016 the company was producing the
Micro80, powered by the Italian
Per Il Volo Top 80
The Per Il Volo Top 80 is an Italian single cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine designed and produced by Per Il Volo of Galliera Veneta for powered paragliding. It was the first purpose-designed paramotor engine.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Ai ...
motor and also acted as a dealer for the Spanish
Marbella Parapente Paramotor PAP
The Marbella Parapente Paramotor PAP is a family of Spanish paramotors that was designed by Pierre Aubert and produced by Marbella Parapente of Málaga for powered paragliding. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was sup ...
line.
Aircraft
References
External links
*{{Official website, https://web.archive.org/web/20160402125322/http://www.xplorer.co.za/
Aircraft manufacturers of South Africa
Manufacturing companies based in Cape Town
Ultralight aircraft
Paramotors
South African brands