The Aerodyne Blaster is a series of
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
single-place
paragliders that were designed by Michel Le Blanc and produced by
Aerodyne Technologies
Aerodyne Technologies was a French aircraft manufacturer based in Étrembières and previously based in Talloires. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of paragliders and reserve parachutes.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ...
of
Talloires.
[Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 10. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X]
Design and development
The Blaster was designed as a competition glider, with three models, each named for their relative size. The small and medium sizes were developed first and
AFNOR certified, followed by the large size, which was certified last.
The design was certified by the French FFVl in 2003 as a competition glider.
Operational history
In the 2003 Canungra Cup held in Australia, James Lawson of Australia placed 7th on a Blaster on task one in a field of 47.
In the 2003 IPC held in
Chopok,
Slovakia, Aleksander Talbierz competed for Poland, coming in 52nd out of a field of 53 competitors.
Yoshiyuki Sato competed on a Blaster in the 2004 Pan Pacific Open in
Tsukuba, Ibaraki,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and also in the Japanese Spring Cup.
In the Pre-Paragliding World Championships held in
Sopot, Bulgaria in 2004, David Snowden competed for
Great Britain on a Blaster, finishing 15th out of a field of 106 in Task 5.
Osa Kuroda competed on a Blaster in the 2008 Yoshinogawa Cup, placing 24th on task 1 in a field of 59 competitors, 26th on task 2 of 60 and finishing the competition in 45th place of 60.
Blasters were flown by nine pilots in 22
Paragliding World Cup competition races, between September 2002 and July 2007.
Variants
;Blaster S
:Small-sized model for lighter pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 75 cells and the
aspect ratio is 6.37:1. The glider model is AFNOR Com certified.
;Blaster M
:Mid-sized model for medium-weight pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 75 cells and the aspect ratio is 6.37:1. The pilot weight range is . The glider model is AFNOR Com certified.
;Blaster L
:Large-sized model for heavier pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 75 cells and the aspect ratio is 6.37:1. The glider model is AFNOR Com certified.
Specifications (Blaster M)
References
{{Aerodyne Technologies aircraft
Blaster
Paragliders