The Airborne Sting is a series of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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 planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

, single-seat

hang glider Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

s, designed and produced by

Airborne Windsports Airborne Windsports, also called Airborne Australia and officially Airborne Windsports Pty Ltd, is an Australian ultralight trike and hang glider aircraft manufacturer based in Redhead, New South Wales. The aircraft are supplied as factory com ...

of Redhead, New South Wales and introduced in the early 2000s.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 41. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

The Stings are intended to be intermediate hang gliders used for recreational flying. They all feature ease of handling with good performance The Sting 2 154 XC model is made from

7075 aluminum 7075 aluminium alloy (AA7075) is an aluminium alloy with zinc as the primary alloying element. It has excellent mechanical properties and exhibits good ductility, high strength, toughness, and good resistance to fatigue. It is more susceptible to ...

tubing, with the semi-double-surface wing 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. Its span wing is cable braced with a single

kingpost A king post (or king-post or kingpost) is a central vertical post used in architectural or bridge designs, working in tension to support a beam below from a truss apex above (whereas a crown post, though visually similar, supports items above fro ...

supporting the ground wires. The nose angle is 121° and the aspect ratio is 5.7:1. The aircraft is certified as DHV 1-2.

Variants

;Sting 2 118 :Very small sized single-seat model with wing area for very light pilots or those wishing a higher wing loading ;Sting 2 140 X :Small sized single-seat model with wing area, wing span, a pilot hook-in weight range of and a wing aspect ratio of 5.5:1 ;Sting 2 154 XC :Medium sized single-seat model with wing area, wing span, a pilot hook-in weight range of and a wing aspect ratio of 5.7:1 ;Sting 175 XC :Large sized single-seat model with wing area, wing span, a pilot hook-in weight range of and a wing aspect ratio of 5.9:1 ;Sting 3 154 :Improved medium sized single-seat model with wing area, wing span, a pilot hook-in weight range of and a wing aspect ratio of 5.7:1 ;Sting 3 168 :Improved large sized single-seat model with wing area, wing span, a pilot hook-in weight range of and a wing aspect ratio of 5.7:1

Specifications (Sting 2 175 XC)

References

External links

*
Airborne Sting series official photo gallery
{{Airborne Windsports aircraft Hang gliders