The Av8er Observer Light (or Lite) is a British

paramotor Paramotor is the generic name for the harness and propulsive portion of a powered paraglider ("PPG"). There are two basic types of paramotors: foot launch and wheel launch. Foot launch models consist of a frame with harness, fuel tank, engine, ...

that was designed by Paul Taylor and produced by Av8er Limited of

Woodford Halse Woodford Halse is a village about south of Daventry in Northamptonshire. It is in the civil parish of Woodford cum Membris , which includes also village of Hinton and hamlet of West Farndon. Hinton and Woodford Halse are separated by the inf ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

for

powered paragliding 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 ...

. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied complete and ready-to-fly.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 64. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

The Observer Light was designed to comply with 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 req ...

rules as well as European regulations. It features a

paraglider 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 lies supine in a cocoon-like ' ...

-style wing, single-place accommodation and a single engine in pusher configuration. The aircraft is built with special attention to balancing and vibration isolation. The cage assembly includes small wheels to ease ground movement of the motor unit. As is the case with all paramotors, take-off and landing is accomplished by foot. Inflight steering is accomplished via handles that actuate the canopy brakes, creating roll and yaw.

Variants

;Observer Light AV1 :Model with a highly tuned Radne Raket 120 Aero ES engine in pusher configuration with a 4:1 ratio

reduction drive A reduction drive is a mechanical device to shift rotational speed. A planetary reduction drive is a small scale version using ball bearings in an epicyclic arrangement instead of toothed gears. Reduction drives are used in engines of all kinds ...

and a diameter two-bladed wooden propeller. The fuel tank capacity is . ;Observer Carbon Lite :Model with a two-piece carbon propeller.

Specifications (Observer Light AV1)

References

{{Av8er aircraft Observer Light 2000s British ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Paramotors