The Avian Rio is a British

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 co ...

, single-place, recreational

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 cover ...

, designed by Steve Elkins and Neil Hammerton and produced by Avian Limited of

Hope Valley, Derbyshire The Hope Valley is a rural area centred on the village of Hope, Derbyshire, in the Peak District in the northern Midlands of England. The name also applies to the post town that includes the surrounding villages. Valley Although the Hope Va ...

.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 42. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

The Rio was designed as a sports glider for recreational local and cross-country flying, while still being light in weight and easy to fly. The Rio 15 model the sole version produced and is made from

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

tubing, with the 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 foo ...

sailcloth. Its span wing has a nose angle of 120° and an aspect ratio of 6:1. The acceptable pilot hook-in weight is . The model number indicates the wing area in square metres. The glider can be broken down to a package, in length for ground transportation on a car top.

Specifications (Rio 15)

References

External links

Official webpage archive
on

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{Avian Limited aircraft Hang gliders