The Independence Dragon is a German single-place,

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 ' ...

that was designed by Michaël Nesler and produced by

Independence Paragliding Independence Paragliding is a German aircraft manufacturer based in Eisenberg, Bavaria and founded by designer Michaël Nesler and test pilot Christian Amon. The company is a division of Fly-Market Flugsport-Zubehör GmbH & Co. KG and special ...

Eisenberg, Thuringia Eisenberg is a town in Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the district Saale-Holzland. Neighboring municipalities are Jena ( in west) and Gera ( in south east). West of Eisenberg runs the motorway A 9 from Berlin to Munich. A tradition in ...

. It is now out of production.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 20. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

The Dragon was designed as a beginner-intermediate glider. The design progressed through two generations of models, the Dragon and Dragon 2. The models are each named for their relative size. Company

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

Christian Amon was also involved in the development as well as flight testing of the Dragon.

Variants

;Dragon 2 S :Small-sized model for lighter pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 46 cells and the aspect ratio is 5.5:1. The pilot weight range is . The glider model is DHV 1-2 certified. ;Dragon 2 M :Mid-sized model for medium-weight pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 46 cells and the aspect ratio is 5.5:1. The pilot weight range is . The glider model is DHV 1-2 certified. ;Dragon 2 L :Large-sized model for heavier pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 46 cells and the aspect ratio is 5.5:1. The pilot weight range is . The glider model is DHV 1-2 certified. ;Dragon 2 XL :Extra large-sized model for much heavier pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 40 cells and the aspect ratio is 5.5:1. The pilot weight range is . The glider model is DHV 1-2 certified.

Specifications (Dragon 2 L)

References

{{Independence aircraft Dragon Paragliders