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A nanolight is an
A nanolight is an Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
class of ultralight
Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...
powered aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
. It was originally defined as a powered hang glider
A foot-launched powered hang glider (FLPHG), also called powered harness, nanolight, or hangmotor, is a powered hang gliding, hang glider harness with a internal combustion engine, motor and propeller (aircraft), propeller in pusher configuratio ...
with an empty weight, including both wing and power system, of less than . A nanolight may be launched on foot or using a wheeled undercarriage.
Nanolights are somewhat slower than purpose-built microlights. Because they are so light, they are often used for thermal soaring. The engine is used to launch the aircraft to a safe altitude and to find a thermal. It is then turned off and the pilot uses thermal lift alone to gain altitude.
Because nanolights have good thermal performance, but low cruise speeds, this class of aircraft is most often flown by hang glider pilots who use them for soaring flights, rather than ultralight pilots using them to fly distances.
References
Ultralight trikes {{aviation-stub