Silent Family is a German

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology indust ...

based in Westerrade and owned by Helmut Grossklaus. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of

ultralight trike An ultralight trike is a type of powered hang glider where flight control is by weight-shift. These aircraft have a fabric flex-wing from which is suspended a tricycle fuselage pod driven by a pusher propeller. The pod accommodates either a ...

s.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 58, Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485XBayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 221. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X The company's first product, the Silent Glider M is described as "very original" by Bertrand et al. It takes a rigid wing

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 ...

and adds a pod

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

, with a

bubble canopy A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility. The designs of bubble canopies can drastically vary; s ...

to transform the aircraft into an enclosed cockpit, retractable landing gear-equipped ultralight

motor glider A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: a fixed-wing aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (MoP), capable of sustained soaring flight ...

. The Silent Racer is a similar concept, but an open-cockpit, powered podded fuselage that uses a conventional flexible hang glider wing.

Aircraft

References

External links

* * {{Silent Family aircraft Aircraft manufacturers of Germany Ultralight trikes