The Wezel Apis 2 is a German
mid-wing,
T-tailed, single-seat
motor glider that was designed and produced by
Wezel Flugzeugtechnik.
[Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 60. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ] It first flew in 200
Often confused with the very similar
Albastar Apis
__NOTOC__
The Albastar Apis WR is a single seater sailplane of Slovenian manufacture, the first aircraft created entirely by this manufacturer, Albastar Ltd. An Ultralight Class glider, it has set five world records in this class.Bertrand, Noel ...
, the two designs are not related.
The rights to the Apis 2 design were sold to
Yuneec International
Yuneec International is a Chinese aircraft manufacturer based in Jinxi, Kunshan, a town in Jiangsu owned through an off-shore Cayman Islands holding company, Yuneec Holding Limited. Yuneec was originally a manufacturer of radio-controlled mode ...
of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in 2011 with the intention of selling only an
electric version. Wezel announced in June 2012 that the move of production had been delayed indefinitely.
[Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 138. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ]
Design and development
The Apis 2 is a retractable engine motor glider that is powered by a
Hirth F-33
The Hirth F-33 is a single cylinder, two stroke, carburetted aircraft engine designed for use on ultralight aircraft, including powered paragliders and ultralight trikes. the engine is noted for its extremely light base weight of . It is ma ...
single cylinder,
two-stroke powerplant, fitted with a tractor propeller. The engine is retracted into a bay behind the cockpit for
soaring
Soaring may refer to:
* Gliding, in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes
* Lift (soaring), a meteorological phenomenon used as an energy source by some aircraft and birds
* ''Soaring'' (magazine), a magazine produced ...
flight. The Apis 2 is built predominantly of
composites. The span wing features
winglets and produces a 39:1
glide ratio. The landing gear is a retractable
monowheel gear.
In 2003 the aircraft was offered for
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
50,950 complete.
Specifications (Apis 2)
See also
References
External links
*{{Official website, http://www.apis2.com/
2000s German sailplanes
T-tail aircraft
Motor gliders
Aircraft first flown in 2002
Mid-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft