The Aerodyne Jumbe is a series of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

single-place and two-place, paragliders that was designed by Michel Le Blanc and produced by

Aerodyne Technologies Aerodyne Technologies was a French aircraft manufacturer based in Étrembières and previously based in Talloires. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of paragliders and reserve parachutes.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ...

of Talloires.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 10. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

The Jumbe was designed as an intermediate glider, with the five models each named for their relative size. The Jumbe XL is also known as the Shani and can be used for two-place

flight training Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

. The brake travel on the Jumbe was increased over the Spirit and this also increased performance of the design.

Operational history

In a 2003 report, South African paraglider reviewer Jaco Wolmarans describes flying the Jumbe and how he was impressed enough with the design to become a dealer for the company. He evaluated many gliders in use at the time and rated the Jumbe as the best. "When I arrived in Annecy, the shop had only a small Jumbe available, so I took it anyway and flew from the lower launch at Plan Fait. Since it is usually difficult to get up from here, and me being 5kg over the top, I wasn't expecting much so early in the day. In the light conditions, I was not surprised to find myself low over a hill upwind from the landing with not much height left over, but clinging tenaciously to a thermal. A Sky Bronte flying with me earlier had gone down, and the only other traffic was a super-fast UP Gambit, a guy leading an XC course who saw me circling and who came rushing over. We fought bravely, but, well, he landed before me. He landed and apparently muttered to Nicky, who helped me fold the glider (do this in your best French accent): "Djour friend, he flies well!" Imagine my surprise when on my next flight, I went on a little XC jaunt, and found myself low again, on the same hill, with the same UP for company! Poor guy must have felt rotten after that because I outclimbed him by 300m!" Jumbes were flown by seven pilots in 15

Paragliding World Cup The Paragliding World Cup (or PWC for short) is a cross country flying competition for paraglider Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircra ...

competition races, between March 2007 and June 2010.

Variants

;Jumbe XS :Extra small-sized model for lighter pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 55 cells and the aspect ratio is 5.2:1. The pilot weight range is . The glider model is DHV 1-2 and AFNOR St certified. ;Jumbe S :Small-sized model for lighter pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 55 cells and the aspect ratio is 5.2:1. The pilot weight range is . The glider model is DHV 1-2 and AFNOR St certified. ;Jumbe M :Mid-sized model for medium-weight pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 55 cells and the aspect ratio is 5.2:1. The pilot weight range is . The glider model is DHV 1-2 and AFNOR St certified. ;Jumbe L :Large-sized model for heavier pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 55 cells and the aspect ratio is 5.2:1. The pilot weight range is . The glider model is DHV 1-2 and AFNOR St certified. ;Jumbe XL/Shani :Extra large-sized model for heavier pilots and for lighter two-seat flights. It is also known as the Shani. Its span wing has a wing area of , 55 cells and the aspect ratio is 5.2:1. The pilot weight range is . The glider model is AFNOR St certified.

Specifications (Jumbe M)

References

{{Aerodyne Technologies aircraft Jumbe Paragliders