The Air Creation BioniX is a French double-surface

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 ...

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

, designed and produced by Air Creation of

Aubenas Aubenas (; oc, Aubenàs) is a commune in the southern part of the Ardèche department in Southern France. It is the seat of several government offices. The mountainous and rugged countryside is popular for vacation homes. The river Ardèche fl ...

. The wing is widely used on Air Creation trikes.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 198. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

The wing is a cable-braced,

king post A king post (or king-post or kingpost) is a central vertical post used in architectural or bridge designs, working in tension to support a beam below from a truss apex above (whereas a crown post, though visually similar, supports items above f ...

-equipped

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 cover ...

-style wing designed as advanced, top-of-the-line wing for two-place trikes. It comes in two sizes, and . The wing is made from bolted-together

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

tubing, with its double surface wing covered in

Dacron Polyethylene terephthalate (or poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P), is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and foo ...

sailcloth. In its 15.1 m size it has a span wing, a nose angle of 130°, an aspect ratio of 6.4:1 and uses an "A" frame weight-shift control bar. The wing mounts small

winglets Wingtip devices are intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft by reducing drag. Although there are several types of wing tip devices which function in different manners, their intended effect is always to reduce an aircraft' ...

. The design incorporates a unique "corset" system that allows the pilot to adjust the wing's

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 199 ...

geometry in flight to optimize performance. This results in a large speed range and good handling characteristics in turbulence, without heavy roll control.

Design and development

Variants

Applications

Specifications (BioniX 15)

References

External links