T2-6180 AirBorne Edge XT-912 (8305504873)

The Airborne Edge is a line of Australian two-seat

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 designed and produced by

Airborne Windsports Airborne Windsports, also called Airborne Australia and officially Airborne Windsports Pty Ltd, is an Australian ultralight trike and hang glider aircraft manufacturer based in Redhead, New South Wales. The aircraft are supplied as factory com ...

of Redhead, New South Wales. The aircraft are supplied as a completed aircraft and not as a kit.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page C-10. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 92. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485XDowney, Julia: ''2000 Trike and 'Chute Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 17, Number 2, February 2000, page 48. Kitplanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851Downey, Julia: ''2005 Trikes 'Chutes and Rotorcraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 22, Number 2, February 2005, page 49. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851

Design and development

The Edge features a cable-braced

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

high-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing co ...

, weight-shift controls, a single-seat, open cockpit,

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

and a single engine in pusher configuration. It has been produced in many different sub-models and is known in 2012 as the ''Classic''. The aircraft wing is made from bolted-together

aluminium 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. I ...

tubing, with its single or optionally 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. Its span wing is supported by a single tube-type

kingpost 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 ...

and uses an "A" frame control bar. The

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

features suspension on all three wheels, with the main gear bungee suspended and the nose wheel suspended with rubber blocks. The nose wheel steering includes a dampener and drum brakes. The main wing support mast folds down to allow wing installation. The aircraft can be broken-down for ground transport or storage and assembly for flight can be accomplished in 30 minutes. The Edge includes full dual controls for flight training, including dual steering, dual control bar extenders and two throttles. Engines supplied include the twin cylinder,

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

air-cooled

Rotax 503 The Rotax 503 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catlog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995. As of 2011 the Rot ...

or the liquid-cooled

Rotax 582 The Rotax 582 is a two-stroke, two-cylinder, rotary intake valve, oil-in-fuel or oil injection pump, liquid-cooled, gear reduction-drive aircraft engine manufactured by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It is for use in non-certified aircraft operating ...

Operational history

The Edge was flown in west Africa in aerial support of an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

conservation project and was also used in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

to monitor endangered

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genu ...

populations.

Variants

;Edge 582 Executive :Fully equipped model with all the options, including full cockpit fairing and

wheel pants An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ...

, with the Streak double-surface high performance wing and liquid-cooled

engine. Sold circa 2000. ;Edge X 503 Wizard :Basic model without fairings to reduce weight and cost, with a single surface wing and air-cooled

engine. Sold circa 2000. ;Classic S :Model sold circa 2004. An Edge model with all options and a liquid-cooled

powerplant. ;Edge X TS-912/Streak II XT :Model with all options sold circa 2005, with Rotax 912

four stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directi ...

powerplant and the double surface Streak XT wing. Cruise speed of and price of US$36,353 in 2005. ;X-Series Classic :Production model as of 2012, with

engine, optional Wizard or Streak wing

Specifications (Edge Wizard)

References

External links

* {{Airborne Windsports aircraft 1990s Australian ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Ultralight trikes