The Blackwing Sweden Blackwing is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

and light-sport aircraft designed and produced by Blackwing Sweden of Lund, introduced at the

AERO Friedrichshafen AERO Friedrichshafen is a trade show dedicated to European general aviation. It is held yearly in April on the shores of Lake Constance at the exhibition center of Friedrichshafen, Germany right next to Friedrichshafen Airport Friedrichshaf ...

show in 2015. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction or complete and ready-to-fly.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 35. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.

Design and development

The Blackwing is the result of a research project commenced in the 1990s, culminating in

wind tunnel Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...

tests and a 350-hour prototype flight test program. It was designed to comply with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight rules with a version at a gross weight of and US light-sport aircraft rules with a version with a gross weight of . The design features a cantilever

low-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 confi ...

, an enclosed cockpit with two-seats-in-

side-by-side configuration Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

under 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 ...

, fixed or optionally retractable

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

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...

. The aircraft is made from pre-preg

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

built on a foam core. Its span wing has an area of and flaps. Standard engines available are the

Rotax 912ULS The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, later ...

and 912iS, although engines up to can be installed. The cabin width for all models is . As of January 2017, the design does not appear on the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

's list of approved special light-sport aircraft.

Operational history

Reviewer Marino Boric described the design in a 2015 review as "a sleek speedster".

Variants

;Blackwing 600 RG :Model with gross weight for the European microlight category, retractable landing gear and a cruise speed of . ;Blackwing 600 FG :Model with gross weight for the European microlight category, fixed landing gear and a cruise speed of . ;Blackwing Edge :Kit-built aerobatic model with gross weight for the LSA category, retractable landing gear and a maximum level TAS of . ;Blackwing 635 RG :Model with gross weight for the LSA category, retractable landing gear and a maximum level TAS of .

Specifications (Blackwing 600 RG)

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.blackwing.aero/ Blackwing 2010s Swedish ultralight aircraft Light-sport aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft