The Cosmos Samba, named after the dance of the same name, is a French

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 ...

that is produced by Cosmos ULM of

Fontaine-lès-Dijon Fontaine-lès-Dijon () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. It is known for the Couvent et Basilique Saint-Bernard, a collection of buildings on the site of the birthplace of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Cl ...

, France. The aircraft is supplied as a complete aircraft and is not available as a

kit Kit may refer to: Places *Kitt, Indiana, US, formerly Kit * Kit, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province * Kit Hill, Cornwall, England People * Kit (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kit (surname) Animals * Young animal ...

.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 98. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485XCliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page C-8. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 142. BAI Communications.

Design and development

The Samba is a

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post– World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...

aircraft, sometimes referred to as a ''nanolight-trike''. It was designed to comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . The aircraft has a standard empty weight of . It 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 covered ...

-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 conf ...

, 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 ...

and a single engine in

pusher configuration In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in n ...

. The aircraft 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. The

Tedlar Polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) or –(CH2CHF)n– is a polymer material mainly used in the flammability-lowering coatings of airplane interiors and photovoltaic module backsheets. It is also used in raincoats and metal sheeting. Polyvinyl fluoride is a ...

-covered single surface wing is a French La Mouette Topless M design that uses an internal

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

cross-bar reinforcement in place of a

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 ground wires. The lower

flying wires In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

are retained, however, giving the aircraft a load rating of +6/-3 g. Control is weight-shift via an "A" frame control bar. The lack of the kingpost and associated cables allows the Samba a top speed of on only of power provided by a Zenoah G-25 single 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 t ...

powerplant. Because of its low drag the aircraft is suitable for power-off soaring flight and the engine can be restarted in flight. The Samba can be disassembled for storage or car-top transport in 20 minutes.

Specifications (Samba)

References

External links

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Photo of a Cosmos Samba
{{Cosmos ULM aircraft 1990s French ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Ultralight trikes