The Flylight E-Dragon is a British

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

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 ...

, designed by Ben Ashman and prototyped by Flylight Airsports of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

. The aircraft was under development in 2011.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 213. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

The aircraft was developed from the Flylight Dragonfly single place, retractable landing gear trike. The E-Dragon 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 without a

cockpit fairing 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. ...

, 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 ...

and a single electric motor 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, 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 fo ...

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 weight-shift control bar. The powerplant is a Geiger HP Direct 10 electric motor powering a folding propeller. The power source is a 2.6 kWh

Lithium ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also see ...

, which provides a normal flight duration of 30 minutes or 15 minutes at full power. A number of different engines have been tested, including an E-Lift plus an electric powerplant of . The prototype used an

Aeros Discus The Aeros Discus is a family of Ukrainian high-wing, single-place, hang gliders, designed and produced by Aeros of Kyiv and introduced in 2002.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 41. Pagefas ...

wing.

Specifications (E-Dragon)

References

External links

Photo of the E-Dragon prototype
{{Flylight aircraft 2010s British sport aircraft 2010s British ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Ultralight trikes Electric aircraft