The Icaro Twin Electric is an Italian

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 ...

that was designed by World Hang Glider Champion pilot Manfred Ruhmer and under development by

Icaro 2000 Icaro 2000 is an Italian aircraft manufacturer, based in Sangiano. The company specializes in the design and manufacturer of hang gliders, ultralight trikes and hang gliding helmets.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leis ...

of Sangiano.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 233. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. As of 2018 the aircraft was not advertised on the manufacturer's website and it is likely that it did not progress beyond one flying prototype.

Design and development

The Twin Electric design 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 two-seats-in-

tandem 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 ...

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. ...

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 twin

electric motors An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate forc ...

mounted on lateral booms, in pusher configuration. 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 single surface Rx Bip bi-place 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 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. Power is supplied by two electric motors mounted on booms, one each side of the trike frame, each driving a pusher propeller. The Rx Bip wing was selected to allow STOL capabilities.

Operational history

The Twin Electric was reported as being flight tested in 2015.

Specifications (Twin Electric)

References

{{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation Twin Electric 2010s Italian sport aircraft 2010s Italian ultralight aircraft Twin-motored electric aircraft Ultralight trikes