The Moyes Malibu is an Australian
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 ...
, single-place,
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 ...
designed and produced by
Moyes Delta Gliders
Moyes Delta Gliders is an Australian aircraft manufacturer based in Kurnell, New South Wales. The company was founded by Bill Moyes in 1967 and specializes in the design and manufacture of hang gliders. The company's designs have won many world ...
of
Kurnell, New South Wales
Kurnell is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire along the east coast. Cronulla and Woolooware are the onl ...
. The aircraft is supplied complete and ready-to-fly.
[Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 47. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ]
Design and development
The Malibu was designed as a beginner and intermediate hang glider, but is often used as a dune soaring machine, due to its low
stall speed
In fluid dynamics, a stall is a reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil as angle of attack increases.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', p. 486. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. This occurs when t ...
and maneuverability. It is made from
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 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.
The Malibu
2 version replaced the original Malibu in production. It incorporates many improvements to the original design, including a reinforced
trailing edge
The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 199 ...
, an improved sail cut to improve stall, roll, pitch, long with its performance characteristics and a
ball bearing
A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races.
The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this ...
-mounted
wing tip
A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft.
Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...
to enhance the flexing of the tip.
Variants
;Malibu 190
:Original model built in the mid-2000s. Its span wing is
cable braced from a single
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 ...
. The nose angle is 118°, wing area is and the
aspect ratio is 5.7:1. Pilot hook-in weight range is .
;Malibu
2 166
:Improved model in production in 2016. Its span wing is cable braced from a single kingpost. The nose angle is 120.5°, wing area is and the aspect ratio is 5.5:1. Empty weight is . Pilot hook-in weight range is .
;Malibu
2 188
:Improved model in production in 2016. Its span wing is cable braced from a single kingpost. The nose angle is 120.5°, wing area is and the aspect ratio is 5.8:1. Empty weight is . Pilot hook-in weight range is .
Specifications (Malibu2 188)
References
External links
*
{{Moyes Delta Gliders aircraft
Malibu
Hang gliders