The Paraplane GE-2 Golden Eagle is an American

powered parachute A powered parachute, often abbreviated PPC, and also called a motorized parachute or paraplane, is a type of aircraft that consists of a parafoil with a motor and wheels. The FAA defines a powered parachute as ''a powered aircraft a flexible o ...

that was designed and produced by Paraplane International of

Medford, New Jersey Medford is a Township (New Jersey), township in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was 24,497, an increase of 1,464 ...

. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 339. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.

Design and development

The aircraft was designed to comply with the US

FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles Ultralight aircraft in the United States are much smaller and lighter than ultralight aircraft as defined by all other countries. In the United States, ultralights are described as "ultralight vehicles" and not as aircraft. They are not req ...

exemption rules for two-seat trainers as well as ''Experimental - Amateur-built'' rules. It features a parachute-style wing, 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 ...

accommodation with 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 a single

Hirth 2706 The Hirth 2704 and 2706 are a family of in-line twin cylinder, two stroke, carburetted aircraft engines, with optional fuel injection, designed for use on ultralight aircraft and especially two seat ultralight trainers, single seat gyroco ...

engine in pusher configuration. The aircraft carriage is built from bolted

aluminium 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. I ...

tubing. In flight steering is accomplished via a unique patented weigh-shift steering system. On the ground the aircraft has nosewheel steering. The main landing gear incorporates spring tube suspension. The aircraft has a typical empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for the pilot, passenger and baggage is . The standard day, sea level, no wind, take off with a engine is and the landing roll is . The manufacturer estimates the construction time from the supplied kit as 40 hours.

Operational history

In April 2015 no examples were registered in the United States with 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 ...

, although one had been registered at one time.

Specifications (GE-2 Golden Eagle)

References

{{Paraplane International aircraft GE-2 1990s United States sport aircraft 1990s United States ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Powered parachutes