Spartan Microlights is an American
aircraft manufacturer
An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry.
...
based in
Astoria, New York
Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast, a ...
. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of
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 ...
s,
ultralight trikes and
powered paragliders in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft in 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 requ ...
rules and kits for the US
Experimental - Amateur-built category.
[Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 111. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X][Downey, Julia: ''2000 Trike and 'Chute Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 17, Number 2, February 2000, page 54. Kitplanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851][Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page C-27. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. ]
In February 2015 the company was listed as being for sale.
The company offers several different lines of aircraft. The "DFS" line, for "Dual Face System", is a line of aircraft that can be flown with either a
paraglider
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...
wing or a
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 ...
wing and includes the
Spartan DFS Paramotor and
Spartan DFS Trike
The Spartan DFS Trike is an American ultralight aircraft designed and produced by Spartan Microlights. The aircraft was the first ultralight introduced that could be flown with a hang glider-style wing as an ultralight trike or with a powered ...
. The
Spartan DFD Aerotome is a two-seat
ultralight trike design, that is also called the DFS Aerotome Dual. The
Spartan BP Parawing is a one or two seat powered paraglider design.
Aircraft
References
External links
*
Aircraft manufacturers of the United States
Ultralight aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Ultralight trikes
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