The Trio-Twister 203 is a German
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 by Siegfried Stolle and produced by
Trio-Twister of
Eichwalde
Eichwalde is a municipality of the Dahme-Spreewald district in Brandenburg, Germany, situated at the southeastern Berlin city limits. With 2.8 km² (1.1 sq mi) it is the smallest Brandenburg municipality by area, while its population density i ...
. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.
[Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 88. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ]
The aircraft was introduced in 2005 and production ended when the company went out of business later in 2005.
Design and development
The Trio-Twister 203 was designed to comply with the
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...
microlight category, including the category's maximum gross weight of . The aircraft has a maximum gross weight of . It carries a German DULV certification. It features a
parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...
-style wing, two-place accommodation in
side-by-side configuration
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 ...
,
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 one two cylinder,
two-stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being comple ...
, air-cooled
Hirth 3202 aircraft engine
An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...
mounted 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 nor ...
.
The aircraft carriage is a simple frame design with a central canopy attachment, 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 foot pedals that actuate the canopy brakes, creating roll and yaw. On the ground the aircraft has nosewheel steering. The main landing gear incorporates spring rod suspension. The design employs a tilting bench seat to allow the pilot and passenger to see up and backwards to ensure that canopy inflates correctly.
The aircraft has an empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for pilot and baggage is .
Specifications (Trio-Twister 203)
See also
*
Trio-Twister 103
References
{{reflist
External links
Company website archiveson
Archive.org
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
203
Year 203 ( CCIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Plautianus and Geta (or, less frequently, year 956 ''Ab urbe condit ...
2000s German sport aircraft
2000s German ultralight aircraft
Single-engined pusher aircraft
Powered parachutes