The Wasp SP Mk2 is a British

powered hang glider A foot-launched powered hang glider (FLPHG), also called powered harness, nanolight, or hangmotor, is a powered hang gliding, hang glider harness with a internal combustion engine, motor and propeller (aircraft), propeller in pusher configuratio ...

that was designed and produced by Wasp Systems (now called Wasp Flight Systems) of

Crook, Cumbria Crook is a village and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of the English county of Cumbria, located on the B5284 road between Kendal and Windermere. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 340, increasing at the 2011 census ...

. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied complete and ready-to-fly.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 77. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. The SP Mk2 was introduced at

Telford Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in t ...

in 2002, following a 12-month development schedule.

Design and development

The SP Mk2 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, single-place accommodation, foot-launching and landing and a single engine in pusher configuration. The aircraft uses a standard hang glider wing, 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 wing covered in

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sailcloth. The 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 control bar. The engine is a

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

, single cylinder Radne Raket 120 of that mounts a tuned exhaust, controlled by a foot pedal. Electric starting is provided via a 12-cell

Nickel–metal hydride battery A nickel metal hydride battery (NiMH or Ni–MH) is a type of rechargeable battery. The chemical reaction at the positive electrode is similar to that of the nickel–cadmium cell (NiCd), with both using nickel oxide hydroxide (NiOOH). How ...

. The harness mounts the engine and the fuel tank. Each harness was custom made for the individual pilot to provide an exact fit and improve comfort. The harness incorporates a shaped carbon backplate, with a foam insert, neoprene shoulder inserts, an adjustable prone angle and a multi-setting rotation point. Dual retractable cable-braced skids are provided to protect the two, or optionally three-bladed propeller, during take-off and landing.

Specifications (SP Mk2)

References

{{reflist Mk2 2000s British ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Powered hang gliders