The Windtech Tonic is a Spanish single-place

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 ...

that was designed and produced by

Windtech Parapentes Windtech Parapentes ( en, Windtech Paragliders, italic=yes) is a Spanish aircraft manufacturer based in Gijón and founded in 1994. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of paragliders in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft, as w ...

of Gijón. It is now out of production.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 36. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003.

Design and development

The Tonic was designed as a beginner to intermediate glider for new pilots. The models are each named for their approximate wing area in square metres. The glider was designed to be easy and smooth to inflate and launch and to fly with a high degree of stability and resistance to collapses. The glider wing is made from Porcher Marine Skytex 44 g/m2

nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from pet ...

fabric. The rib reinforcements are 180 g/m2

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 fo ...

, with the

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 ...

reinforcement fabricated of 175 g/m2

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natura ...

. The lines are all sheathed

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

of 1.1 and 1.7 mm diameter. The risers are made from 20 mm wide Polyamida strapping.

Variants

;Tonic 25 :Extra small-sized model for lighter pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 36 cells and the aspect ratio is 4.7:1. The take-off weight range is . The glider model is

AFNOR Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR, English: French Standardization Association) is a Paris-based standards organization and a member body for France at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The AFNOR Group develo ...

Standard certified. ;Tonic 27 :Small-sized model for lighter pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 36 cells and the aspect ratio is 4.7:1. The take-off weight range is . The glider model is Deutscher Hängegleiterverband e.V. (DHV) 1 certified. ;Tonic 29 :Mid-sized model for medium-weight pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 36 cells and the aspect ratio is 4.7:1. The take-off weight range is . The glider model is DHV 1 certified. ;Tonic 32 :Large-sized model for heavier pilots. Its span wing has a wing area of , 36 cells and the aspect ratio is 4.7:1. The take-off weight range is . The glider model is DHV 1 certified.

Specifications (Tonic 27)

References

External links

* {{Windtech aircraft Tonic Paragliders