Airborne Avenger
{{Short description|Ultralight aircraft}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2022}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=Avenger | image= | caption=An Avenger in flight }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Ultralight aircraft | national origin=United States | manufacturer=Airborne Wing Design | designer= | first flight= | introduced= | retired= | status=Production completed | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built= | developed from= | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Airborne Avenger is an American ultralight aircraft that was designed and produced by Airborne Wing Design in the early 1980s. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Cliche, Andre: Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide 8th Edition, page E32. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. {{ISBN|0-9680628-1-4}}
Design and development
With three-axis controls, the Avenger was intended to appeal to conventional light aircraft pilots and was designed to comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of {{convert|254|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}. The Avenger's standard empty weight is {{convert|252|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}. It has a strut-braced high-wing, single-seat, open cockpit, single pusher engine configuration, and is equipped with tricycle landing gear using nosewheel steering.Taylor, John W. (ed.): Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1983-1984 Edition, page 653. Franklin Watts, 1983. {{ISBN|0-7106-0789-X}}
The aircraft is made from bolted-together aluminium tubing, with the wings and tail covered in Dacron sailcloth. The fuselage consists of a single aluminium keel tube that runs from the tail surfaces to the nose wheel. The cockpit is an open seat bolted to the main keel tube. Its {{convert|31|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} span wing has an 80% double surface and features half-span ailerons. The wing is supported by dual parallel lift struts with jury struts. The tricycle landing gear has pneumatic shock suspension and the nosewheel is steerable. There is also a small tail caster as the aircraft sits on its tail with no occupant in the pilot's seat. The landing gear has notably high ground clearance for rough field operations and the engine, mounted on the wing trailing edge, drives a propeller that is protected by the low-mounted tailboom. The standard engine supplied was the Cuyuna 430 of {{convert|30|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}}.
Available as either a kit for home construction or as a complete aircraft, the Avenger was introduced in the early 1980s when the market was becoming saturated with ultralight designs; as a result, the company quickly went out of business and production ended.
Specifications
{{Aircraft specs
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|wing area sqft=135
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|aspect ratio=7:12
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|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=252
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|max takeoff weight lb=552
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|fuel capacity={{convert|5|u.s.gal}}
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Cuyuna 430
|eng1 type=two-cylinder piston snowmobile engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=30
|prop blade number=2
|prop name=wooden
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|perfhide=
|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=60
|max speed kts=
|max speed note=
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed mph=45
|cruise speed kts=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed mph=16
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|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=70
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|ceiling m=
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|climb rate ftmin=700
|climb rate note=
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|wing loading kg/m2=19.95
|wing loading lb/sqft=
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{{aircontent
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References
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External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100207201955/http://virtualultralightmuseum.com/a.htm#avengerus Airborne Avenger at the Virtual Ultralight Museum archives]