Pipistrel Spider
{{Short description|Slovenian ultralight trike}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2022}}
| {{Infobox Aircraft Begin
| name= Spider | image= | caption= }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type | type=Ultralight trike | national origin=Slovenia | manufacturer=Pipistrel | designer= | first flight= | introduced=1980s | retired= | status=Production complete (2018) | primary user= | more users= | produced= 1980s - present | developed from= | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Pipistrel Spider is a Slovenian ultralight trike, designed and produced by Pipistrel of Ajdovščina. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition, page 222. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. {{ISBN|0-9636409-4-1}}
The Spider was sold in Europe by Flight Team UG & Company AG of Ippesheim, Germany and was sometimes called the Flight Team Spider.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 211. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
By October 2018 it was listed as a "legacy" product and production had ended.{{cite web|url=http://www.pipistrel.si/trike/spider/overview|title=Pipistrel Aircraft Spider - Pipistrel|website=www.pipistrel.si|accessdate=15 October 2018|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20180615090648/http://www.pipistrel.si/trike/spider/overview|archivedate = 15 June 2018}}
Design and development
The aircraft was designed to comply with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight category, including the category's maximum gross weight of {{convert|450|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}. The aircraft has a maximum gross weight of {{convert|450|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}. It features a cable-braced hang glider-style high-wing, weight-shift controls, a two-seats-in-tandem open cockpit with an optional cockpit fairing, tricycle landing gear with wheel pants and a single engine in pusher configuration.
The aircraft is made from composites and steel tubing, with its double surface wing covered in Dacron sailcloth. A number of different wings can be fitted to the basic carriage, but typically a {{convert|10.50|m|ft|1|abbr=on}} span wing is supported by a single tube-type kingpost and uses an "A" frame weight-shift control bar. The powerplant is a twin cylinder, air-cooled, two-stroke, dual-ignition {{convert|50|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Rotax 503 or the twin cylinder, liquid-cooled, two-stroke, dual-ignition {{convert|64|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Rotax 582 engine. The aircraft has an empty weight of {{convert|130|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} and a gross weight of {{convert|450|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}, giving a useful load of {{convert|320|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}. With full fuel of {{convert|42|L}} the payload is {{convert|290|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.pipistrel.si/trike/spider/technical-data |title=Pipistrel Aircraft Spider Technical Data |publisher=Pipistrel.si |date= |accessdate=29 January 2014|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20170921225124/http://www.pipistrel.si/trike/spider/technical-data/|archivedate = 21 September 2017}}
The standard day, sea level, no wind, take off and landing roll with a {{convert|50|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} engine is {{convert|30|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}.
The manufacturer estimates the construction time from the supplied kit as 150 hours.
Operational history
Specifications (Spider)
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units?=met
|genhide=
|crew=one
|capacity=one passenger
|length m=
|length ft=
|length in=
|length note=
|span m=10.50
|span ft=
|span in=
|span note=
|height m=
|height ft=
|height in=
|height note=
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=129.75
|empty weight lb=
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=450
|gross weight lb=
|gross weight note=
|fuel capacity={{convert|42|L}}
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Rotax 503
|eng1 type= twin cylinder, liquid-cooled, two stroke aircraft engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=50
|prop blade number=4
|prop name=ground adjustable composite
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|prop note=
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=111
|max speed kts=
|max speed note=
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed mph=75
|cruise speed kts=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed mph=34
|stall speed kts=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=
|range miles=310
|range nmi=
|range note=
|endurance=
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=22000
|ceiling note=
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|glide ratio=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=984
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|sink rate ms=
|sink rate ftmin=
|sink rate note=
|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading lb/sqft=
|wing loading note=
|power/mass=
|thrust/weight=
|more performance=
|avionics=
}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20180615090648/http://www.pipistrel.si/trike/spider/overview Official website archive page] on archive.org
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20170401012936/http://www.pipistrel.si/trike/spider/gallery Official Spider photo gallery archive]
{{Flight Team aircraft}}
{{Pipistrel aircraft}}
Category:Parasol-wing aircraft
Category:1980s Yugoslav ultralight aircraft
Category:Single-engined pusher aircraft