Engineering:Hill Tetra-15

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Short description: American glider
Tetra-15
Tetra-15.jpg
Role Glider
National origin United States
Designer Bob Kuykendall, Steve Smith, and Brad Hill
First flight 2012
Status In production
Number built one
Developed from HP-24 Project

The Tetra-15 is an American mid-wing, single-seat, kit-built glider that was designed by Bob Kuykendall, Steve Smith, and Brad Hill, and built primarily by Brad Hill, Bob Kuykendall, and Doug Gray.[citation needed]

Design and development

The Tetra-15 is the first aircraft produced from the tools and development of the HP-24 project, a project to develop and manufacture a high-performance sailplane in kit form.[citation needed]

The aircraft is predominantly made from carbon fiber. The wings have airfoils from the FX81 family of profiles. The wing spars use pultruded carbon fiber ribbons in the upper and lower caps. Glide path control is via mechanically actuated Schempp-Hirth style airbrakes. All wing and tail controls are automatically connecting. The retractable undercarriage is likewise manually actuated.[citation needed]

Operational history

The Tetra-15 first flew on Friday 27 January 2012.[citation needed]

By December 2016 one example had been registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration.[1]

Specifications

General characteristics

  • Crew: one
  • Length: 22 ft 11 in (6.98 m)
  • Wingspan: 49 ft 2 in (15 m)
  • Wing area: 107 sq ft (10.02 m2)
  • Aspect ratio: 23
  • Airfoil: Wortmann FX81
  • Empty weight: 480 lb (218 kg)
  • Gross weight: 750 lb (340 kg)Performance

Performance

See also

Related lists

References

  1. Federal Aviation Administration (1 December 2016). "Make / Model Inquiry Results". http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=&Modeltxt=TETRA-15&PageNo=1. Retrieved 1 December 2016.