Engineering:Personal Flight Sky-Bike
| Sky-Bike | |
|---|---|
| Role | Paramotor |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Personal Flight |
| Status | Production completed |
| Variants | Personal Flight Sky-Bike Trike |
The Personal Flight Sky-Bike is an American paramotor that was designed and produced by Personal Flight of Kent, Washington for powered paragliding. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.[1]
Design and development
The Sky-Bike was designed to comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules. It features a paraglider-style wing, single-place or two-place-in-tandem accommodation, depending on the model and a single engine in pusher configuration. As is the case with all paramotors, take-off and landing is accomplished by foot.[1]
The aircraft is built from welded aluminium tubing. Inflight steering is accomplished via handles that actuate the canopy brakes, creating roll and yaw.[1]
The standard day, sea level, no wind, take off with a 22 hp (16 kW) engine is 30 ft (9 m) and the landing distance is 15 ft (5 m).[1]
The manufacturer estimates the construction time from the supplied kit as just a few minutes, without special tools.[1]
Variants
- Sky-Bike
- Base single-seat model with a variety of engines available including the Solo 210 of 15 hp (11 kW) and the Zenoah G-25 of 22 hp (16 kW).[1]
- Sky-Bike ZR 250 BI
- Two seats in tandem model with the Zenoah G-25 of 22 hp (16 kW).[1]
- Sky-Bike Trike
- Powered parachute adaptation, with the addition of a three-wheeled carriage.[1]
Specifications (Sky-Bike ZR 250 BI)
Data from Purdy[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: one
- Capacity: one passenger
- Wingspan: 42 ft 0 in (12.80 m)
- Wing area: 374.0 sq ft (34.75 m2)
- Aspect ratio: 4.7:1
- Empty weight: 80 lb (36 kg)
- Gross weight: 450 lb (204 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 3 U.S. gallons (11 L; 2.5 imp gal)
- Powerplant: 1 × Zenoah G-25 single cylinder, two-stroke, air-cooled aircraft engine, 25 hp (19 kW)
- Propellers: 4-bladed wooden, fixed pitch
Performance
- Maximum speed: 30 mph (48 km/h, 26 kn)
- Cruise speed: 25 mph (40 km/h, 22 kn)
- Stall speed: 15 mph (24 km/h, 13 kn)
- Service ceiling: 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
- Rate of climb: 300 ft/min (1.5 m/s)
- Wing loading: 1.2 lb/sq ft (5.9 kg/m2)
References
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