Gizmodo Australia » gliders

Two-Seated Flying Machine Sounds Like the Perfect Daredevil Date

Elaine Chow — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Nothing screams something special for the missus like the chance for you both to cheat death together. Get on this Tanarg two-seated flying thing and you won’t be able to pry her off you.

The air recreational vehicle is a two-seater trike from Air Creation. It’s built on a modular wire-mesh structure and gets its power from either a Rotax 912 or 582 engine. To play with it, you drive you and your mate off some kind of cliff and (hopefully) glide around until it’s time to go down.

The price for developing closeness through a near-death experience: $US50,000 to $US85,000. [Air Creation via Born Rich]

High-Flying Solar Power Zephyr Glider Breaks Own World Record With 3.5 Day Flight

Jack Loftus — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0000

Last we heard from the UK’s high altitude Zephyr glider, it was unofficially breaking the record for longest unmanned flight. That was back in 2007, when the record was a paltry 30 hours, and the Zephyr was able to manage a 54 hour flight, thanks to its solar powered batteries. On Friday, the Zephyr flew that and them some when it completed an 84-hour flight without issue. Military types are no doubt licking their lips at the news, as the plane was designed to support troops in the field with continuous surveillance and communication support from its perch on high at 60,000 ft. [Telegraph]

Lightweight Battery-Powered ElectricFlyer C Mini-Plane Takes Off On The Cheap

Matt Hickey — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 23:30:05 +0000

The ElectraFlyer C is a carbon fiber-shelled mini plane that runs on electricity, and it also looks like a lot of fun. It’s a mash-up of a commercially available glider body and a lightweight battery and motor/propeller assembly. It can fly for 90 to 120 minutes at up to 145kph, and you can recharge it in about six hours from a regular 110 volt outlet for about 60 cents. Oh, and it’s received its airworthiness cert, meaning it’s perfectly legal. [ElectricFlyer via Wired]

Orlens Glider Concept is Green, Recyclable Air Transport of the Future

Kit Eaton — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:16:00 +0000

This concept glider, dubbed Orlens, is attention-grabbing through its rather beautiful shape alone. But when you look into how it would work, you can see that designer Roland Cernat has put a lot of thought into its greenness. It would be made of entirely recycled materials, and be recyclable itself, would have photovoltaic cells atop the wings for energy for eco-friendly propulsion and have an aerodynamically-efficient body. The body too would be made from a flax-based bio-compound that would be CO2 neutral. It’s pretty much what green personal air-transport of the future should look like, which is why it’s just won Roland the Lucky Strike Junior Designer Competition. Impressive, and I’d love to take it up and give it a spin, were it not just a concept. [Inhabitat]