The Alatus-M Ultralight Sailplane
Formerly known as the AL12M, the Alatus is an evolution from Aerola's high-performance rigid hang-glider wing, the Phantom. Unlike most of its contemporaries, the Phantom uses ailerons for roll control, facilitating development into a conventional 3-axis control system. The marriage of the wings to a low-drag lightweight fuselage have improved the best L/D ratio to 27:1. Simply applying the effective flaps will reduce this to 8:1, and the slow stall speed (and wheel brakes) of the aircraft makes very short field landings possible.
The Alatus-M self-launcher motor variant of the Alatus can be flown under the Single-Seat DeRegulated category of microlights. This category allows any pilot with a microlight (fixed-wing) licence/ NPPL or full JAR Group A licence to fly the Alatus-M, and be responsible for their own inspection and maintenance, thus bringing the cost of ownership down to hang-glider levels.
The retractable motor unit uses a Corsair Black Devil engine to provide good taxying and takeoff performance, as well as in-flight electric restart.
Although not required by UK law, the Alatus has passed flight testing in Germany to the DULSV LFG design code for ultralight sailplanes, and the German LTF-UL microlight design code.
Specification:
Empty weight 110 kg
MTOW 235 kg
Wing span 13.3 m
Sail area 13 m2
Pilot weight 60-100 kg
Stall speed 39-45 km/h
VNE 140 km/h
Best glide ratio 27 at 65 km/h
Min. sink rate 0.7-0.8 m/s at 45 km/h
There is also an electric version of the Alatus in development - see this page or go to the Links section for more details.