The missing lind: A clever design enables aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel to deliver a range of ultralight aircraft with a unique side-by-side seating

摘要

Pipistrel is a small Slovenian company making big waves in the world of ultralight aircraft. In its headquarters, in the small town of Ajdovscina, a world map hangs on the office wall of the company's founder, boss and chief test pilot, Ivo Boscarol, An irregular red line runs across the map. "This line shows the 47,100 kilometre route that one of our aircraft, a Pipistrel Sinus, took to fly around the world in 79 days," Boscarol explains. "It was the first-ever solo round-the-world flight in an ultralight motor glider:" "And," adds Matevz Lenarcic, pilot of the historic flight, "the 79 days include the 14 days I was held up in Russia, plus eight days in Mongolia, for reasons that had nothing to do with the aircraft's airworthiness. "The Sinus is perfectly suitable for long-distance flights like this," he continues., "I used less than 2,000 litres of fuel for the whole distance," An ultralight aircraft is one that weighs less than 450 kilograms at take-off, including pilot, passenger, fuel and luggage, The Sinus and its slightly smaller brother, the Virus, are the world's first ultralight two-seater motor gliders.