The Carbon Eagle

Here is my first public disclosure of the Carbon Eagle Ultralight Aircraft development project. It is based on various ideas that have been bouncing around in my head for almost 3 decades. Now the design has evolved and matured to the point where it has become unbearable to keep it in any longer. I didn't really need to start a new project at such a busy time in my life.. it just sort of happened.

Basically, what I'm now calling the Carbon Eagle is an unpowered ultralight aircraft -- call it a rigid wing hang glider, or a foot-launchable microlift sailplane. The Carbon Eagle will be somewhat along the lines of the AIR Atos, Rupert Composites Archeopteryx, Brightstar SWIFT/Millenium, and Exulans... it's also somewhat similar to ultralight sailplanes such as Jim Maupin's Carbon Dragon, Jim Marske's Monarch, Danny Howell's Lighthawk, Klaus Hill's Ultrafloater, and D.F. Farrar's Bird Flight Machine... Google searches on these names may give you some idea of what I'm shooting for. The Carbon Eagle design goals are:

• Empty weight near 60 lbs; roughly the same as tube, cable & sailcloth flexwing hang gliders
• Glide ratio in excess of 25:1 with a minimum sink rate less than 2 ft/sec.
• Statically balanced and fully controllable in foot-launch situations.
• Readily foldable and car-top transportable, just like a regular hang glider
  
• Less than 25 foot altitude loss in 360 degree, small radius turns
• Tracks well in thermals
• Low control forces, not physically difficult to fly
  
• Stable and controllable in gusty conditions
• Stall-spin resistant
• Reasonable cost.. approximately $5,000
  
• Open air or enclosed cockpit options

Some of the glider designs mentioned above may meet some of these goals, but none can meet them all.. that's the challenge of the Carbon Eagle. I fully expect widespread skepticism from experts and amateurs alike that meeting all these design goals is even possible. So be it. The goals drive the rough design specifications of the Carbon Eagle to be:

1. Wing span in excess of 40 feet
2. Wing loading of approximately 2.0 lbs. per square foot
3. Wing area of approximately 150 square feet
4. Cable-braced "flying plank" tailless configuration
5. Mixture of metal tubing and carbon composite spars
6. Carbon composite molded wing ribs attached to wing spar
   
7. Airfoil leading edge molded to shape
8. Remainder of the wing skin is flexible sailcloth with sewn rib pockets
   
9. Aerodynamic roll & yaw controls
   
10. Weight-shift pitch control
    

I'll be posting pictures, descriptions, and progress updates as time permits. Constructive comments and offers of help are ALWAYS welcome!

Happy Landings,

Dan