Latest News from Airborne
10th December 2007 Issue #8
 
The Factory will close over the Christmas period from
21st December and will reopen 7th January.
To all of our customers and their families we wish you
a safe and happy holiday!
Team Airborne.
It is that time of the year again
where we need to review pricing and adjust our price lists
to allow for CPI, forex and general cost increases. From March
2008 all complete aircraft and wing prices will rise by approximately
4.9%. There are limited slots available before this date so
if you want to secure an aircraft at current pricing place
your order with a deposit prior to Christmas. Again please
note there are limited slots available.
What's new for 2008
March 2008: Late
March will see the faired cockpit version of the XT-912
Tundra become available. We have designed new winged
spats (wheel pants) to fit with the tundra wheels (not shown
in photo) and a modified pod to allow the tundra forks and
wheel to fit. It's a great combination and for pilots from
colder climates to fly in comfort whist having the advantage
of the tundra undercarriage. Pictured is Richard Tabaka's
XT -912 Tundra Cruze with which he has already explored
some of Australia's great deserts.
Februar y
2008: A new tall windscreen add on will
also be available to suit all the cockpit models in the
Airborne range. The screen is quite tall OK not so attractive,
but it does work extremely well even protecting the rear
passengers from the the blast whilst flying. Once you have
flown a long XC with one we you'll never leave it off again!
The attachment for the screen allows for quick and easy
installation if setting up the trike from scratch. The screen
can easily be detached at one corner when tying one wing
down if necessary.
Also February 2008: We
will release our newly designed engine cowl/cover for
the XT-912. The cowl will be available to retrofit easily
to earlier models and will be an option for Mk2 XT's. The
cowl detaches
in seconds so hoses etc. can be inspected as they should
be before flight.
The Cowl is available in XT colour choices.
Email the factory
to place your order.
Rear Disc Brakes For The XT!
The dual rear disc brake kits are now available as a retro
fit kit for earlier version XT MK1-912 and 582. Retro fit
kits are supplied with drawing and instructions to show owners
how to install them. Australian owners can get their trikes
retro fitted at the factory. Call the factory for a quote
to supply kits or to have your XT retro fitted at the factory.
The disc brakes are now well proven, definitely a bonus for
those short field landings.
XT Mk2: The disc brake ready XT's are now called the Mk2.
The standard front wheel drum brakes will still be available
for the XT Mk2.
Email the factory for a quote on disc brake kits to
suit Mk 1 and Mark 2 models!
We plan to have the XT 582 and 912 Tug certified to
US Sport Pilot early 2008. This means US flight parks
will have a "legal" tug which will allow them
to to continue operating their flight parks in 2008. Airborne
have been building tugs for aerotowing since the mid 1980's
and compliance is just a formality as the aircraft itself
is already sold in 30 odd countries. After Sport Pilot approval
for our tugs we will then go for Section S approval which
will open up other countries we can supply tugs to including
the UK.
Latest Hang Glider Products
The C4 13.5 has well and truly taken off and has become the
most popular size C4 we sell. During March we will release
the latest addition to our range the Sting 3 154XC. Classed
as our "recreational" glider the Sting  is
for the experienced pilot that desires reasonable performance
with exceptional climb. A glider that is still very easy to
launch and land.
Flying the new Sting 3, the things that stand out about
the flying characteristics are:
· the very much improved glide performance
· ease of steering with the VG on
· great handling at low speed and maintaining maneuverability&
controllability making it a very nimble yet stable glider
to climb in thermals
The Sting 3 has an increased range of travel on the VG
system. Landing the Sting is great fun, with great low speed
handling authority right up to an easy flare
and touch down.
The Sting 3 has a new luff curve at the heart of the design
meaning that the sail has been entirely redesigned. Looking
at the sail, the most recognizable difference is the undersurface
layout and the increased amount of under surface, particularly
more at the tips to improve the high speed glide performance.
The Sting is fitted with faired king post, downtubes and
speed bar as standard. The Sting includes a VG system as
standard. It also features a neat  3
panel undersurface similar to the C4. · The control
frame is new, using the same control frame as used on the
C4, with streamline downtubes, with interchangeable control
bar options including round speedbar, airfoil aluminium
and airfoil carbon control bars. All changed with PIP pin.
Why Buy Airborne_
We often read or hear of comments made by people who regard
themselves as an authority on weightshift microlights. Here
are some facts that are often conveniently left out of some
of the rhetoric.
Complying to Australian regulations is a tough business.
To operate a viable aircraft manufacturing business in Australia
it is necessary for the manufacturer to also create a viable
export market. This is important, if there were no export
market there would be no local manufacturers simply because
the cost of certification in Australia is prohibitive.
Australia along with the UK has the strictest regulations
in the world. Some other countries have their own unique
standard that must be complied with before a  manufacturer
can sell the aircraft and get flight approval. When you
buy an aircraft you are also paying for the associated costs
of certification. Some manufacturers have a higher level
of compliance than others, depending on which countries
they sell to.
Airborne is audited by the CASA (Civil Aviation
Safety Authority of Australia) on a regular basis. We have
also been audited by some of the stricter overseas authorities
from countries we sell to. Some of these government authorities
have even traveled to our factory from the UK, Israel, and
recently South Africa. They audit our manufacturing and
QA system, and also check our CASA reporting procedures.
The whole Airborne range is certified. Testing is documented
and signed off by an independent government approved engineer,
often CASA staff witness our testing themselves. This is
not the case with all standards, in many countries the manufacturer
simply signs a document to say they have completed formal
testing. There are no government audits!
There is no other standard in the world that comes close
to the level of reporting required by the Australian and
British Authorities. Note: Australian acceptance under new
sport pilot rules does not mean that the accepted aircraft
has jumped through the hoops that Airborne has, in fact
none to date have except UK Section S certified aircraft.
Airborne continues to reinvest profits into achieving
world wide certification and manufacturing excellence. The
Airborne range is currently sold into 32 countries. Once
we start to sell our aircraft into a new market customer
service has to be maintained for that region. Customer's
do not put up with bad service and these days the Internet
allows customers a voice that may have not been heard in
the past. This can be a good thing but beware of the self
opinionated expert when seeking advice, they are fairly
easy to spot. 
Some misconception's Ever heard or read that microlights
or trikes are not good to fly in the middle of the day in
unstable air? The fact is we tow hang gliders up in the
middle of the day in amongst booming thermals in inland
Australia and many other hot climates. Out of all the ultralight
types flying, microlights or trikes have made more flights
around the world and halfway around (Europe to Australia)
than any other. You certainly cannot pick your conditions
on such trips. The latest only a couple of months ago saw
Richard Meredith Hardy and blind pilot Miles Hilton Barber
fly from the UK to Australia in some of the harshest conditions
one would want to encounter.
A note on safety. Fly inside the aircraft's flight envelope
(see the placard of limitations) and you will not have any
issues. They are tested to 6g positive and 3g negative.
In straight and level flight you pull 1g, in a 60 degree
bank you pull 2g. No Airborne microlights have ever
been proven to have suffered a structural failure whilst
being flown within the aircraft's flight limitations.
Since the implementation of our new manufacturing system
we believe we can claim to have the most reliable back-up
and parts supply service available in this industry today.
The servicing of 32 countries needs a good system and Airborne
has invested a considerable amount of time and money installing
a state of the art manufacturing system (Visual Enterprise).
Visual used by many larger manufacturing organizations is
already starting to pay off and we are continually seeing
improvement to our customer service and manufacturing efficiency.
Maintenance bulletins are part of life for any company
that make aircraft or any sort of vehicle for that matter.
We choose to display maintenance bulletins/airworthiness
directives on our web site. How many other companies do
this? A flashing red button on the web site home page page
directs owners to the latest maintenance bulletins. We feel
this is the most efficient way of keeping our customers
up to date. Owners should check the web site regularly for
updates. We also have a link to the Rotax owners website
showing the latest engine bulletins.
Maintenance manuals, pilot operating handbooks
and illustrated parts catalogues are available for download
on our web site in the manuals section.
Click Here .Certificate of Approvals are also on the
Airborne web site for all to see.
Click here Our manuals are of the highest quality available
in the industry today.
Airborne started as a company in 1983, we have thousands
of weightshift microlights flying and many hundreds towing
up hang gliders. Our aircraft are have been used to protect
forests and wildlife, including elephants and orangutans.
They have been used to help save some almost extinct species
of birds. They are mainly used for fun!
There are plenty of good reasons why our customers choose
to fly Airborne. Talk to them and find out for yourself.
Adventures are made everyday on Airborne microlight's!
Click Here to go back to
the Airborne web site!
     
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