Newsletter features:

XT-MK2 New Brakes

Production

Out of production wings

US propeller supply

Maintenance Bulletins

New Price lists

New Sail cut

Photo by David Dunbar. Click the image to see more of David's work.

XT-Outback Gulgong

Latest News from Airborne

Rear Disc Brakes For The XT!
Dual rear hydraulic disc brakes are now available as an option for the XT range. The photographs below show the excellent job our design department has done. The discs are tucked neatly away inside the modified wheel hubs. We have also re-designed the brake and throttle pedal levers. These are now CNC milled with rotating acetyl grips, very neat looking!

The factory airstrip has a pretty rough surface and is quite small in length and width (see the pic below). Landing there requires a certain amount of skill and the disc brakes work brilliantly in this situation. The ground roll distance is just about halved. Suddenly landing our little airstrip downslope in a light southerly is not such an issue as it was with the standard front wheel brake!

XT Mk2: The disc brake ready XT's will now be known as the Mk2. The standard front wheel drum brakes will still be available for the XT Mk2. Customers buying the standard brake will be able to buy a kit to update to discs at a later date.

Existing XT Owners note: Hydraulic disc brake conversion kits will be made available for existing XT trikes (pre May 2007) starting September. The kit does utilise quite a few parts for the upgrade. For example, the drag link, modified wheels, and axle plus the complete new brake system with pedal. Instructions are included on how to fit the brakes.

Disc Brake Conversion Kit Pricing (for earlier model XT's - ex factory)

Export - AU$2927

Australian - GST $3219

USA - US$2458

>>>>STOP PRESS>>> US Customers note: We have decided to make the X series LSA compliant and available for sale in the USA. This includes all models in the X series range including the Redback, Outback X and Classic. Contact your dealer for more details.

Our order books are getting full !!!
We are currently experiencing high demand, especially for our four stroke models. Slots are already booked out into the August batch and beyond. To avoid disappointment it is important to book your slot in advance. If you are expecting delivery of a new aircraft at the end of your training or you are planning to use your aircraft for a special event talk to your dealer or the factory now about booking a production slot.

A $5000 deposit is required to book a slot in advance. The balance needs to be paid two weeks prior to the dispatch date. This is important as it avoids delays with shipping.

Out of production wings and sails!!!
We are no longer producing replacement wings or sails for: Edge model wings and Wizard 1 wings. Airframes do have a life and at some time need to be retired. If your sail fails the betsometer test it is time to replace it. However if your wing is out of production then a sail replacement is not an option. The Streak 2B is an excellent replacement for the earlier Edge wings. This wing is great for XC flights and has brilliant handling. The Wizard 3 is available for customers wanting a slower wing. Call the factory for pricing.

Factory strip and XT fitted with new brakes!!

Streak 3 and Cruze wings down tube knuckles - Mandatory!

Control frame downtube knuckle bulletin - Compliance Mandatory. We keep repeating this announcement in order to get the final few owners to claim and replace the parts. The above link will take you straight to issue 2 of the maintenance bulletin. Note: The parts are free of charge providing owners sign and return the QA sheet to show the job has been done. We are still waiting for some QA sheets to be returned. To avoid an invoice for the parts of close to AU$1000 please return the signed document. Invoices will be sent out on the 1st August 07.

Just to recap. Many owners have requested and received the replacement parts. If you are yet to act on this bulletin please do so right away. First check your serial number to see if the bulletin applies to your wing. The serial number of the wing is located at the apex and between the control frame down tubes. If you own a Streak 3 or Cruze wing that is within the range of serial numbers requiring the update please contact the factory immediately.

The new knuckles are made from 6061 grade aluminium and have more clearance in the joint and a drain hole on the underside.

There have not been any recorded incidents regarding this bulletin. We are replacing the knuckles in good faith as we have recognized a corrosion issue with the material used and some torsional load acting across the fitting. It is important to act on this bulletin immediately, the parts are free and it is a fairly simple process to replace the knuckles.

Note: the bulletin only applies to the Streak 3 and Cruze wings. These wings are easy to identify as they have faired aluminum control frame down tubes. The downtube knuckles are CNC machined and also faired.

US dollar prices have risen but only to reflect the latest exchange rate between the US and Australian dollar. The US dollar has been dropping significantly against the Australian currency. US pricing is now in line with our European export pricing.

Note: The trike bases are priced separately to the wings and the two prices have to be added together to get the price of a complete ready to fly aircraft. There will be a non stock colour charge.

Up and Coming Airshows 2007
During 2007 we plan to have representatives at several airshows both local and International. So far the lineup consists of:

• Arlington - USA
• Copperstate Fly-In - USA
• Oshkosh - USA - Shane Duncan from Airborne will be attending.
• Bright Fly-in - Australia
• Blois ULM Airshow - France

Updates on airshows will be added in future newsletters.

There is a list of standard stock colours on the web site and any deviation from this will incur a non stock sail colour charge as per the price list. This allows us to stock wings for fast delivery.

New..The wing stocklist has been reinstated on the web site and is updated on auto each evening. Click here

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 an export market. This is important because if there were no export market there would be no local manufacturers simply because the cost of certification in Australia is prohibitive.

Prior to Sport Pilot, Australia along with the UK had the strictest regulations in the world. Each country often has it's 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. These authorities have traveled to our factory from the UK, Israel, and recently South Africa. These authorities check our manufacturing and QA system, they 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 today to reinvest profits into achieving world wide certification and manufacturing excellence. The Airborne range is currently sold into 32 countries, some of which have the strictest standards in the world. Once we start to sell our aircraft to a new market, customer service has to be maintained for that region. Customers 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 our aircrafts 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 will pull 1g and in a 60 degree bank 2g. No Airborne microlights have ever been proven to have suffered a structural failure whilst being flown within the aircrafts 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 is generally used by much larger manufacturing organizations than Airborne. It is still early days for us but our focus is on further 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? We use a flashing red button on the top of the front page of our web site, it 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. Thay have been used to help save some almost extinct species of birds. Mainly though our microlight are 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 microlights!

Click Here to go back to the Airborne web site!