Latest News from Airborne
09th December 2009 Issue #13
The factory will be closed during the Christmas holidays
from 23rd December through to the 11th January. The global
financial crisis or GFC as it is now known has proved to
be a tough one for manufacturing in Australia and around
the world. We would like to take this opportunity to thank
all of our customers, without your support we would not
still be here. We wish you all a safe and happy holidays.
Team Airborne
 The
Rev Hang glider is now certified and in production.
Some highlights during the developmentnt of the glider have
been Rick Duncans win over RedBull sponsored and worlds
#1 hang glider pilot Johny Durand jnr. The event was this
years Canungra Classic.
One of the unique features of the Rev that distinguish
it from other high performance glidersis the Camber Control
System. Looking inside the sail you'll see the engine
room of the wing. The Camber Control System (CCS) is the
most obvious change with a tensioning system used to control
the airfoil from distorting upwards at high speeds. The
CCS is activated when the VG approaches the full on setting
and maintains a precise airfoil shape. The control of the
airfoil results in a reduction in profile drag. The distortion
of the
upper surface at high speeds has been well documented on
other gliders and the drag penalty is obvious.
In combination with the new airfoil section, with increased
double surface and improved pitch characteristics, the Rev
gives the pilot smooth positive pitch feedback throughout
an extremely wide speed range.
The the new Rev has since passed German certification
testing. Max Weiner, German distributor has helped finish
the manual to allow for early completion of the certification
program. There are some other design features that make
the REV special and you can read Rick Duncans article on
the REV developement
Click Here which was published in the Sky Soaring magazine.
Rev Pricing is now complete.
For Australian dollar
export pricing Click
Here.
For Australian customers GST pricing Click
Here
The XT912-SST has been accepted with great enthusiasm by
the flying community. Many existing XT912 owners have been
upgrading their wings the new SST (Strut Braced Wing) The
feedback has been overwhelming and all of our customers
who have either switched to the SST wing or purchased a
complete aircraft with the SST love the way it flys.
In the short period of time that the SST has been released
we have produced 42 wings with many more orders booked into
2010. 
Strut braced microlight wings have lot's of advantages
over conventional rigged wings. Apart from looking a lot
sleeker, they fit into much lower hangers. The SST itself
has a highly engineered frame, the use of inhouse CNC technology
adds to the SST's superb finish. The reflex system once
controlled by wires from the king post to the trailing edge
is now controlled using internal sprogs. The sprogs automatically
go into position when the wing is packed or set up.
 The
sail of the SST is precisely matched to the frame. This
can be seen looking at the photo's in the web site press
gallery. In the air SST looks high performance and with
it's cruise speed of 70 knots and range of around 700kms*
it performs exceptionally well. The slow speeds are also
comparable with the Streak 3 and pilots will have no problem
converting from the Streak 3 or Cruze wings.
The XT912-SST is certified to the LSA (Light Sport) standard.
There are already several flying and Gerry Charlibios did
the first big XC flight with his wife as passenger. After
loading up with essential luggage they left the Sun N Fun
airshow in Florida and flew to Los Angeles (see the Google
map left). The flight over 3500kms (2200 miles) took 71
hours over 19 days. They landed at 23 airports along the
way. Gerry told us that he flew through some of the worst
turbulence he had ever encountered during his long career
flying trikes. Gerry probably has more hours than any other
trike pilot we know.
Note: Aircraft range is related to weather conditions
and fuel consumption. Figures are included as a guide only
and should not be used for planning purposes
How much is an Airborne Microlight?
 Airborne
has the largest range of micolight models of any manufacturer
in the world. All of our range are two seaters. The range
starts with the Redback. Powered by the 503 Rotax engine and
with 40 litres of fuel the Redback is sporty looking package.
The build quality of the Redback/Outback range is excellent
as is the cross country potential and performance. The Redback
will take you where you want to go and further. Redback and
Outback owners alike know that they are getting the best possible
value from these relatively low cost aircraft. So the answer
to the question is a Redback is $27,630 ex factory, excluding
taxes. That's not a bad entry price for a two seater microlight
that will give you hours of fun and adventure. The microlight
shown is the Outback 582 with Streak 2B wing.
View the pricing guide for all the microlights in the Airborne range Click Here
Ordering your new Microlight. Please take the time
to read the ordering guide at the start of the complete price
lists. A 50% deposit is required for hang glider and microlight
wings. Microlights require a deposit of $5000 with an upgrade
to 50% deposit four weeks prior to completion of the aircraft.
Engines have to be ordered and parts manufactured. Deposits
allow us to deliver the aircraft on time on a first paid,
first served basis. It also means we have a commitment from
the customer of their intention to complete the transaction
in the time frame of our scheduling.
Rotax Extending 912 and 912s TBO It appears that the other
big announcement coming very soon is the Service Bulletin
extending the TBO of 912 and 912s engines from 1500 to 2000
hours. It is our understanding that this will apply to engines
manufactured 2008 or later. For those of you flying late model
aircraft this will certainly help the resale values stay high.
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. A flashing red button on the
web site home 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. We
urge all of our customers to check Airborne Maintenance
Bulletins on a regular basis. It is as simple as clicking
on the flashing button on the Airborne home page.
Why Fly A Microlight?_Apart
from the thrill of flying in an open cockpit aircraft there
are not many other types of aircraft that can give the pilot
and passenger such unrestricted views. You can see from
the images we publish in our newsletters and on our web
sites the fantastic photo's that our customers send us.
Not many people get to see such incredible scenery from
such heights as can be seen from the seat of a microlight!
Why Choose an Airborne Microlight
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 with our small population.
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
South Africa. They audit our manufacturing and QA system,
and also check our CASA reporting procedures.
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. Customers do not put
up with bad service, these days the internet allows customers
a voice that may have not been heard in the past. 
Some misconceptions: 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 most definitely cannot pick your conditions
on such trips. The latest saw the accomplished Richard Meredith
Hardy and blind passenger Miles Hilton Barber fly a GT450
from the UK to Australia in some exteme conditions to say
the least. Word has it that another microlight is will be
making the great journey from the UK to Australia.
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.
Although microlights and their pilots have proven to be
able to handle some extreme weather conditions there is
a limit for both and if in doubt do not succumb to pressure.
Fly another day.
Since the implementation of our 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 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 used to protect forests
and wildlife, including elephants and orangutans. They have
been used to help save some almost extinct species of birds.
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 in Airborne microlight's!
Click Here to go back to
the Airborne web site!
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