Solo Wings
 | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | mid-1980s |
| Defunct | circa 2012 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Ultralight trikes |
| Website | www |
Solo Wings CC was a South African aircraft manufacturer based in Gillitts, KwaZulu-Natal. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of ultralight trikes in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft for the European Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight category.[1][2][3][4]
The company seems to have gone out of business circa 2012 and production of its Solo Wings Aquilla design taken over by Microcrafts Africa.[5]
The company produced two ultralight trike designs, starting with the entry-level Windlass, powered by the Rotax 503 50 hp (37 kW) twin cylinder, two-stroke, air-cooled aircraft engine in about 1987. More than 600 of this model had been delivered by 2001. In the 1990s the more sophisticated Aquilla was introduced.[1][2][3][4]
Bateleur Sky Sports
[edit]Both Solo Wings models were sold in the United States by a Solo Wings distributor, Bateleur Sky Sports, Inc. of Palm Coast, Florida and later Fort Lauderdale, Florida from the late 1990s until the early 2000s under their own name as the Bateleur Windlass and Bateleur Aquilla. Bateleur Sky Sports appears to have gone out of business in about 2004.[1][2][6][7]
Aircraft
[edit]| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo Wings Windlass | circa 1987 | more than 600 (by 2001) | two-seat ultralight trike |
| Solo Wings Aquilla | 1990s | 40 (by 2000) | two-seat ultralight trike |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Cliche, Andre: Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide 8th Edition, page C-30. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. ISBN 0-9680628-1-4
- ^ a b c Downey, Julia: 2000 Trike and 'Chute Directory, Kitplanes, Volume 17, Number 2, February 2000, page 45. Kitplanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851
- ^ a b Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04, page 110. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X
- ^ a b Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 222. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
- ^ Microcrafts Africa CC (2013). "Microcrafts". Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- ^ "Bateleur Sky Sports, Inc". Official Guide to Experimental Aircraft. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ "Bateleur". Internet Archive Wayback Machine. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
External links
[edit]- Official website redirects to Microcrafts Africa
- Company website archives on Archive.org