Newsletter- December 2019
Apologies for the delay between updates recently; it’s been a very busy period! My first major news is a change of location. Airplay Aircraft will be moving from our base at Sutton Meadows in Cambridgeshire to the Isle of Skye in Scotland! The new address for correspondence is;
19 Geary
Hallin
Isle of Skye
IV55 8GQ
My phone number (+44 7773 253454) and email address remain the same. This move gives us access to improved workshop facilities as well as some stunning scenery to fly around. Keep in touch if you’re interested in flying around the area; I hope to offer guided tours in the future.
Snake news
We’ve had a major success with continued development of the HX wing series. Thanks to some hard work by Grif Italia we can now offer the HX11 and HX12 wings as fully compliant with the UK sub-70 category. I have confirmed a calibrated stall speed of the HX11 wing (at a take-off weight of ~165kg) at 22mph. The vortex generator option reduces this by ~2mph so is recommended for heavier sub-70 pilots. This confirms Grif’s position as the very highest performance wings available in this category.
In the same vein I’ve collected some glide data for the three most popular wing options on the Snake. I hope to have data for the HX series and Avian wings soon.
As can be seen, the 3DC is very much the wing to have if glide performance or efficiency is a priority, although the Zip is a surprisingly close second. The Fox wing is still a great choice if a steep landing approach is required.
FAI world record award
The FAI have seen fit to award me the Ann Welch diploma in recognition of the World Record for distance flown without engine power. This was flown on a sub-70 Snake in the summer of 2018. I hope to stretch this distance with another record once I’ve worked out how to use the wave generated by the Scottish mountains!
Plans for 2020
2020 promises to be an exciting year for Airplay Aircraft. I should have news updates soon with more information on the Wyvern reverse trike concept vehicle, new engine options (including an all-electric drive system), and flight tests of our latest Minifox demonstrator with the “Evo Speed” enclosed cabin. The Minifox will remain at Sutton for demo flights for the time being. Please contact me if you’re interested in a Snake demo as I may be able to bring the aircraft close to your current flying site.
