Lightest e-paraglider developed, weighs 49kg

                Scientists, including one of Indian origin, have successfully designed and built the world’s lightest electric paraglider trike, that can take off and land with wheels while carrying an adult pilot. The aircraft dubbed The Delta, has two rear-mounted propellers, horizontally arranged, each driven by a motor and is powered by lithium polymer batteries. It is the lightest aircraft that can take off and land with wheels while carrying an adult pilot and may provide a safe, clean and simple way to realize our dreams of flying.

                The Delta was built for the National Geographic Channel. “We had to find the lightest airfoil possible, a wing, blade or sail crucial for a flight, which we found in a conventional cloth paraglider,” said Rangaranjan Jegadeesan, of Design-Centric Programme at the National University of Singapore. “We had to find the lightest motor to provide enough thrust for The Delta to be airborne; and we had to build it so that it is light enough to fly yet sturdy enough to be safe,” said Jegadeesan.

                The Delta weighs 49kg, and is capable of carrying one person up to 75kg. It can fly up to a speed of 36km per hour under normal wind conditions, and has a typical flight time of 10 minutes on fully-charged batteries.