Air Sylphe 447

The Air Sylphe 447 is a French powered parachute that was designed and produced by Air Sylphe of Villereau, Nord. Now out of production, when it was available, the aircraft was supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.^[1]

The company seems to have gone out of business in the end of 2007 and production ended by that date.^[2]

Design and development

The Air Sylphe 447 was designed to comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of 115 kg (254 lb). The aircraft has a standard empty weight of 88 kg (194 lb). It features a 35 m² (380 sq ft) parachute-style wing, single-place accommodation, tricycle landing gear and a single 40 hp (30 kW) Rotax 447 engine in pusher configuration. The 50 hp (37 kW) Rotax 503 engine was a factory option.^[1]

The aircraft carriage is built from metal tubing with a ducted fan derived from an industrial air ventilation system. The main landing gear incorporates spring rod suspension.^[1]

The aircraft has an empty weight of 88 kg (194 lb) and a gross weight of 210 kg (463 lb), giving a useful load of 122 kg (269 lb). With full fuel of 18 litres (4.0 imp gal; 4.8 US gal) the payload for crew and baggage is 109 kg (240 lb). A version with a gross weight of 310 kg (683 lb) to accommodate heavier pilots was also built.^[1]

Specifications (Air Sylphe 447)

Data from Bertrand^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: one
• Wingspan: 12.20 m (40 ft 0 in)
• Wing area: 35 m² (380 sq ft)
• Aspect ratio: 4.4:1
• Empty weight: 88 kg (194 lb)
• Gross weight: 210 kg (463 lb)
• Fuel capacity: 18 litres (4.0 imp gal; 4.8 US gal)
• Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 447 twin cylinder, two-stroke, air-cooled aircraft engine, 30 kW (40 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 45 km/h (28 mph; 24 kn)
• Stall speed: 20 km/h (12 mph; 11 kn)
• Rate of climb: 2 m/s (390 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 6.0 kg/m² (1.2 lb/sq ft)

References