Skywings July 97

Aeros Target

'Friendly, easy to fly and easy to land.' Paul Timms finds Aeros' Skyfloater very much to his liking.

I had dabbled with hang gliding during the early 80s when a student, but a grant and a lack of transport curtailed serious involvement. By 1988 I had the means to fly again but became distracted by microlights and began flying a 210cc Soloengined trike under a Typhoon S4 wing more of a powered hang glider than a microlight. Escalating bureaucracy and cost began to make this sort of flying more difficult and I returned to hang gliding in 1993.
A Typhoon S4 I had bought as a spare was pressed into service to get me through my CPC at South Peak Airsports' tow school, but when using this hefty beast to convert from winch to hill I became disheartened by the carry ups. One day on the hill I picked up a Clubman and discovered it was half the weight of the S4! Within two months I had one of my own. It was very easy to fly and a lot more fun than the S4. I could land it anywhere and soon realised that one factor which stops many hot ship pilots flying is the worry of getting their machines into tight landing areas. In the air my Clubman seemed to fly as well as most other gliders except at high speeds. It could have done with a more competent pilot, but I suppose Clubmans are used to this!

18 months on, the Clubman and I were still good friends but it was beginning to get a little tatty around the edges. I wasn't looking too good either, having sprouted a considerable amount of extra ballast around my centre of gravity. At the end of last year I began to look for another glider. I had been quite taken with the Skyfloating philosophy promoted by Colin Lark and others. I had also witnessed Jason Board and his mates flying old 1978 single surface Birdman Cherokees from the dunes at Weston. They appeared to be having a brilliant time doing things that would be considered impossible on a a conventional modern hang glider.

All these ideas came to fruition at the BHPA AGM trade show when I spotted a very pretty single surface glider hanging above the Aeros stand, its cross tube proudly exposed for all to see. Its simplicity of construction and bright, crisp sail appealed to my aesthetic side right away and I decided to find out more. A phone call to Stewart Bond of Aeros UK found me contemplating a nil wind launch clipped in to a Target 16 ( a 1 3m size is also available). A perfect take off followed by a nearly perfect landing convinced me to hand Stewart the money. Now, after a few hours on my new found friend in a variety of flying conditions, I will try to give you my impression of it. I have tried to be as objective as possible.

Rigging and construction

On opening the substantial (lined) protective bag you are presented with a neatly folded wing secured by four broad velcro ties. Lots of neatly made packing pieces ensure the glider suffers the minimum wear during transport and rigging. Even the speed bar lives in a neat bag to prevent sail abrasion. Also supplied is a short pack carry bag (the glider can be broken down to 2m in length without the use of using tools). A very comprehensive manual with hand drawn diagrams completes the package; some of the Ukraine English translation is amusing but it is clear and concise.
Rigging is easy, either flat or on the A frame, and is completely standard. Battens the inners are of solid composite, the outers aluminium are substantially made. They are secured with strings and not bungees; with only seven each side rigging is very quick.
The kingpost is hinged to the keel and luff lines and rear wires are attached with a wichard type hook. Tensioning is superbly easy and smooth, the tension wires simply attaching to a neat hook and spring retainer. Lower front wires are secured by a swan catch, steel pin and split ring, and a nose 'nappy' makes the pointy end look neat and tidy.

Now it's all together, what have we got?

The first thing that strikes you is the quality of the sail, both in materials and construction. With a bit of airflow over the wing, sail definition is precise with not a wrinkle in sight. Closer inspection shows fine attention to detail, with all potential wear points reinforced or protected. There are zips at the cross tube/leading edge junction allowing easy inspection of this vital area.
Inspection of the airframe is very easy by virtue of nothing being enclosed within a double surface. The short pack facility requires leading edges and (floating) cross tubes to be in several sections, consequently there are extra pins and split rings that require examination during pre-flight checks.
Flying wires, of galvanised rather than stainless steel (more kink resistant and less brittle), are connected to the A frame by stainless steel tangs. The A frame and speed bar are of round section tube connected by lightweight knuckles. The finish on the A frame is a simple anodised one, although

Aeros offer a powder coating option on all the tubes. Although it looks very neat it did not appeal
to me due to the risk of it being chipped and it being more difficult to inspect for corrosion.
The kingpost hang point is tidy and well thought out, featuring an integral backup loop over the keel. The kingpost is of aerofoil section and can be moved through five positions for trim adjustment. At my clip in weight of 12 stone I used the middle position.

What's it like to fly, mister?

In the air the Target is delightful. Take off is effortless, the glider feeling very 'lifty' and being controllable at very low airspeeds. In the air, the first thing that you notice is that the bar is further forward at trim than on most British gliders (the A frame is raked forward a few degrees). Handling is light and well co-ordinated although at the same time the glider feels crisp with very positive feedback a feature which low airtime pilots should find very reassuring. Roll response does not get stiff with increasing speed, while at the

opposite end of the speed range roll authority remains good right down to the stall.
The excellent sink rate, combined with with high manoeuvrability at modest speeds, make it a joy to fly in light, scratchy conditions. You can play the paradangler pilots at their own game by 'parking' into wind and S turning in light lift while the hot ship hang glider pilots are welded to the hill for fear of going down.

It should be emphasised that the Target is not just a light wind floater. It will also handle stronger conditions easily. I have flown it in lively conditions in 20mph winds, which it handled with ease. The only problem in these conditions is keeping on the ground until you are ready to launch I either use a noseman or 'kite' the glider to launch and clip in just prior to take off. It may be worth experimenting with a more forward hang point but I have yet to try it.
Landing is straightforward. Flare timing is not critical; even on a nil wind landing all that is required is a smooth, progressive flare to drop you neatly on your feet. Although the glider retains a good glide over a wide speed range, you can degrade the glide by flying with the bar pulled hard in, a characteristic which is useful when doing a short landing in a confined bottom landing area. In a moderate breeze, even a 'Neddy' like myself can pull off consistent accurate landings, simply by pulling in hard justdownwind of your intended spot (don't try this one on your topless mylar monster!).

Summary

The ideal glider is many things to many people. However, I suspect a lot of us tend to be influenced by the heroes of the hill and thus aspire to more and more performance (in terms c speed and glide). It is easy to forget that flying should be fun. For this you need a friendly, easy to fly and, just as importantly, easy to land glider. You won't enjoy the flight and be relaxed if you are worried about landing. The Target does all tthis and will go up just as high as anything else on the average ridge soaring day. On a light wind day you will get higher than the hot ship pilots because of the low speed thermalling ability of this Skyfloater type glider. The Target will never win on the high speed super glide angle stakes but would, I am sure, be capable of gentle crosscountry flying at a modest pace.
If you are low airtime, fed up with hot ships of are just a little bit of a 'Neddy' like me but you want flying to be fun, it is well worth taking a look at this glider. To me it seems well made, it's good value for money and it is backed by a good dealership network. I have flown more and enjoyed my flying more in the three months I have had this glider than in the whole of the previous year.

Sail area: 16.2m` (1 76ft2) No. of battens: 15
Span: 9.6m (31' 6") Weight (inc. bag): 26kg (57.41b)
Nose angle: 120' Certificated pilot weight: 60 - 95kg (1 32 -2091b)
Aspect ratio: 5.7:1 Optimum pilot weight: 70kg (1541b)
Double surface area: 30% Certification: BHPA (Certificate No. 9511108)
Packed length: 5.7m (18'8") Price: £1,650Short packed length: 3.8/2.0m (8'8"/6'6")

Imported by Aeros UK, Hollybank, 507 Penistone Rd, Shelley, Huddersfield
HD8 8HY, tel/fax: 01484 604289, mobile: 0831 708821 .