1comet is a recent member of the ultralight sailplane community, and one with outstanding performance in the refined arena of microlift. Its makers proclaim its mission: “1comet AG was founded on the belief that pure flight is one of the most beautiful forms of freedom ever created.”
Since microlift combines a craft’s ability to circle tightly in small thermals (columns of warm, rising air), 1comet is designed to exploit even such weak “updrafts” and return extended flights. Wikipedia informs us, “A microlift glider is a recreational glider that is able to exploit microlift, which is lift weaker than a conventional glider would require to stay airborne.”
Wikipedia lists nine such craft:
- Advanced Aeromarine Sierra
- Aériane Swift
- Bailey-Moyes Tempest
- EEL ULF 1
- Glidersport LightHawk
- Maupin Carbon Dragon
- Ruppert Archaeopteryx
- Neutrino
- 1comet
1Comet shows up well above most ultralight craft, with numbers that would refloct well on a standard class saiplane
All fall, nzturally, into the ultralight class, a great accomplishment for machines with greater wingspans than most in that class.
An interview with Donat Bösch helps highlight the lightweight sailplane’s salient features. Initial design by Martin Hepperle and Eric Raymond provrded the aerodynamic and structural basis for the craft. Hepperle’s skills in designing slippery airfoils and Raymond’s demonstrated ability to craft large, light, strong structures. His Sunseeker 1, for instance, had a structural weight of only 98 pounds even with a 45-foot wingspan.
Details and Refinement
That 1comet comes in at 120 kilograms (264.5 pounds) empty weight indicates careful attention to details. That includes the use of pultruded wing spars that enabble a 13-percent thick wing, narrow chord, and 15 meter (49.2 foot) span. Kevlar and carbon fiber reinforce primary structure and form an aerodynamic, strong shell around the pilot.
Note that the revised shell places the pilot far enough forward to enable seeing into a tightly banked turn, essential when soaring with others. Moving the pilot forward allows moving the 30-kilogram (66-pound) battery pack further back, maintaining a correct center of gravity. Pilots sit under a drag-reducing wing-fusefage intersection reminscent of an approach Munich Akaflieg researchers have studied.
Pulling 1comet Skyward (Added August 7)
That 30 kilogram battery pack powers an FES (Front Electric Sustainer) system with a folding ptopeller. On this electric self-launching variant, a retractable landing gear enables propeller clearance during takeoff. Its battery pack enables up to 13,000 feet of accumulated climb and up to two hours of powered flight.
Demonstrating 1comet’s capabilities, Philipp Steinger made a flight of 515.63 kilometers (320.4 miles) at an average speed of 63.26 kilometers per hour (36.7 mph) on July 11. A few days later, he went 100 kilometers further at a higher speed
1comet can be everything from a bare-bones foot-launched hang glider to leading edge electric self-launching sailplane. It fits well in the growing number of micolift-capable sailplanes.