The Ruppert Archaeopteryx could be your personal hang glider. Designed by Roger Ruppert and produced by Ruppert Composite GmbH, it is a Swiss high-wing, pod-and-boom, single-seat, microlift glider. It derives its name from the feathered Archaeopteryx dinosaur, generally regarded as the oldest known bird.
Design and Development
The Archaeopteryx design started in 1998 at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHW) as a research project. The idea was to create a foot-launchable microlift sailplane. The design goals were to achieve light empty weight, low stall speed with gentle stall characteristics, good maneuverability and good high-speed performance. A further goal was to make the sailplane foot-launchable even in zero wind conditions.
Major Milestones
As per the company website:
- The maiden flight of the initial prototype was in 2001
- The project was accepted by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation, FOCA in 2002
- The production prototype design was started in 2006
- First delivery for Archaeopteryx Glider was made in 2010
- Electric propulsion was introduced in 2014 to allow self-launching, and the first delivery for Archaeopteryx Electro was made
In Flight
The Archaeopteryx has conventional sailplane controls, minimum weight, simple rigging, and very low minimum speed. The company says it has well behaved flight characteristics and outstanding climbing ability in updraughts. They add that its good gliding and climb performance enables cross-country flights even when there are only light updraughts. The cockpit – can stay open or enclosed as preferred – is comfortable even for long flights.
Safety
As an additional safety feature the Archaeopteryx has a specifically developed rocket driven rescue system. The pilot is connected to the aircraft and the rescue system at all times, by his safety harness. The whole aircraft system with pilot descends on the parachute.
Launching
The Archaeopteryx has many different launch methods:
Foot Launch
The lift off speed on a foot launch from a slope is the same as for a hang glider. The company says, “with suitable slope and appropriate training, it is possible to launch in windless conditions. The hands bear no load, the machine is not in ground contact. The flight controls are operational and used during the launch.”
Bungee Launch
There are two different bungee lengths, and the bungee catapult is possible from a shallow or a steep slope.
Electro-Drive Take-off
The company claims that you can fit or remove the electro-drive motor in 5 minutes without tools. So, the Archaeopteryx can turn from a pure glider to electro glider and back pretty quickly. With the electro-drive, it can take off independently on a hard surface and – by using a quick release auxiliary wheel – on grass.
Towing
You can tow launch the Archaeopteryx using Trike-Tow, Aerotow, or Car Tow.
Landing
Landing on the undercarriage
The approach speed is very low and you can control the glidepath angle with the flap. This permits small space approaches and landings on typical hang glider operating sites, small emergency fields, and normal airfields too.
Foot Landing
With enough experience and training, it is possible to foot land the aircraft. The approach is planned into wind for the foot landing. A running foot landing is also possible in still wind conditions but requires a lot of skill.
Variants
UPDATED on 26th Jun, 2020: The fuselage of the Archaeopteryx is available in three different versions (configurations):
- Standard – Basic design for the open cockpit experience
- Race – Comfortable sailplane feel thanks to the full cockpit enclosure
- Electro – Completely independent free flight thanks to the quickly fitted electric motor system
Pricing starts from 65,900 Euros for the Standard version and goes up to 89,500 Euros for the Electro. Check out their website to place an order or learn more about the Archaeopteryx personal hang glider.
Startup
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend to become registered, startups refer to new businesses that intend to grow large beyond the solo founder. At the beginning, startups face high uncertainty and have high rates of failure, but a minority of them do go on to be successful and influential. Some startups become unicorns; that is privately held startup companies valued at over US$1 billion.
Actions
Startups typically begin by a founder (solo-founder) or co-founders who have a way to solve a problem. The founder of a startup will begin market validation by problem interview, solution interview, and building a minimum viable product (MVP), i.e. a prototype, to develop and validate their business models. The startup process can take a long period of time (by some estimates, three years or longer), and hence sustaining effort is required. Over the long term, sustaining effort is especially challenging because of the high failure rates and uncertain outcomes. Having a business plan in place outlines what to do and how to plan and achieve an idea in the future. Typically, these plans outline the first 3 to 5 years of your business strategy.
Design principles
Models behind startups presenting as ventures are usually associated with design science. Design science uses design principles considered to be a coherent set of normative ideas and propositions to design and construct the company's backbone. For example, one of the initial design principles is "affordable loss".
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