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Wolfe Aviation WAT
Single-seat single-engined flex-wing aircraft with weight-shift control. Rogallo wing. Pilot suspended below wing in trike unit, using bar to control pitch and yaw/roll by altering relative positions of trike unit and wing. Undercarriage has three wheels in tricycle formation. Push-right go-left nosewheel steering independent from yaw control. Aluminium-tube trike unit, with optional pod. Engine mounted below wing driving pusher propeller.
The WAT - the title stands for Wolfe Aviation Trike. In concept it is simple enough - a monopole trike using a 2 inch (5cm) square-section aluminium pole, adjustable in height to suit various Rogallo wings. Wolfe offers a variety of engines, with or without reduction drive, various seat options and also a selection of undercarriage designs. One of these undercarriages is unique as far as trikes are concerned in that it has retract-able main wheels which fold behind the power pack to reduce drag. The WAT is also available with a double nosewheel. Another drag reducing option is a fabric pod.
To make the WAT as versatile as possible, the hang point uses a clamping arrangement, the idea being that the glider can be attached without drilling holes through the keel tube.
Standard engine is the Cuyuna 215 cc unit with reduction drive but among the engine options is a Cuyuna ULII-02. Price of the trike unit with 215 cc engine and reduction drive was $1690.
Engine: Cuyuna 215, 22hp at 6000rpm
Propeller diameter and pitch 50 x 20 inch, 1.27 x 0.51 m
V-belt reduction, ratio 2.0/1
Max static thrust 160 lb, 73kg
Fuel capacity 2.0 US gal, 1.7 Imp gal, 7.6 litre
Length overall (Trike unit only) 5.0ft, 1.52m
Height overall (Trike unit only) 7.0 ft, 2.13 m
Empty weight (Trike unit only) 110 lb, 50kg