Pneuwing

Year

2001

The idea

To make the pneumatic structures of wings slimmer and more flexible, a so-called filament wing was developed.

The objective

The Pneuwing was an intelligent successor to the Stingray manned flying object from 1997.

Technical data

• Wankel engine: 80 hp
• Structure: aluminium
• Sleeves: carbon fibre

Operating principle

Flight calls for an integrated blend of precision, tensile strength, lightness, surface quality and reliability. The further development of pneumatic wing structures led to the Pneuwing, in which the tensions within the fabric generated by pneumatic overpressure provided the necessary tensile strength. The lightweight design was achieved by means of supporting structures comprising numerous textile tensioning elements.

Technology

The landing flaps of the Pneuwing are actuated solely by the textile surfaces, which are subjected to pressure provided by the pneumatic main wing. Carbon fibre sleeves form the transition from the soft pneumatic structure to the hard aluminium corpus.