Dallach Sunrise Explained

The Dallach D.2 Sunrise, also known as the WDFL Sunrise after its suppliers, is a single-engine, single-seat cantilever monoplane. It was designed and marketed as a homebuilt aircraft in Germany by Wolfgang Dallach.

Design and development

Wolfgang Dallach's Sunrise, marketed ready-to-fly or in kit form by his WD Flugzeug Leichtbau (WDFL), was his first ultralight design. In Germany, it was the first ultralight equipped with a four-stroke engine. The Sunrise is a tandem two-seater. Both seats are equipped with a throttle lever, rudder and control stick. Full engine control is available only from the rear seat. The fuselage is built from steel tubes and is fabric covered. The wing has a nose made of fiberglass. The main spar is built from CFK. The Sunrise has a fixed tailwheel undercarriage, with the mainwheels hinged from the fuselage on V-form, cross-connected struts. Some Sunrises have wheel fairings.

The Sunrise can be powered by one of several engines in the 28-66 kW (38-90 hp) power range.

Operational history

About 39 Sunrises are thought to have been built, all flying in Germany. In mid-2010, 19 years after kit production ended, 38 still appeared on the German civil register.

Variants

Data from DAec

Sunrise:Original version, 28 kW (37.5 hp) Citroën KKHD four-stroke engine
  • Sunrise IIA: 47 kW (74.6 hp) Sauer UL 2100 two-stroke engine
  • Sunrise IIB: 66 kW (88.5 hp) BMW UL four-stroke engine
  • Sunrise IIC: 51 kW (68 hp) BMW R1000 four-stroke engine
  • Sunrise (Verner): 59 kW (79 hp) Verner SVS 1400 engine
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