Hill Tetra-15 Explained

The Tetra-15 is an American mid-wing, single-seat, kit-built glider that was designed by Bob Kuykendall, Steve Smith, and Brad Hill, and built primarily by Brad Hill, Bob Kuykendall, and Doug Gray.

Design and development

The Tetra-15 is the first aircraft produced from the tools and development of the HP-24 project, a project to develop and manufacture a high-performance sailplane in kit form.

The aircraft is predominantly made from carbon fiber. The wings have airfoils from the FX81 family of profiles. The wing spars use pultruded carbon fiber ribbons in the upper and lower caps. Glide path control is via mechanically actuated Schempp-Hirth style airbrakes. All wing and tail controls are automatically connecting. The retractable undercarriage is likewise manually actuated.

Operational history

The Tetra-15 first flew on Friday 27 January 2012.

By December 2016 one example had been registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration.^[1]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Make / Model Inquiry Results. 1 December 2016. Federal Aviation Administration. 1 December 2016.