Silence Twister Explained

The Silence Twister is a German ultralight designed by Silence Aircraft for amateur construction, either from plans or kits.[1] The prototype first flew on 30 September 2000.[2]

Design and development

The Twister is a single-seat low-wing monoplane with elliptical wings and tailplane. It has a retractable conventional landing gear with a fixed tailwheel.[2] The design drew inspiration from the Supermarine Spitfire, and the shapes of the Twister's wings, fin and tailplane all recall the famous World War II fighter. Designed to take engines up to 940NaN0, the prototype was fitted with a 53.60NaN0 single-rotor MidWest Wankel engine. This compact rotary motor allowed a sleek engine cowling, but the engine was rejected and production aircraft use 850NaN0 Jabiru 2200 or 950NaN0ULPower UL260i engines.[2] [3] [4]

An electric aircraft version was under development in 2010.

Propeller

The Twister prototype was fitted with Silence Aircraft's own automatic variable-pitch propeller called the "VProp". The LAA have yet to allow the VProp to be fitted on UK aircraft, so UK Twisters have fixed-blade propellers instead.[5]

Operational history

Twenty-one examples had been completed and flown by December 2011.

Variants

SA155: Initial prototype powered by a MidWest AE50 Wankel rotary engine. The second prototype was powered by a Diamond AE50 engine.[2]
  • SA180: powered by a Jabiru 2200 engine.[2]
  • Akron: A version developed for the US market under Experimental aircraft certification rules.[2]
  • See also

    Notes and References

    1. Vandermeullen. Richard. 2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide. Kitplanes. December 2011. 28. 12. 63. Belvoir Publications. 0891-1851.
    2. Book: Jackson, Paul . Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2003-2004. 2003. Jane's Information Group . Coulsdon, Surrey, United Kingdom. 0-7106-2537-5. 189–190.
    3. Book: Bayerl. Robby. Berkemeier. Martin . etal . World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12. 2011. WDLA UK. Lancaster UK. 75.
    4. Tacke. Willi. TBoric. Marino . etal . 1368-485X . World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16. World Directory of Light Aviation. 2015. Flying Pages Europe SARL. 125.
    5. Web site: ENGINES AND PROPELLERS FITTED TO LAA AIRCRAFT. The Light Aircraft Association. The Light Aircraft Association. 21 December 2017.