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Edelweiss
The Edelweiss ultra-light sailplane was built largely from Sunseeker materials tooling and technology. It was built largely to answer the question: Can a practical sailplane be built, weighing less than 154 lbs? Although the SUNSEEKER was initially flown as a glider with an empty weight of only 100 lbs, it was considered too fragile to be practical. Considerably more durability was built into Edelweiss, and less wing span for better maneuverability and higher top speed. It is designed for a top speed of 120 knots and should be fully aerobatic. Presently it has only been flight tested to 65 knots. One of its design features is the inclusion of water ballast tanks in the wings, capable of carrying 150 lbs of water. The wings were load tested to 6.6 g before flight testing.
Present weight, in primer, with ballistic parachute system, ready to fly.....................152 lbs.
Wing span...................................................................................48 ft.
Predicted glide angle.....................30
Wing loading...........3 lb/ft2.....(4.5 lb/ft2 with water ballast)
Construction.......Carbon fiber pre-preg, foam, Nomex honeycomb and epoxy/carbon wet lay up.
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