Wings of Change
TypePrivately held company
IndustryAerospace
Headquarters
Fulpmes
,
Austria
ProductsParagliders
OwnerMarkus Gründhammer
Websitewww.wings-of-change.at

Wings of Change is an Austrian aircraft manufacturer based in Fulpmes, founded by Markus Gründhammer. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of paragliders in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft.[1]

By 2003 the company had a range of gliders in their line including the Chinhook Bi two-place tandem, the intermediate Taifun and Twister, plus the performance Tsunami.[1]

Reviewer Noel Bertrand said of the company in a 2003 profile, "Markus Gründhammer still manages to make the safest paragliders without losing anything in performance."[1]

The company's 2011 and later line includes gliders with such names as the Deathblade, Predator and Psychohammer.[2]

Designer Gründhammer said of his Deathblade paraglider, a glider with an aspect ratio of 13.01:1, wing with 113 cells and a top speed of 68 km/h (37 kn), "finally, a wing that meets my expectations of performance and flying qualities and equally challenges my skills. Some guys need a Ferrari. As for me, I build my own paragliders in order to advance as a test pilot and also on a personal scale. To me, the motivation of finding ever new dimensions and testing out the limits of feasibility means developing mental strength and feeling 'pure life'."[3]

The company also builds the Skyman line of lightweight mountain gliders for activities such as bivouac flying.[4]

Aircraft

Summary of aircraft built by Wings of Change:

  • Wings of Change Acrominator
  • Wings of Change Braveheart
  • Wings of Change Chinhook Bi
  • Wings of Change Crossblade
  • Wings of Change Deathblade
  • Wings of Change Druid
  • Wings of Change Edonis
  • Wings of Change Reinhold
  • Wings of Change Ötzi
  • Wings of Change Predator
  • Wings of Change Psychohammer
  • Wings of Change Speedy Gonzales
  • Wings of Change Taifun
  • Wings of Change Tsunami
  • Wings of Change Tuareg
  • Wings of Change Twister
  • Wings of Change X-Fighter
  • Wings of Change XPlor-air
  • Skyman Amicus
  • Skyman The Rock
  • Skyman CrossCountry
  • Skyman Heartbeat
  • Skyman CrossAlps
  • Skyman PassengAir
  • Skyman Tandem
  • Skyman Reinhold II
  • Skyman Furio

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04, page 36. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X
  2. ↑ Wings of Change (2011). "Products". Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Wings of Change (2011). "Deathblade". Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  4. ↑ Wings of Change (2011). "Skyman Line". Retrieved 25 November 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.