Azalea Saberwing
The Azalea Saberwing, named for the species of hummingbird, is an American amateur-built aircraft, designed and produced by Azalea Aviation of Adel, Georgia, introduced at Sun 'n Fun in 2015. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.
Design and development
The Saberwing features a cantilever low-wing, a two-seats-in-side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit under a bubble canopy, fixed conventional landing gear or optionally tricycle landing gear, with wheel pants and a single engine in tractor configuration.The aircraft is made from a composite-foam sandwich with the wing spars and wing ribs made from a wood-composite sandwich. The design has been optimized for a low parts-count to simplify construction. Its span wing, has an area of and mounts flaps. The cabin is in width. The standard engine used is the in-house developed Spyder Corvair automotive conversion four-stroke powerplant.
The manufacturer estimates that building the aircraft from the supplied kit requires 500-1,000 hours of labor at a total completion cost of US$40,000-50,000.
Operational history
Reviewers Roy Beisswenger and Marino Boric described the design in a 2015 review as "sleek" and "elegant".By September 2020, four examples had been registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration.