Patrice Franceschi – 40 ans Tour du Monde‘.
Forty years ago, on September 29, 1984, Patrice Franceschi embarked on the first circumnavigation of the world with an ultralight aircraft, the Aviasud Sirocco, covering a distance of 36,000 km. He flew over 33 countries and was on the journey for 909 days. An incredible achievement, especially by the pilot, but it also demonstrated what was possible with a plane weighing only 130 kg. To mark the anniversary of this first circumnavigation, we are releasing the limited edition‚Patrice Franceschi – 40 ans Tour du Monde‘.
In memory of the remarkable vision and achievement of François Goethals and Bernard D‘Otreppe, who founded the company Aviasud near Fréjus in January 1982, and just one year later, in January 1983, brought to market the effi cient and well-designed ultralight aircraft „Sirocco“. A milestone in the history of ultralight aviation.
ALPHAFROG G1 – 120 kg aircraft
Technical Specification
ALPHAFROG G1
ALPHAFROG eG1
Four-Stroke EOS Quattro Engine
The Austrian company EOS has been producing high-quality paramotor engines for a long time. With the Quattro engine, they took many years of testing and development to bring their reliability to the four-stroke world. It is a single-cylinder engine but runs like a charm. It has much less vibration and noise than anything we‘ve seen on the Sirocco in the past. The throttle works smoothly and linearly. The response is great, and the sound is low, strong, and pleasant.
When you fly with this engine, you might have the least noise problems of all pilots fl ying combustion engines. The only way to get even quieter is to switch to electric.
Geiger HPD 20/30
The Geiger engine is well known and has been used for several years. And what can you say? Electric is quiet, isn’t it? Yes, it is, but most of the noise is generated by the propeller. Due to the low RPM, the propeller in the ALPHAFROG G1 is very quiet. Additionally, there is no gearbox, which further reduces noise. And last but not least, the HPD 20 is even quieter compared to other electric motors, producing a nicer and more pleasant sound. All in all, it’s the best choice for the G1 and the best choice for you and your neighbors. When you use the folding propeller with the HPD 20/30, it is just fantastic to glide smoothly and calmly through the air. Since the HPD 20/30 is about the size of the engine mount, it reduces drag even further and therefore also reduces noise. A pure gliding experience!
ALPHAFROG Safety
When it comes to safety, it is hard to know where to start because safety is at the heart of ALPHAFROG. We believe that auto-gliding, emergency landing, collision detection, envelope protection during takeoff and landing, and stall prevention can prevent about 2/3 of all accidents.
This is why we provide all our avionics with an emergency feature that will be continuously updated to give you the latest technology in accident prevention.
Initially, pressing the emergency button will locate the nearest airfield and guide you to it using an ideal flight path, providing information for optimum airspeed and considering exact wind measurements.
On the passive safety side, we provide a good damping gear and impact-absorbing seats. We also have significantly increased structural strength compared to the old Sirocco. For 40 years, a standard in ultralight aircraft has been the rescue system: the G1 has a 70m² rocket-initiated parachute between the wings. We strongly recommend all aircraft be equipped with a rescue system, which has a proven record of saving hundreds of lives.
The G1 comes with an angle of attack sensor (AoA) and a professional 100m range LIDAR system for ground collision detection, actively leveraged by the ALPHAFROG flight system software. There will also be a surveillance upgrade, using high-resolution cameras to automatically detect flying objects that do not provide ADS-B or Flarm, and obstacles like wind turbines that have not been mapped.
Regarding the propulsion system, the combustion engine has an advanced monitoring system which continuously monitors the engine and is even able to predict a portion of failures using smart algorithms. The electric version comes with full redundancy of the motor, being duplex with double the coils, double the controller, and two or four batteries with their battery management for each battery, providing the highest possible safety you can achieve in such a lightweight aircraft.
At ALPHAFROG, we aim to reduce failure probability by continuously working on flight assistance software, an essential part of our product.
Efficiency in All Aspects
When we consider the benefits of an efficient aircraft, it‘s hard not to invest time in further enhancing efficiency. An efficient aircraft, compared to a less efficient one:
- Glides farther due to better aerodynamics
- Requires less fuel or electrical energy, thus saving costs, reducing CO2
- emissions, and producing fewer exhaust gases
- Produces less noise because of reduced turbulent flow around the body,
- wings, and propeller
- Needs a shorter takeoff distance with the same power
- Reduces weight, thereby further decreasing the power required
At ALPHAFROG, we‘ve focused on three main areas to increase efficiency:
- Lift
- Drag
- Propulsion
Compared to the old Sirocco, the new carbon wing is much more efficient while retaining the good characteristics of the old wing, such as low stall speed or no stall at all if the engine is not fully off. It can glide approximately 30% better than the old wing.
The wing profile is thinner, reducing the frontal area. We also off er a closed canopy, which further reduces drag. The old Sirocco had many cables, which we replaced with four aerodynamic wing struts. Additionally, we made the main gear more aerodynamic and off er wheel fairings to reduce air drag even further.
All in all, the G1 will be able to fly 100 km on just 3 liters of fuel, thanks to the efficient engine and propeller. The eG1 will fly for up to 1.5 hours with reserve, using four batteries with a total of 12 kWh, costing about 3 to 5 EUR depending on where you charge them. We also provide a trailer with 2.2 kWp solar panels and a buff er battery to charge your eG1 anywhere for free. It‘s an amazing feeling to use the energy of the sun, both from thermals and waves, and indirectly through your solar-charged batteries.
