South African Star

BOSS & TRIKE – The developer of Aquilla trikes is Aidan De Gersigny, who willingly posed for my camera in Florida last spring.

WIDE RANGE – The Aquilla offers several points of connection for the trike carriage, which allows a careful pilot to get the trim speed closest to his or her desire.

LIGHT UP – One unusual feature that comes standard on the Aquilla is the nose light, seen here with antenna also mounted.

SLIM FAIRING – Solo Wings offers a body fairing for those who prefer the look. A lean design with minimal windscreen, it nonetheless adds streamlining to the basic trike front end.

ROTAX 582 – As it does on most aircraft, the 65-hp Rotax 582 adds lots of complexity compared to a similar installation of the 50-hp Rotax 503. Note refueling aft of the rear seat (arrow).

CARGO POD – If the standard stash bags aren’t enough, you can opt for this slick-looking cargo pod from Bateleur.

HEAVILY PADDED – Seats in the Aquilla are fairly well separated from each other without being independent seat structures. The webbing and cloth seat is especially well padded for comfort. The seat fabric encloses the fuel tank.

STASH BAGS – The Aquilla comes standard with these side carry bags which can hold a surprising amount of stuff you can reach in flight (though you must take care not to drop stuff in front of a spinning prop). Note rear seat foot throttle on right.

T-POD – The Aquilla comes with many features as standard equipment including this nicely executed instrument pod. Plenty of room is available yet it doesn’t interfere with your leg movement. Note also standard radio holder (in front of T-pod by BRS handle).

WELL DAMPENED – Solo Wings must know their vibration technology as this mount proved to significantly dampen vibes coming from the potent 65-hp Rotax 582 engine.

Not long ago, Americans couldn’t buy products from South Africa because of that country’s apartheid policies. Our government employed economic sanctions that kept South African aviation developments off our radar. However, as their ultralight producers did business with Europe, the Southern Hemisphere country kept up with ultralight aviation despite the sanctions imposed by the United States.
One South African ultralight product is the Aquilla, a sturdy trike from Solo Wings in South Africa.
If the name Aquilla sounds vaguely familiar and a bit Italian to you, go to the head of the class. You’d be right on both counts. Aquila – spelled with one “l” – is a constellation in the Northern Hemisphere and the Milky Way. Exactly how a star in the northern skies inspired someone in South Africa I don’t know. Aquila is also a city of central Italy northeast of Rome.
Nonetheless, Solo Wings owner Aidan De Gersigny, who has been involved with hang gliding since the late 1970s, says Aquilla means “Eagle” in Latin, a name he used for a hang glider he sold 15 years ago. De Gersigny, who looks and sounds much like any American aviator except for a telltale South African accent, has now brought the name back with an engine and landing gear attached.
So our focus in this article is on the ultralight trike with the double “l” spelling. Aquilla is pronounced “Ah-QUILL-uh,” according to U.S. representative Bateleur Sky Sports owner Mike Devenish. He provides trike sales and instruction seven days a week.

Making the Jump
to Ultralights
Before De Gersigny got involved with trike manufacturing, he built hang gliders for a number of years. “I had a good run with them,” he says, but he began to see the future. “Hang gliders last a long time and it was challenging to come out with a new sales-inspiring model every year,” De Gersigny remembers. In those days, the trend was for manufacturers to release a new model almost yearly in order to grab the attention of the glider-buying community.
Therefore, in the mid-1980s, De Gersigny made the jump to trikes, an activity that made good use of his background in creating hang gliders.
His first trike was a single-seat model created to attach to the wing that hang glider pilots already owned. At first De Gersigny had owners bring him their hang glider and he would fit their wing to his chassis.

De Gersigny went to a big airshow in the early ’80s. Despite a good turnout he didn’t take an order for even one single-seater. Again, he felt he’d seen the future and at that time he transitioned to the Windlass 2-seat trike design. The year was 1985 in younger days of the ultralight community.
Over the years Solo Wings has sold more than 550 Windlass model trikes, De Gersigny reports. In 1997, the South African builder released their Aquilla model and they say about 350 of these machines have been sold. That’s an impressive rate of 70 Aquilla models alone per year. De Gersigny is the sole owner of the company, which presently employs 26 people.
Both the Windlass and Aquilla remain on the company’s list of models for sale. For this review, the more deluxe Aquilla is our focus. Given a $13,650 price tag and a long list of standard features – many of which are not common on other trikes – I believe many Americans will prefer this model. However, for those on a smaller budget or whose needs are simple, the Windlass may be a better choice. It retails for $10,965. Among other simplifications, the Windlass uses a smaller instrument pod and it does not have the compound mast, but many buyers could be satisfied with the less elaborate model.
Like some other imported brands, the Aquilla uses dual side wires as they carry the highest load of the lower cables. Unlike other brands they were located close to one another, which engineers found could cause a buzzing in flight. Twisting them cured that problem. My first reaction was that the side wires were improperly rigged but De Gersigny says this solved the buzz without affecting structural integrity.
The main gear support has a concentric rubber doughnut shock absorber. One takes up the softer bumps and another firmer doughnut absorbs the heavier loads. These are called elastomers in the mountain bike industry where De Gersigny got the idea for his system. In my experience on fairly smooth turf runways, the suspension system worked well.

A small mud flap at the rear of the generously sized front fairing kept the dirt out of my lap. By the same token, the wheel covers over the main gear kept dirt from flying up into the prop. I hesitate to call them wheel pants because that term represents a drag reduction feature to most pilots.
In a similar style as Aquilla’s wheel spats (as Solo Wings calls them, reflecting a British heritage), the fairings around one of three gear legs are more visual and protective than drag-relevant. That’s fine in a trike that cruises comfortably below 50 mph. And the spats also represent another way Solo Wings differentiates their product from other trikes.
I was impressed with the low amount of vibration transmitted by the engine. Obviously the mount created by De Gersigny’s team works well to isolate vibration, an enemy of most aircraft designs. But I wondered about the engine parts, which sit up rather high directly in front of the prop. The plastic oil tank seemed particularly precarious and as an owner, I’d be inspecting its mount regularly. However, some of this construction comes from keeping the engine upright, which I prefer to upside-down mounts where oil drains down on the spark plugs.
Simple and Well-Equipped
Sometimes a designer’s attention to detail is minor but appreciated. The Aquilla’s control bar can be secured to the forward support tube (when parking temporarily) by a ball and bungie system that is permanently attached. This seems a good idea as I’ve often misplaced the cinch for my trike. Anyone would call this a minor design achievement, but the little things often make our lives better in ways we don’t always notice.

Other seemingly minor features may be more important. Take the humble foot throttle. It’s not common on trikes to have foot throttles at both seats, but the Aquilla has them available at both positions. Clearly this is a machine intended to appeal to instructors. Further suiting that need is the now standard rear ignition switches that allow an instructor to kill the engine as appropriate.
The Aquilla’s seats are not solid constructions. However, neither are the South African seats merely two levels of the same seat like many older trikes. Instead, all-fabric construction with heavy padding makes the Aquilla’s seats more private. Anyone who flies two up in trikes regularly can appreciate a little separation.
Regrettably, the Aquilla lacks shoulder belts in the forward seat. The rear has them but the front has only a lap belt. Evidence strongly suggests this probably wouldn’t be enough to secure that occupant in the event of violent upset. I communicated my concern over this and De Gersigny says the company is considering changes. True, shoulder belts can be messy for the front seat in a trike – webbing must route farther and this gives chances for tangling and dangling. But solutions such as recoil belts can solve the problem.
Oftentimes the back of the trike “cabin” is not particularly comfortable. Solo Wings changed the construction of the Aquilla from the earlier Windlass. By angling the mast as seen in the photos, De Gersigny says he gained 6 inches of extra space for rear seat occupants.
North Wing and some other trike builders have split the mast so the rear pilot’s head doesn’t contact the structure, which can bring quite a buzz when the engine vibration is transmitted through a helmet. Split masts cure this completely but even the Aquilla’s angled mast is a big improvement.

I also liked the Aquilla’s extra, stronger footbar used only for entry to the rear seat. It only appears on the left side but since this is opposite the two foot throttles, left entry is preferred.
The Aquilla also features standard equipment stash bags on the left and right side of the seats. You will need to exercise care when taking items out of the bags in flight as a dropped object might go through the prop. But the compartments are roomy and convenient to access. They are part of the Aquilla skirt setup that hides the fuel tank. The 50-liter (about 13-gallon) tank capacity will keep you aloft longer and boasts a sump pump and a drain that will allow removal of any water that creeps into the reservoir.
The foot throttle in the front seat seemed angled back a bit much for my comfort (though others may feel differently). Solo Wings does offer a fitting that can be used to adjust this angle, but later in my flight, my notes reflect I was getting used to the angle. You use the foot throttle a lot in trikes, so angle is important.
The front seat only offered leg support to about mid-thigh. I’d like it to extend a bit further though the Aquilla is not alone in this quality. Designers may have wanted to give the pilot more leg maneuverability for ground steering.
Fly Like an Aquilla

Before you take flight you definitely want to check the wing hang point and you may wish to adjust it. A 4-point adjustment is available where the Aquilla’s chassis joins the wing. With detents to bracket the adjustment, this allows fore and aft adjustment for different weights or trim speeds.
At the forward position with two on board, the Aquilla steadies out at 60 mph. At the most rearward position and the same load, the trike should trim at 40 mph, according to De Gersigny. The relatively wide spacing of these two ends of the range show the effectiveness of this method of ground-adjustable center-of-gravity change. To date, I know of no commercially available system to adjust the hang point in flight though several trim systems make aerodynamic adjustments with similar speed results.
The Aquilla’s control bar base tube is covered with a shrink-fit rubber material that assures your grip across the bar. Many brands offer such a grip in the common hand location but I like to move my hands around and full-width grip material helped.
An extra grip can be a good thing. Even in the evening’s smooth air, the Aquilla bucked around a little. It seemed to accentuate my control input at times. I mentioned this to De Gersigny and he didn’t disagree. Without a much more thorough investigation I can only speculate about the reason, but it could relate to a tall keel pocket, a builder of more responsive wings, and a beefy trike underneath.
Tall keel pockets left the hang gliding scene years ago when designers realized the entire airframe moves enough to replicate the handling improvement implied by tall keel pockets.

Tall keel pockets became popular in the 1980s when engineers saw the construction helped the sail to shift from side to side. This creates some asymmetric loading and reshaping of the wing, which aids weight-shift handling. Indeed some pockets grew to 12 inches high and made large wings turn so easily, some actually started to reduce height. However, studies as part of the Hang Glider Manufacturers Association (HGMA) – a private, manufacturer-run certification system – showed that the triangular tube airframe flexed enough to bring this benefit without the need for tall keel pockets. After the discovery, tight keel pockets provided a modernized image.
So, add the Aquilla’s tall keel pocket to a wing with better-than-usual handling (among all trike wings) to a trike that can gross at 825 pounds and you have a formula for sufficient responsiveness to permit pilot-induced oscillation.
Long story shortened, it may have been me, but then again Aquilla’s wing may trade good handling for a little stability. In the end, it is the right tradeoff, in my opinion.
No one will call the Aquilla a hot performer. Cruise at hands-off trim speed was 45 knots (52 mph). A generous pull-in produced about 70 to 75 mph according to the installed airspeed indicator. This test Aquilla had the optional 65-hp Rotax 582 engine. Though the standard 50-hp Rotax 503 should theoretically fly about the same speed (but climb slower), a bigger engine generally pushes you along somewhat faster. But on trikes, the wing design dictates speed more than power. Some of this is due to the flexible connection between wing and engine.
I found the Aquilla’s speed ratio a bit narrow at a measured 30 to 58 knots (34 to 67 mph). However, this range is not so different from many other trikes. You make faster trikes with wings that are designed for it (Pegasus wings are a good example). Better handling wings generally fly more slowly and faster wings generally have stiffer handling. The Aquilla handled quite well, showing the direction Solo Wings went.

De Gersigny refers to 45-50 mph as his “happy hands-off speed,” a comfortable trim speed. It was the baseline for straight-and-level flight followed by my adjustments to evaluate stability characteristics.
Full push-out will cut the Aquilla speed to about 30 mph with an under-gross load or perhaps 35 mph at full gross. This is consistent with reported numbers on company literature.
In all regimens of stall, I found no evil bones in the Aquilla wing. Stalls under full power saw the control bar at the forward support tube. Holding it in this position merely saw climb proceed as though nothing had changed.
With no power, the Aquilla broke but gently enough and without any significant tendency to fall off on one wing or the other. Accelerated stalls were as unspectacular as power-on stalls if I added a couple hundred revs (common in steep banked turns). Flown with low power, the break could be induced but it wasn’t threatening.
I was very pleased that my evaluation trike had a ballistic parachute mounted. I wish all the aircraft I test-fly were so equipped.

Fly Your Own “Eagle”
Solo Wings is the manufacturer, but Americans will deal with Mike Devenish, the U.S. representative for 5 years. He knows his brand and he removes all the challenges associated with importing products made overseas. If you need lessons, Mike can help with that as well.
Your purchase choices from Bateleur start with the very reasonably priced Windlass trike. Though it lacks some features and refinements found on the Aquilla, the Windlass carries a modest entry price tag of $10,965 for a complete and fully assembled ultralight. The base price of the more elaborately built Aquilla is $13,650, although that’s still a fair bargain since the Aquilla comes very well equipped.
Standard items include wide tires (18 x 8.5) plus front and rear suspension, wheel pants, saddlebags, and a T-shaped instrument pod including a fuel gauge. The latter is a good thing since the Aquilla’s saddlebags hide the tank keeping you from seeing fuel remaining at a glance. Solo Wings also supplies a water temperature gauge (for the Rotax 582 engine), remote choke, a “cruise control” hand throttle lever, and a 13-gallon fuel tank with a sump plus quick drain to get rid of any water that settles to the bottom. The Aquilla also features a rear seat foot throttle, unusual among trikes. Solo Wings builds the Aquilla wings themselves. Our test wing was a double-surface 14.2-square-meter size (153 square feet) certified by South African authorities. You can choose from four sizes of this wing.
The Aquilla’s nice T-shaped instrument pod comes standard with a fuel gauge, 0-80 mph airspeed indicator, a sensitive altimeter, dual CHT with probes (for Rotax 503), dual EGT with threaded probes, tachometer, water temperature gauge (for Rotax 582), and twin 12-volt DC power points (for GPS units or radios).

Despite the long standard equipment list, a few options are offered by Solo Wings and Bateleur, including a clamp-on “after-muffler” kit ($113); dual intake silencer ($134); strobe ($60); a BRS 750 ($2,195) or a BRS 900 ballistic parachute ($2,495); and the deluxe Lynx intercom and helmets (call for price).
Solo Wings is the South African dealer for the 60-hp 4-stroke HKS 700E engine so De Gersigny has tried it on his trikes. Like many American users, he finds the new HKS model quite satisfactory. Two Solo Wings trikes so fitted now have about 200 error-free hours and he feels the brand has a future in South Africa as well as in the United States.
De Gersigny also likes the E gearbox from Rotax, as it is the first to offer both electric and pull starting. Perhaps enough hasn’t been made of this feature which adds redundancy.
With nearly 1,000 Solo Wings trikes flying, those concerned with buying a trike from faraway South Africa can be assured by so many other buyers preceding them, many in countries outside South Africa. Since Bateleur Sky Sports has been consistently representing this brand, you are dealing with Americans just as you are when you buy a Japanese or German automobile. Finally, trikes are relatively simple constructions and if you need repair or maintenance for an Aquilla you buy, it shouldn’t prove too hard to locate.
A well-rounded trike, the Aquilla offers good value, good handling, and many nice features including many that are optional on other brands. Its performance will suit most ultralight enthusiasts and the Aquilla appears fine tuned for instructional use.