The Risen aircraft was launched at the AERO 2015 fair held in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Credit: SEA.

The Risen aircraft was launched at the AERO 2015 fair held in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Credit: SEA.

 The aircraft comes with an extra-large, 3m² motorised canopy. Credit: SEA.

The aircraft comes with an extra-large, 3m² motorised canopy. Credit: SEA.

 The aircraft is manufactured and assembled by Swiss Excellence Airplanes (SEA) in the Ticino region in Switzerland. Credit: SEA.

The aircraft is manufactured and assembled by Swiss Excellence Airplanes (SEA) in the Ticino region in Switzerland. Credit: SEA.

Risen is the first production ultra-light aircraft manufactured and assembled by Swiss Excellence Airplanes (SEA).

It was introduced at the AERO 2015 fair held in Friedrichshafen, Germany, in April 2015.

Test flights on the first production aircraft were completed at Casale Monferrato airport by VS Aviation in July 2015. The aircraft certification is based on JAR-VLA regulations.

Risen ultra-light aircraft design and features

Hawker 200 is a twin-engine light business jet designed and built by Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) of Switzerland.

Italian and Argentinean engineer, Alberto Porto designed the Risen aircraft with tools and expertise found only in large aeronautical industries, such as advanced fluid dynamics and large flight envelope.

The aircraft has a length of 6.8m and a wingspan of 9m. It features an airframe constructed with a reinforced carbon safety cell structure as well as a monocoque seamless fuselage with a v-tail. It needs less than 200m for take-off or landings. Two electric computer-controlled flaps give the aircraft a very low stall speed.

The aircraft features a retractable landing gear and is provided with a ballistic parachute for safety.

The Risen is offered in three different standard paint schemes, as well as internal finishings including Race, Sport and Elegance. The Race model comes with carbon surfaces, whereas the Sport includes surfaces in aluminium and the Elegance model includes all surfaces in walnut colour.

Risen cabin, cockpit and avionics

The aircraft features side-by-side seating for two people in the cabin, which has a maximum width of 1.23m. The cabin comes with a 3m² motorised, high-resistance, plexi-glass single piece canopy that provides panoramic views.

The aircraft interior includes glider-like sculpted seats, leather and carbon fittings. The cabin is surrounded by strong carbon reinforcement for additional safety. It is also equipped with Bose noise-cancelling comfort headsets.

The aircraft features a Dynon glass cockpit integrated with two 10in touch screens and an additional 7in central display. The avionics include an electric trim and flap operation. It also includes two-axis autopilot and a computer for flap control. It comes with an electric trim and flap operation.

Engine and performance details of Risen

“The cabin comes with a 3m² motorised, high-resistance, plexi-glass single piece canopy that provides panoramic views.”

The aircraft is fitted with a Rotax 912 ULS four stroke-engine generating 100hp of power, which can be driven by a custom-made propeller. It is fitted with two standard anti-explosion and anti-fire fuel tanks under the wings. The fuel tanks have a combined capacity of 85l.

The aircraft offers a cruising speed of 290km/h, maximum horizontal speed of 315km/h, stall speed of 55km/h with flaps and never-exceed speed of 350km/h. Its range is 1,063km at 312km/h of maximum continuous speed and 1,288km at 75% of power and 290km/h speed.

The aircraft has a climb speed of 160km/h and climb rate of 7.5m/sec. It has an empty weight of 297kg and maximum take-off weight of 472.5kg.