A wing from NASA

The flexible wing that Air Création builds goes back to Francis Rogallo’s work for NASA in 1958. In 1980 French civil aviation created the ultralight motorised category, the ULM, and in 1981 two enthusiasts met: Gilles Bru, a wing designer, and Jean-Yves Le Bihan, a specialist in trikes, the open tricycle carriages hung beneath a hang-glider-style wing and steered by shifting weight. In 1982 they founded a company in the Ardèche, registered first as Air Concept and renamed Air Création within months. Its first machine was the Safari trike, followed in 1984 by the GT-Bi two-seater.

Trikes from the Ardèche

In 1988 the company built a 1,000 square metre factory on the Aubenas aerodrome, where it still makes every trike and wing itself. The single-seat Racer was produced for 25 years, from 1985 to 2010. In 2004 came the Tanarg, which the company calls a real revolution in trike design, and in 2009 a patented system for adjusting wing tension in flight. Air Création says it has produced more than 4,500 trikes and 8,000 wings, and its machines are flown on five continents; only about 35 per cent of sales are in France, with strong markets in Egypt, China and Eastern Europe.

Records and electric wings

Pilots flying Air Création machines have set climb, altitude and distance records: Roland Coddens climbed to 6,000 metres in 14 minutes 54 seconds, Serge Zin reached 9,720 metres, and in 2019 Colin Fargher flew 783.9 km. Trikes are used for surveillance, parachute towing and scientific work as well as leisure. The company adopted 3D printing in production in 2017, and its electric e-Pixel became the first electric trike certified in France.

Fabrikalar

• Aubenas aerodrome works · Lanas, Ardèche — Built 1988; all trikes and wings made on site

İnsanlar

• Gilles Bru · co-founder, wing designer
• Jean-Yves Le Bihan · co-founder, trike specialist
• Antoine Cardon · designer — Joined the design office in 1993

Rekorlar ve ilkler

• Altitude 9,720 m, Serge Zin
• Climb to 6,000 m in 14 min 54 s, Roland Coddens
• Distance 783.9 km, Colin Fargher, 2019