Gliding Impact Labs.
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Experimental glider #1
It is a single-seat experimental demonstrator, self-launching thanks to an electric propulsion system with retractable propellers.
Empty weight – 210 kg
Wingspan – 15 m
Best glide ratio (L/D) – 44
On a single battery charge: 4 self-launches with a 550 m altitude gain, or 1 self-launch with a 2,500 m altitude gain.
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Experimental glider #2
It is a two-seat experimental demonstrator, self-launching thanks to an electric propulsion system with retractable propellers.
Empty weight – 320 kg
Wingspan – 18 m
Best glide ratio (L/D) – 45
On a single battery charge: 3 self-launches with a 500 m altitude gain, or 1 self-launch with a 2,000 m altitude gain.
Flight tests, ground tests.
Validate the technological solutions.
GLIDING IMPACT is an open flying laboratory where advanced engineering technologies are confronted with reality—from simulation and digital twins to ground tests, flight tests and world-record missions. Our demonstrators provide a unique opportunity to validate advanced engineering technologies under real operating conditions. Unlike large aerospace programmes, we operate with the agility of a small, highly specialised team, enabling rapid iteration between simulation, engineering and flight testing. Together, we can accelerate the transition from digital models to proven technologies.
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The first flight tests will mark the transition from years of research, simulation and engineering to real-world validation. They will not represent the culmination of the project, but the beginning of a new phase: pushing the boundaries of what is possible through extraordinary flights and world-first achievements.
The future of gliding.
As flight tests progress, the flight envelope gradually expands, revealing the glider’s true personality and its ability to go further, higher, and faster.
When the final doubts fade away, a certainty emerges: the aircraft is ready to accomplish the mission for which it was designed — breaking records, crossing new aerodynamic frontiers never reached before, and, through these achievements, showcasing enabling technologies.
Because this glider is not only a performance vehicle: it is a pathfinder, demonstrating the way toward autonomous, sustainable, and cost-efficient soaring flight, aligned with the future challenges of the aviation sector.
Leading the way.
If the completion of the single-seat version already represents a major technological breakthrough for the future of glider flight, the two-seat version is set to be a true revolution.
The second demonstrator will become the first two-seater capable of self-launching thanks to a retractable electric propulsion system integrated into the nose. It will push composite structural weight reduction and aerodynamic optimisation to their highest level of requirement, paving the way for a new generation of performance.
The two-seater challenge.
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To date, there is no two-seat glider capable of self-launching using a retractable electric propulsion system integrated into the nose of the aircraft. The technical challenge is considerable, but the progress achieved on the single-seat version is highly promising and fully transferable to the two-seat configuration.
Defending our causes.
Responsible innovation & eco-design.
We involve specialised institutional partners in designing our demonstrators using eco-design methodologies and life cycle assessment approaches, with a clear objective: achieving an overall net-positive carbon footprint.
In other words, the environmental impact associated with their manufacturing must be lower than the benefits generated by replacing current fleets, which still rely on tow planes and their associated emissions.
In this framework of responsible innovation, our demonstrators are intended to deliver real, measurable and demonstrable progress, serving both gliding and the wider aerospace industry.
Green aviation and pilot training.
We bring together industry partners and specialised schools from the sector to co-develop a complete technical solution covering the entire product life cycle: R&D, testing, industrialisation, operations, and maintenance.
The objective is to develop directly transferable know-how, both to a future manufacturer for the production and commercialisation of a series version of our demonstrators, and to operators for their integration into the initial and recurrent training curricula of their flight crews.
Atmospheric & climate sciences.
We are partnering with leading institutional stakeholders to co-design and share knowledge in atmospheric sciences, in support of the decarbonisation of the aviation sector.
Through a detailed understanding of atmospheric data and its influence on aircraft energy performance, we work to optimise flight trajectories.
The observation and forecasting of local atmospheric dynamics will also enable us to plan our record glider flights, aiming to achieve speeds, distances, and altitudes never reached before.
Finally, our flights will provide an opportunity to collect valuable data, contributing to the advancement of knowledge in atmospheric and climate sciences.
Education & research.
Involving today’s researchers and tomorrow’s engineers in this pioneering project is essential, as they are the ones who will shape the world to come. We therefore integrate students and researchers into each of the missions we carry out.
This project also invites us to reflect on a number of questions:
– To what extent do the new technologies we are developing truly serve a more sustainable future?
– What place do environmental challenges hold in the education of engineers?
– How much of our research effort is currently dedicated to decarbonising our industries?
This collective reflection feeds our approach and guides our decisions towards a truly sustainable future.
