Verhees D-Plane 1

The Verhees D-Plane 1 is a Belgian homebuilt flying wing, designed by Verhees Engineering and supplied as plans for amateur construction.

Design and development
The D-Plane 1 features a cantilever mid-wing, a single-seat enclosed cockpit, semi-retractable tandem landing gear with small tail and wingtip wheels and a single engine in tractor configuration. Control surfaces include an elevon at the trailing edge of each wing and a conventional vertical stabilizer with a rudder.

The aircraft is made chiefly from sheet aluminum. Its very low aspect ratio 4.5 m span delta wing has an area of 10 m2. The single nose-mounted wheel retracts while the tail and wing tip wheels are fixed. The recommended engine is the 1.6 litre displacement 50 hp Subaru EA71 four-stroke flat-4 (boxer) automotive conversion powerplant.

By 2011 only the prototype D-Plane 1 had flown, but development work had begun on the design of the two-seat D-Plane 2. It first flew in early 2018, is powered by a 100 hp Rotax 912ULS engine and cruises at about 250 km/h.