[2][3] The aircraft is named for the feathered Archaeopteryx dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic Period in what is now Europe.

The Archaeopteryx was conceived as a foot-launchable[4] microlift sailplane, with the design goals of a light empty weight, low stall speed with gentle stall characteristics, good maneuverability and good high speed performance.

[2] The Archaeopteryx design started in 1998 at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) as a research project.

As of September 2023, 38[1] aircraft had been delivered to customers in Australia, Argentina, Germany, France, Austria, USA, Canada and Switzerland.

[8] The company further developed a prototype equipped with two electric motors to provide self-launch capability.

[9] Data from Sailplane Directory, company website and flight manual[2][8][9]General characteristics Performance Avionics