M.Hardy. Gliders & Sailplanes of the world

Scheibe SF-27 Zugvogel-V

  Scheibe's first postwar essay into the high performance field was the Zugvogel (or Migratory Bird) single-seat sailplane which had laminar flow wings of NACA 63-series section and with a forward sweep of 2.5°. This ДальшеMore>>> made its competition debut when it was flown by veteran test pilot Hanna Reitsch into the winning place in the 1955 German National gliding championships. It had the traditional Scheibe fabric-covered steel tube fuselage and wooden single-spar wing and tail surfaces, the wing span being 16m (52ft 6in) with an aspect ratio of 18.3 and area of 150.16sq ft. Next version as the Zugvogel-ll, which had an unswept wing of simpler construction, a simplified control system and various other changes over the initial version. This was developed into the Zugvogel-lll, which first flew in prototype form in April 1957 and which differed from the Mk II only in having the wing span increased to 17m (55ft 9in) and a larger fin and rudder, the aspect ratio now being 20.0 and wing area 155.9sq ft. Further versions were the Zugvogel-IIIA and IIIB, the latter version, the prototype of which was completed in June 1962, having a redesigned nose and cockpit canopy, the stepped canopy of earlier versions being replaced by a longer flush-fitting one-piece plastic canopy blending into a shorter, more pointed nose. The high cantilever wings have Schempp-Hirth aluminium air brakes, and depending on the degree of surface polishing the best glide ratio can be improved from 36:1 at 62 mph to 39:1.
  The SF-27 Zugvogel V, the prototype of which first flew on 12 May 1964, is a single-seat Standard class development of the Mk IIIB with cantilever shoulder instead of high wings of 15m (49ft 2 1/2 in) span and Wortmann aerofoil sections; the tailplane is now an all-moving surface and more glassfibre is used in the fuselage structure. The wings have a single laminated beechwood box spar and plywood ribs, with a leading edge torsion box; the outer halves of the wings are plywood-covered, and the inboard halves are ply-covered to just behind the spar, the rest of the wings being part plywood- and part fabric-covered. The wooden ailerons are ply-covered and the Schempp-Hirth air brakes are of glassfibre and metal. The welded steel tube fuselage has the nose section back to the wing trailing edge covered with moulded glassfibre shell, and the rear section fabric-covered over wooden stringers. There is a moulded glassfibre fairing over the wing/fuselage junction. The cantilever tail unit is of wood, with a ply- and fabric-covered tailplane, the fin is plywood-covered and the rudder fabric-covered; there is an anti-balance tab in the tailplane. Landing gear consists of a non-retractable and unsprung monowheel ahead of the eg, with a brake, and a tailwheel. The pilot sits in an inclined seat under the moulded Plexiglas canopy, and there is a baggage compartment behind the seat.
  The Zugvogel V is built under licence in France by Lorraine Aviation as the Loravia LA-11 Topaze, this company having taken over production of the type from SLCA, which had built nine SF-27s under the designation SLCA-10 (now LA-10). The LA-11 has the monowheel lowered by 80mm and first flew on 15 October 1973; 18 LA-11s were built by SLCA and Loravia had built 30 by early 1976.


Data: Zugvogel-V
Span: 49 ft 2 1/2 in
Length: 23 ft 3 1/2 in
Wing area: 129.9 sqft
Aspect ratio: 18.6
Empty weight: 474 lb
Max weight: 728 lb
Min sinking speed: 2.10 ft/sec at 46 mph
Best glide ratio: 34:1 at 55 mph



Scheibe SF-30 Club-Spatz

  Although bearing the same name as the earlier L-Spatz-lll, the SF-30 Club-Spatz single-seater Club Class sailplane was developed from the SF-27A Zugvogel, which it resembles, and was designed to the German Club Class requirements intended to meet the need for simple and easy to fly gliders for inexperienced pilots, which would also be strong and easy to rig. Design work started in 1973 and the prototype Club-Spatz first flew on 20 May 1974; eight had been built by the spring of 1977 but production has now ended. The fuselage is of traditional Scheibe welded steel tube construction with fabric covering, except that the forward fuselage is glassfibre-covered. The pilot sits under a one-piece sideways-hinging flush-fitting blown Plexiglas canopy, and his seat and rudder pedals are adjustable. Landing gear consists of a fixed unsprung monowheel with brake, and a sprung tail skid. Wings and tail surfaces are of composite glassfibre construction, with the outer surfaces made wholly of glassfibre supported by plastic foam; there are spoilers in the wing upper surfaces. Instead of the SF-27 Zugvogel's all-flying tailplane, the Club-Spatz has a conventional tailplane and damped elevators, the latter having an adjustable spring for trimming.


Span: 49 ft 2 1/2 in
Length: 20 ft 0 in
Wing area: 100.1 sqft
Aspect ratio: 24.0
Empty weight: 408 lb
Max weight: 650 lb
Max speed: 131 mph
Min sinking speed: 1.9 ft/sec at 47 mph
Best glide ratio: 37:1 at 57 mph



Scheibe SF-H34

  Intended to succeed the veteran Bergfalke, the SF-H34 tandem two-seater training and sporting sailplane can be used for ab initio and advanced training and cross-country flying, and is Scheibe's first unpowered design of all-glassfibre construction. Design work, headed by Dipl-Ing Hoffman, began in 1978 and the SF-H34 prototype first flew on 28 October 1978; production began early in 1979. The cantilever two-piece mid-set wing has a glassfibre roving main spar and is of glassfibre honeycomb sandwich construction, as is the tail unit with its low-set tailplane; there are Schempp-Hirth air brakes in the wing upper surfaces, and production aircraft have no leading edge sweepback. The fuselage is a glassfibre honeycomb sandwich shell, and there are towing hooks fitted under the nose and at the centre of gravity. Landing gear consists of a fixed semi-exposed monowheel directly below the cg and a nosewheel, plus a tailskid. The pilots sit in semi-reclining seats with dual controls under a large one-piece frameless flush canopy that opens sideways; the seat backrests and rudder pedals are adjustable in flight.


Span: 51 ft 10 in
Length: 24 ft 7.25 in
Height: 4 ft 9 in
Wing area: 159.3 sqft
Aspect ratio: 16.9
Empty weight: 675 lb
Max weight: 1,102 lb
Max speed: 155 mph (in smooth air)
Min sinking speed: 2.30 ft/sec at 47 mph
Best glide ratio: 35:1 at 59 mph



Scheibe SF-27M and SF-32

  The SF-27M, designed in 1967, is a single-seater powered version of the SF-27 Zugvogel V, and was an early example of the completely retractable powerplant installation, the 26hp Hirth Solo vertically-opposed four-cylinder engine being mounted just aft of the wings and retracting backwards into the centre fuselage behind closed doors. This retractability gives the SF-27M about the same soaring performance as the Zugvogel V, and makes it capable of self-powered take-off as well as normal launching by winch or aero-tow; the engine installation weighs only about 88lb, so its effect on soaring performance is minimised. The SF-27M is structurally similar to the Zugvogel V except that the fuselage centre section has been modified to take the engine, increasing the overall length, and the wings and control surfaces have been strengthened internally; the main wheel tyre size has also been increased. The engine is raised into position and retracted manually by a crank-driven draw chain-pushrod system, swinging up into its operating position; raising and lowering it is very simple, requiring only 3 1/2 turns on the crank and being completed in five seconds. The doors over the engine and propeller bay open and close automatically while this is being done, the two-blade propeller of about 4ft Bin diameter being stopped in the vertical position for retraction. Engine starting is by a hand-operated cable, and a specially-designed ignition system facilitates easy starting. A fuel tank of 4.4 Imp gallons capacity is mounted in the fuselage behind the pilot. The first Distance Diamond award for a powered sailplane flight was granted by the German Aero Club to Willibald Colle, who flew his SF-27M a distance of 334 miles from Elz to Le Rabot airfield, France, on 28 July 1968. Colle took off under his own power just before 11am, climbed to about 3,000ft and switched off and retracted the engine; he covered the distance to Le Rabot in about eight hours at between about 2,500 and 6,000ft, and the special barograph installed confirmed that the flight had been made without assistance from the engine. The SF-27M also won the single-seater class at the German Motor Glider competitions held in 1970 and 1971, and about 30 SF-27Ms were built.
  It was succeeded by the SF-32, also a single-seater, which first flew in prototype form in May 1976 and is basically very similar, being powered by a 40hp Rotax 642 'flat twin' two-stroke driving a fixed-pitch two-blade wooden propeller, and mounted on a pylon and retracted into the fuselage in the same way as the SF-27M's but electrically instead of manually. The cantilever shoulder wings, which are built in two parts, are of 17m (55ft 9 1/4 in) span instead of the SF-27M's 15m span, and are basically the same as the Swiss Neukom Elfe 17's, with an aluminium alloy main spar and a glassfibre and plywood/foam sandwich skin. There are Schempp-Hirth air brakes in the upper surfaces but - unlike the Elfe 17 - no provision for water ballast. The fuselage is very similar to the SF-27M's and Zugvogel V's, being a welded steel tube structure with the nose section covered with a moulded glassfibre shell back to the wing trailing edge, the rear section being fabric-covered. The tail unit is very similar to the SF-27M's, with a geared anti-balance tab in the all-moving tailplane. Only the prototype SF-32 was built.


Data: SF-32
Span: 55 ft 9 1/4 in
Length: 22 ft 11 1/2 in
Height: 4 ft 1 1/4 in
Wing area: 143.2 sqft
Aspect ratio: 21.73
Empty weight: 750 lb
Max weight: 992 lb
Max speed: 136 mph
Min sinking speed: 2.1 ft/sec at 50 mph
Best glide ratio: 37:1 at 56 mph
Take-off run: 656 ft
Range: 186 miles



Scheibe SF-36

  The SF-36 two-seater motor glider was developed from the SF-H34 and uses the letter's wings and tail unit married to a new fuselage, seating two side-by-side instead of the SF-H34's tandem seating. The wings are low-mounted with Schempp-Hirth air brakes, and are detachable for hangarage; folding wings may later be offered for the SF-36. Engine is an 80hp Limbach SL2000 driving a fixed-pitch or a three-position variable-pitch airscrew. Construction is of glassfibre-reinforced plastic, and a two-mainwheel undercarriage similar to that of the C-Falke '80 is featured, although a single monowheel with small outrigger wheels under the wings is also offered to customers. The latter was featured on the prototype, which first flew in the summer of 1980, and a retractable single-wheel undercarriage is planned for a later version; in all cases the tailwheel is steerable. The forward-sliding canopy allows entry to be made over the wings. First SF-36 deliveries were due to start in the spring of 1981.


Span: 53 ft 6 in
Length: 23 ft 10 in
Wing area: 166 sqft
Aspect ratio: 17.2
Empty weight: 950 lb
Max gross weight: 1,390 lb
Min sinking speed: 3.0 ft/sec at 50 mph