M.Hardy. Gliders & Sailplanes of the world

Alsema Sagitta Holland

  Holland's first 15m Standard class sailplane, the Sagitta (Arrow) was designed and built by Mr Piet Alsema, who formed a company called NV Vliegtuigbouw to put it into production at Teuge airfield, near Apeldoorn. The ДальшеMore>>> Sagitta first flew in prototype form on 4 July 1960. It was followed on 24 November 1961 by the first of the production aircraft, designated Sagitta 2; 20 of these were built in all, some of them being exported. The single-seat Sagitta is of conventional all-wood construction with a large, sliding blown canopy giving the pilot, seated over the wing leading edge, excellent all-round visibility. The mid-set wooden wings have a single spar and a plywood leading edge torsion box and the plain ailerons are also of wood; the wing is fabric-covered over 25% of its area. Air brakes of a special design operate on both the upper and lower wing surfaces. The fin and rudder is swept and the cantilever tailplane can be folded when the sailplane is towed in a trailer. A fixed monowheel with brake comprises the landing gear. A 17m (55ft 9in span) development of the Sagitta, known as the Super Sagitta, was reported in the spring of 1964, this being very similar apart from the increase in wing and tail surface areas, but the Super Sagitta remained a project only.


Data: Sagitta 2
Span: 49 ft 2 1/2 in
Length: 21 ft 2 3/4 in
Height: 3ft 11 in
Wing area: 129.2 sqft
Aspect ratio: 18.7
Empty weight: 478 lb
Max weight: 705 lb
Max speed: 168 mph
Min sinking speed: 2.1 ft/sec at 48 mph
Best glide ratio: 37:1 at 60 mph