M.Hardy. Gliders & Sailplanes of the world

Kortenbach & Rauh Kora 1

  Unusual among motor gliders in having a twin-boom pusher configuration and (on the second prototype) a conventional fixed, spatted main undercarriage, the Kora 1 is a side-by-side two-seater intended primarily for ДальшеMore>>> training; it was designed by Messrs Schultes, Seidel and Putz, and the firm of Kortenbach & Rauh is perhaps best known for its range of furniture and other products for the garden and household. The prototype Kora 1 made its maiden flight on 13 September 1973 and had a forwards-retracting nosewheel and the main wheels retracting backwards into the tail booms. The second prototype, which first flew on 9 April 1976, had a fixed main undercarriage to save weight and complexity, and was still undergoing flight testing at the beginning of 1978, at which time it had not yet been decided whether to start production, although orders had already been received for about a dozen Koras. The power plant is a 65hp Limbach SL 1700EC1 air-cooled 'flat four' driving a Hoffman two-blade variable-pitch feathering propeller. The Kora is of all-wood construction, with cantilever high wings which have Schempp-Hirth air brakes in the upper surfaces. The pod-type fuselage nacelle has roomy side-by-side seating in a cockpit 47in wide, the canopy opening sideways to starboard. The twin tail booms end in twin fins and rudders which have the tailplane mounted on top of them. The fixed main undercarriage units on the second prototype consist of two spatted main wheels set on thin steel-sprung legs cantilevered from the fuselage underside.


Data: Second prototype
Span: 59 ft 0 3/4 in
Length: 24 ft 3 1/4 in
Height: 6 ft 0 3/4 in
Wing area: 209.25 sq ft
Aspect ratio: 16.65
Empty weight: 1,124 lb
Max weight: 1,653 lb
Max speed at sea level: 118 mph
Min sinking speed: 2.79 ft/sec at 53 mph
Best glide ratio: 30:1 at 59 mph