Schempp-Hirth’s replacement for the Nimbus 2 was the Nimbus 3. The original version, which first flew in 1981, has a 22.9 m. wing, which may be increased to 24.5 m. with tip extensions. The wing is in four pieces plus the tip extensions, and is equipped with flaps interconnected with upper surface trailing edge airbrakes.…
The Mini-Nimbus, which first flew in 1976, is a 15-meter racing class development of the Open Class Nimbus 2 with a new wing with both dive brakes and flaps, which may be operated seperately or together to provide unusually effective glidepath and landing control. Water ballast is carried in sealed tanks lying along the spar.…
Discus 2 – first impressions by Andreas Maurer ( article in rec.aviation.soaring) First, let me point out that it was the first prototype of a new airplane. Therefore anyone will see that nothing I’m going to say will be cemented for all times. A quick glance on Discus 2, registrated D- 6111 “D2″ shows a…
The Standard Class Discus A first flew in 1984 using the fuselage and tail unit of the original Ventus with a new unflapped wing. The wing planform is noteworthy as being the first production sailplane to have the now common distictive shape where the leading edge sweepback increases towards the tip, establishing a worldwide trend…
The original all-fiberglass Open Class Cirrus made its debut in 1967 and won the World Open Class Chapionship at Leszno in Poland in 1968. The prototype had a V-tail, but production versions had a conventional horizontal tail the with horizontal stabilizer set part way up the fin. In addition to top-and-bottom spoilers, the Cirrus has…
The Standard Class Discus A first flew in 1984 using the fuselage and tail unit of the original Ventus with a new unflapped wing. The wing planform is noteworthy as being the first production sailplane to have the now common distictive shape where the leading edge sweepback increases towards the tip, establishing a worldwide trend…
The Standard Class Discus A first flew in 1984 using the fuselage and tail unit of the original Ventus with a new unflapped wing. The wing planform is noteworthy as being the first production sailplane to have the now common distictive shape where the leading edge sweepback increases towards the tip, establishing a worldwide trend…
The Cirrus 75 was a follow-on to the original Standard Cirrus 15 m design. The Cirrus 75 added larger top-surface airbrakes, redesigned wing fairings, and a longer nose. These changes resulted in a slightly improved L/D (37 vs 36) and minimum sink rate (124 ft/s vs. 128 ft/s). A B model was produced that had…
The Nimbus 3D, which first flew in 1986, combined a modified Janus C fuselage with 24.5 Nimbus 3 wings. In addition to the unpowered sailplane, it was produced with as a sustainer (3DT) with a 19 kW/ 26 bhp Oehler Solo 2350 engine and a self-launcher (3DM) with a retractable mast mounted Rotax engine. Specifications…
The Ventus 2, despite its names, is substantially changed from its similarly named predecessor. It has a complely new Discus planform wing and comes in a number of different configurations. The unpowered sailplane comes in three different varieties, the short fuselage 15 m. Ventus 2a, the larger fuselage 15 m. –2b, and the convertible tip…