DFS heron
DFS heron | |
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![]() Heron III, 1938 |
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Type: | Glider |
Design country: | |
Manufacturer: | |
First flight: |
1937 |
Number of pieces: |
10 |
The DFS Heron was a glider that was designed by Hans Jacobs in 1937 for the German Research Institute for Gliding (DFS).
history
The heron was designed with a view to the international gliding competition on the Wasserkuppe, which Hanna Reitsch actually won on July 4, 1937 with a heron. The type was flown in various other competitions before the Second World War and developed into versions II and III.
construction
The heron was a single-seat middle-decker with gull wings. The design combined good thermal suitability with the ability to go at high speed and thus quickly change between updraft and thermal areas. Since it is also extremely aerodynamically efficient and has a consequent lightweight construction, the Heron was one of the most powerful gliders of its time.
Technical specifications
Parameter | Data |
---|---|
crew | 1 |
length | 7.27 m |
span | 19.00 m |
Wing area | 19.36 m² |
Wing profile | Gö 549 / Gö 676 |
Glide ratio | 33 |
Empty mass | 230 kg |
Takeoff mass | 315 kg |
Wing loading | 16.3 kg / m² |
Top speed | 200 km / h |
Received aircraft
None of the ten herons built survived the war. The Wasserkuppe old-timer glider club built a heron between 1997 and 2000, which is now exhibited in the German Glider Museum. A group of classic car friends built another Reiher III in Achmer, which flies there today.
See also
literature
- Peter Ocker: Hans Jacobs - pioneering life in aircraft construction . Self-published, Heidenheim 2012, ISBN 978-3-00-039539-0 .
- BS Shenstone: The DFS Reiher Sailplane A Technical Description of an Important High-Efficiency German Sporting Glider . In: Aircraft Engineering . tape 18 , no. 4 , 1946, pp. 110-116 , doi : 10.1108 / eb031356 ( abstract online ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Oldtimer Segelflugclub Wasserkuppe ( Memento from December 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive ): DFS Heron, accessed on March 11, 2010