GEFA flight
| GEFA flight
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|---|---|
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1975 (since 1981 under the current name) |
| Seat | Aachen , Germany |
| management | Jürgen Leisten |
| Branch | Airship manufacturer |
| Website | gefaflug.com |
The GEFA-Flug GmbH ( Society for the development and promotion of aerostatic flight systems ), based in Aachen develops, builds and designs since 1980 hot air balloons and hot air airships , including special shapes.
In addition to planning and selling aircraft , the company deals with the design and design of balloons and airships (banner advertising), their advertising and promotional tours, as well as the training of pilots. In addition, GEFA carries out passenger trips with its aircraft.
The company is approved as a development company, manufacturing company and aeronautical company according to JAR 21 by the Federal Aviation Office (LBA) and also carries out maintenance and repair work on types approved by the English Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
history
The company has been working on the development of airship systems since the mid-1970s, and on the development of hot-air airships since the early 1980s . In the first few years, the focus was on remote-controlled systems. The experience gained at that time flowed into the further development of manned hot air airships from 1985, which is operated jointly with Thunder & Colt. The cooperation concept between the two companies is called "The Airship Alliance".
Through this cooperation concept - later also in cooperation with Cameron Balloons , who bought Thunder & Colt in 1995 - the first two-seater prototype approved by the German Federal Aviation Authority was finally created in 1990 .
Compared to the English ship types, this had a greater hull elongation, which not only significantly improved the visual appearance but also the general maneuverability. By different use of the two now "V-shaped" against each other mounted and forward and backward directed burner in connection with several fabric partitions ( bulkheads ) that the hull in various parts similar to the gas cells with rigid airships divide that was trimming behavior can be influenced actively. The system is thus comparable to the trim on ballonets for gas airships.
This trim, a slimmer shape and the increased internal pressure, combined with the likewise improved aerodynamics, led to a significantly increased airspeed. The volume was 2250 m³, drive 38 kW (52 HP) Rotax, flight time as a two-seater about one hour. Two AS 80 GDs were approved as individual pieces by the German Federal Aviation Authority.
The covers are made in Germany, the two-seater gondolas are made in Great Britain. The four-seater gondolas, on the other hand, are built at GEFA-FLUG in Aachen. The four-seat version was approved by the German Federal Aviation Authority at the end of 1999. Marketing is carried out jointly by both companies. So far, in addition to the two above-mentioned airships of the type AS 80 GD, 62 ships of the type AS 105 GD have been built (status 10/2012 GEFA flight).
In the meantime a larger type of airship has been developed with space for 6 passengers (pilot + 5) and a volume of 5000 m³. The basic shape of the hull of the four-seater airship was adopted and scaled up to a volume of 5000 m³. The angle of attack of the horizontal stabilizers was changed. The horizontal stabilizers are no longer completely horizontal, but hang slightly. The background is that with a sinking ship and strong engine thrust, the nose now also points down and does not go up as it used to. This is simply due to the lower air resistance of the horizontal stabilizers in the vertical when a ship is sinking. This has made it much easier to land on small places in strong headwinds.
Another innovation is night flight lighting, which allows the airship to be operated between sunset and sunrise. In combination with the so-called whisper burner, this results in very good illumination of the airship hull, which is very effective in advertising in the night sky.
research
The company also develops and builds special hot air balloons and airships that are used for ecological research and the documentation of environmental damage.
Since the early 1980s, the hot air systems have not only been used for commercial purposes, but also for environmental monitoring. Significant projects included several months of photogrammetric documentation of Mohenjo-Daro , a 5000 year old ruined city in Pakistan . Similar, mostly archaeological or geological projects have been undertaken in Oman and Greece, Turkey, Syria, Israel, the former Yugoslavia, Egypt, France, Switzerland, Spain and England , among others .
Research areas include:
- Monitoring of contaminated sites, heaps, nature reserves and waters
- Climatic studies of air layers close to the ground
- Land use surveys and erosion monitoring
- Control of quarries, material heaps and settling basins
- Documentation of architectural monuments
- Aerial photographs for the purpose of reconstructing archaeological sites
Hot air airship AS 105 GD
The airship type AS 105 GD was approved as a two-seater version (using a CAA approved type of gondola from Thunder & Colt) by the British aviation authority CAA as a model in the spring of 1996. In addition, it has also been approved for night flights since 2001.
- Length over all: 41.0 m
- Diameter: 12.8 m
- Volume: 3000 m³
- Drive: Two-stroke petrol engine from Rotax with 48 kW (65 HP) and four-blade CFRP propeller
- Max. Take-off weight: 900 kg
- Flight duration
- single seat: up to 3 h
- two-seat version: 2 h
- four-seater: 1 h
- Top speed: 40 km / h
- Crew, passengers: pilot plus 1, since autumn 1999 also pilot plus 3
Hot air airship AS 105 GD / 6
In 2005 the company started another project, the development of the six-seater airship AS 105 GD / 6 with a volume of 5000 cubic meters. The airship is able to transport up to five passengers in addition to the pilot. Alternatively, the airship can carry loads of up to 450 kilograms.
The new autopilot system, which controls the four burners and their heat output, saves around 15–20% propane gas. The burner is a modified type of the Cameron "Shadow Airship Burner".
With Synteen & Lückenhaus, a fabric has been developed for the airship hull that is twice as strong, but only a third heavier than its predecessor. The fabric took a total of three years to develop. Numerous heat and UV tests were carried out in the “Textile Research Laboratory” of the University of Chemnitz, including computer simulations and months of weather tests.
The AS 105 GD / 6 received its test approval from EASA in August 2008.
Technical data for the six-seater
- Volume: 5000 m³
- Total length: 48.60 m
- Diameter: 14.88 m
- Cover material: Gap house GEFA-FLUG Toughtear-X-Power
- Drive: Rotax, 65 HP
- Propeller: Helix carbon fiber, 4-blade
- Burner: Cameron Shadow double burner
- Flight time, 6 people: approx. 2 hours
- Max. Speed: approx. 35 km / h
- Max. Lifting weight: 1488 kg
- Avionics
- Radio: Dittel FSG 2T
- Transponder: Garrecht Avionik Mode-S