Hoarding HI
| Hoarding H1 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Glider |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: |
Horten brothers |
| First flight: |
1933 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
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The Horten HI is a flying wing - Glider , developed by the brothers Reimar and Walter Horten .
history
The first aircraft of the Horten brothers was built in 1933 with considerable effort in their parents' apartment in Bonn. The young Reimar Horten had designed and built the machine, and he eventually learned to fly with it. Flight tests began in 1933, and Walter Horten, who was only 20 years old, made the first cautious hops on the elastic rope. After a few small changes, the HI had overcome its major teething troubles, and the brothers took it to the Wasserkuppe by aircraft tow , unfortunately only shortly before the end of the competition . At least a longer slope flight could be carried out there. The 12.2 m high HI did not have the best flight characteristics due to its internal elevators . Since there was no possibility of a return transport, the HI was broken up by its builder on the Wasserkuppe.
It is interesting to see how far changing the controls and the correct application of aerodynamic knowledge can change an aircraft. In 1951, an Argentine glider club and Reimar Horten built a new edition of the H I. This machine, called H Ib, had a more modern profile, a different set course and the control was only carried out via elevons on the outer wing. The inner wing flaps have been omitted entirely. Schempp-Hirth flaps were built into the wing tips as rudders , which, when kicked on both sides, also served as a landing aid. This machine had very good and harmless properties and was flown in clubs and training operations until well into the 1970s. At the turn of the millennium, the members of the club took pity on their veteran flying wing and put it in a state that can only be described as "better than new". After 50 years, the machine finally got a closed cabin with a one-piece blown hood. Thus, the H Ib was the only hoarding flying wing that was still able to fly until the first flight of the H IV, which was newly built in Germany in 2016 .
literature
- Rudolf Storck among others: Flying Wings . The historical development of the world's tailless and flying wing aircraft. Bernard and Graefe, Bonn 2003, ISBN 3-7637-6242-6 .
- Reimar Horten, Peter F. Selinger: Nurflügel, the history of the Horten aircraft 1933-1960 . H. Weishaupt Verlag, Graz, ISBN 3-900310-09-2 .