Pipistrel Taurus

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Pipistrel Taurus
Pipistrel Taurus
Type: self-launching
ultralight - Glider
Design country:

SloveniaSlovenia Slovenia

Manufacturer:

Pipistrel

First flight:

2004

Number of pieces:

> 50

The Pipistrel Taurus is a two-seater, self-launching ultralight - Glider of the Slovenian manufacturer Pipistrel .

history

With the development of the Sinus towards the end of the 1990s, Pipistrel had set itself the goal of constructing an ultra-light motor glider that would appeal to glider pilots . The glide ratio of 27 exceeds that of motor gliders like the SF 25 , but is below that of modern gliders.

As a result, the development of the Taurus began in 2001. This should be much closer to a classic glider with an auxiliary engine and achieve a glide ratio of at least 40 in order to be able to be used as a full-fledged glider. On May 15, 2004, the first flight of the basic model Taurus 503 followed , which went into series production in 2006. In the same year, the first flight of the pure glider version Taurus PureGlider took place.

The development of the Taurus ELECTRO also began in 2006 , a version with an electric motor, which took off on its maiden flight on December 21, 2007. As part of the Slovenian industrial design - Biennale bienale industrijskega oblikovanja 2010 (“BIO 22”), the Taurus ELECTRO was awarded a gold medal for “its superior beauty and advanced technology”.

With the Taurus LSA, a version of the Taurus 503 tailored to the US licensing requirements for LSA has existed since 2010 , in which, among other things, the maximum take-off weight has been increased to 550 kg.

Taurus G4 at the Green Flight Challenge

Series production of the Taurus Electro G2 began in early 2011 . The addition "G2" stands for "2. Generation ”and is intended to emphasize improvements over the prototype. Under the motto Flying for free , Pipistrel intends to offer a transport trailer in future that can charge the Taurus batteries within five hours using solar cells on the roof.

In 2011, the twin-fuselage test aircraft Taurus G4 was constructed on the basis of two G2 fuselages .

construction

Cockpit of the Taurus

The Taurus is constructed in plastic. The placement of the two pilot seats next to each other as in the Stemme S10 is quite unusual for a glider. With this construction, in contrast to conventional two-seaters with seats arranged one behind the other, only one set of instruments is required, which is placed between the legs of the two pilots. Also unusual is the retractable main landing gear, which is supposed to offer improved rolling characteristics compared to other self-launching gliders due to the two wheels lying next to each other.

The wings with a wingspan of 14.97 m correspond to those of the Sinus. The ailerons extend almost over the entire width of the surfaces and are designed as five-step flaperons , so they also serve as flaps .

The standard version Taurus 503 is equipped with a Rotax 503 UL DCDI 2V with two carburettors and an output of 37 kW. The Taurus ELECTRO version has a 30 kW electric motor, the G2 version has a 40 kW electric motor. This means that the Taurus even achieves slightly better climbing performance (max. 3.1 m / s) than the Rotax version (max. 2.9 m / s), one battery charge allows an increase in altitude of approx. 2000 m.

Versions

The Taurus was developed in the following versions:

  • Taurus 503 with Rotax 503 - engine
    • Taurus LSA , version with US LSA approval
  • Taurus Electro , with an electric motor
    • Taurus Electro G2 , revised production version
  • Taurus PureGlider , non-motorized

Technical specifications

Parameter Taurus 503 Taurus ELECTRO
Seats 2
length 7.30 m
span 14.97 m
Height (engine extended) 2.7 m
Wing area 12.26 m²
Glide ratio (engine extended) 25 at 108 km / h
Glide ratio (engine retracted) 41 at 108 km / h
Lowest sink rate (engine extended) 1.52 m / s at 94 km / h
Lowest sink rate (engine retracted) 0.70 m / s at 94 km / h
Empty mass (including rescue system) 297 kg 320 kg with battery
Takeoff mass 472.5 kg
Top speed (engine extended) 163 km / h
Top speed (engine retracted) 225 km / h
Service ceiling 3900 m
Engines a Rotax 503 UL DCDI 2V with 37 kW Electric motor with 30 kW

See also

Web links

Commons : Pipistrel Taurus  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A double celebration for Pipistrel : Report on the manufacturer's website, accessed on October 25, 2010 (English)
  2. ↑ a b Taurus ELECTRO is flying! : Report on the manufacturer's website, accessed on October 25, 2010 (English)
  3. ↑ History ( Memento from September 3, 2011 in the Internet Archive ): Overview of the history of the Pipistrel company, accessed on October 25, 2010 (English)
  4. ^ Taurus maiden flight : news item on the Fliegermagazin website , accessed on October 25, 2010
  5. ↑ BIO 22 AWARDS - The 22nd Biennial of Industrial Design International Jury report ( Memento of October 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ): Report of the international jury, accessed on October 25, 2010 (English)
  6. ↑ Taurus Electro received gold medal at the Biennial of Industrial Design : Report on the manufacturer's website, accessed on October 25, 2010 (English)
  7. ↑ Taurus - First ever high-performance side-by-side self-launching LSA glider available now! : Announcement on the manufacturer's website, accessed on October 25, 2010 (English)
  8. ↑ Introducing: Taurus Electro G2 available now! : Announcement dated February 14, 2011 on the manufacturer's website, accessed on March 29, 2011
  9. ^ Taurus Electro : Model information on the manufacturer's website, accessed on March 29, 2011