Space glider

Space glider
Type:	Glider
Design country:	Netherlands
Manufacturer:	Reinhold Platz
First flight:	1923

The space glider was a glider from the German designer Reinhold Platz .

history

The German aircraft designer Reinhold Platz took over the management of the Fokkerwerke in Veere three years after the First World War in 1921 . During the First World War in Schwerin, he developed the fighter aircraft for the Fokker Flugzeugwerke, including such well-known and trend-setting models as the Fokker Dr.I, Fokker D.VII and Fokker D.VIII .

In 1922 he worked on the construction of a glider that, according to his statements, should meet the following conditions:

Transport by bike

low purchase price - no more than a good bike
Possibility of breaking it down into small parts to enable transport in passenger trains
Insensitivity to rough operation and shocks
quick and easy assembly
easy and inexpensive replacement of all parts
the glider must be able to be carried by a man

During the implementation, he was inspired by a trip on a sailing boat with sloop rigging . A model made of paper and a paper clip was followed by a model with a wingspan of 1.3 meters, which flew in the dunes in early November 1922. Another model with a span of 2.5 meters demonstrated the inherent stability and scalability of the concept. Subsequently, within a few days, the man-carrying version was created, which after unmanned tests first flew fixed like a kite in the upwind and then carried out free flights in February 1923.

construction

Outline sketch

The glider consisted of a metal runner as a bow, which merged into a round wood up to the stern - these parts formed a minimalist hull. Two fittings on the left and right of the fuselage received the spar roots; the spars were also designed as round timbers - similar to a sailing boat. The main wing made of fabric without ribs was attached to the spars and tail boom like a mainsail; two jib sails in front of the pilot could be individually adjusted in the angle of attack with the arms.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	1
Wing area	16 m²
Empty mass	40 kg

Web links

Commons : space glider - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b R. Platz: A Novel Sailplane. Sailplane and Glider, April 1953, pp. 17-18 , archived from the original on May 27, 2012 ; Retrieved on November 16, 2017 (English, citing an article from the magazine for flight technology and motorized airship from January 1924).
↑ ^a ^b A new Idea in Gliders. (PDF) A German "Sailplane" of Unorthodox Design. In: Flight, March 6, 1924. Flight International , March 6, 1924, pp. 129–130 , accessed on November 16, 2017 (English, quoting an article from the magazine for flight technology and motorized airship travel from January 1924): “One of the most extraordinary gliders ever built was designed and constructed in Germany towards the end of 1922, and flown in February of last year. "

[SG_195304-1] R. Platz: A Novel Sailplane. Sailplane and Glider, April 1953, pp. 17-18 , archived from the original on May 27, 2012 ; Retrieved on November 16, 2017 (English, citing an article from the magazine for flight technology and motorized airship from January 1924).

[Flight,_March_6,_1924-2] A new Idea in Gliders. (PDF) A German "Sailplane" of Unorthodox Design. In: Flight, March 6, 1924. Flight International , March 6, 1924, pp. 129–130 , accessed on November 16, 2017 (English, quoting an article from the magazine for flight technology and motorized airship travel from January 1924): “One of the most extraordinary gliders ever built was designed and constructed in Germany towards the end of 1922, and flown in February of last year. "