Schneider ES 49
| Schneider ES 49 | |
|---|---|
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| Type: | Glider |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: |
Alexander Schleicher glider construction |
| First flight: |
1951 |
| Production time: |
1951-1953 |
| Quantity: |
8 + 5 |
The Schneider ES 49 is a two-seater glider designed by Edmund Schneider . It was one of the first gliders to be newly constructed in Germany after the Second World War and was built in a small series by Alexander Schleicher Segelflugzeugbau in Poppenhausen .
history
With the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany and the foreseeable re-certification of glider flying , Edmund Schneider began in 1949 with the construction of a two-seater glider for training purposes. Due to the loss of his workshops in Grunau at the end of the war, Schneider had only limited options for building a prototype. At the same time, the Schleicher company in Poppenhausen took the first steps to start building aircraft again, after mainly furniture was manufactured there in the post-war period . She acquired licenses to build the Grunau Baby , the Dittmar Condor IV and finally the ES 49.
The ES 49 first flew on the Wasserkuppe in August 1951 . The pilot during the first flight was Heinz Peters. Only two prototypes and six series machines were manufactured and production was quickly discontinued. The reason for this was a lack of interest on the part of the newly founded glider clubs all over the country in the somewhat antiquated and relatively expensive wooden construction. The new training two-seater equipped with covered tubular steel hulls such as Doppelraab , Ka 4 Rhönlerche and Mü 13 E Bergfalke were preferred in many places because of their robustness and ease of maintenance.
The ES 49 was the last aircraft that Schneider designed in Germany before he emigrated to Australia in 1952. After his arrival there, he thoroughly revised the ES 49 and two copies of the now known as ES 49B "Kangaroo" sailor were built. In addition, three ES 49 under the name "Wallaby" were self-built by Australian aviation clubs.
construction
The design of the ES 49 is visibly based on Schneider's most successful pre-war aircraft, the Grunau Baby. The fuselage is a wooden structure made up of strips and cross members, which was clad with plywood panels. The two-part, braced wing has a box spar, is rectangular in plan and trapezoidal towards the surface ends. The Gö 549 profile is used, which merges into the Gö 676 profile at the surface tips. The front part of the wing is planked with plywood and covered at the rear, as are the rudder surfaces.
The cockpits of the two prototypes only had canopy frames with small windshields (called "open canopy" in aviator jargon), similar to the Grunau Baby II.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 2 |
| length | 8.61 m |
| span | 16 m |
| Wing area | 21.3 m² |
| Wing loading | 21.6 kg / m² |
| Wing extension | 11.74 |
| Glide ratio | 24 at 70 km / h |
| Slightest sinking | 0.85 m / s at 65 km / h |
| Empty mass | 280 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 480 kg |
| Top speed | 150 km / h |
Preserved copies
One of the few surviving Schneider ES 49s is exhibited in the German Gliding Museum on the Wasserkuppe. The aircraft, built in 1952, flew with various clubs in West Germany before it was taken over by the Wasserkuppe classic glider club in 1982. The machine was restored and, after its re-registration, was christened by the widow Luise Schleicher in the name of her late husband Alexander Schleicher. After a few years in the association's training operations, the ES 49 was shut down for safety reasons after an inspection and given to the neighboring museum.
The ES 49 with the number 3 is stored in the possession of the Association for the Promotion of Historical Gliding.
An ES 49 "Wallaby" built in Australia from 1955 to 1958 is owned by the Australian Gliding Museum in Parwan.
See also
literature
- Richard Ferrière / Peter F. Selinger: Rhönsegler. Alexander Schleicher's gliders and motor gliders 1951–1987. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1988.
Web links
- ES 49 Rhönflug Oldtimer Segelflugclub Wasserkuppe e. V.
- ES 49 Alexander Schleicher Segelflugzeugbau GmbH
- ES 49 Wallaby in the Australian Gliding Museum
Individual evidence
- ↑ VFhS eV: New entry at VFhS. April 17, 2015, accessed October 21, 2020 .