Wassmer WA-20

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Wassmer WA-20
WA-21 Javelot II
Type: Glider
Design country:

FranceFrance France

Manufacturer:

Wassmer Aviation

First flight:

August 1956

Number of pieces:

120+

Wassmer WA 20 is a series of single-seat gliders from the French manufacturer Wassmer Aviation in Issoire . Well over a hundred units were built in the 1950s and 1960s. In 2010 there were still over fifty copies registered in France.

History and construction

The series was constructed by Maurice Collard. It was supposed to match both the German designs such as the DFS Weihe and the DFS Olympia Meise - also built in France - from the time before the Second World War, as well as the first post-war generation of French designs such as the Arsenal Air 100 , which were widely used in French gliding clubs at the time , replaced by a simply constructed glider with good flight performance.

The first model in the series - the WA-20 Javelot , later also the Javelot I - had its maiden flight in August 1956. The wings of the Javelot are made entirely of wood. It has a wingspan of around 16 meters with an area of ​​15.5 square meters and has a wing extension of 16.7. The construction is a shoulder wing and consists of two parts with individual box girders and D-shaped, plywood-clad half-shells. The wings are covered with fabric behind the spar and at the end there are small end plates that protect the wing tips when rolling on the ground. The air brakes fold out from the top and bottom of the wings.

The Javelot has a flattened, polygonal hull made of fabric-covered steel tubes. In front of the wings there are four longitudinal members on the flattened fuselage, which together with the box-shaped canopy form a blunt nose. The landing gear consists of a rubber-sprung runner and a single, non-retractable wheel. Behind the wings, the tapered fuselage consists of only three longitudinal members with a distinctive backbone. The tail unit with one-piece elevator is made of wood with straight sides and a rounded top edge and is mounted on the top of the fuselage. There is also a runner at the stern.

The WA-21 Javelot II is a revised version for the standard competition class and had its maiden flight on March 25, 1958. It has modified wings with a wingspan of 15 meters and a V-position with an angle of four degrees on the outer sides. The middle part of the wings is straight with a constant chord . The Javelot II also has separately controllable differential ailerons and a newly developed connection between the wings and the fuselage. Fifty copies had been delivered by the mid-1960s.

The last variant built is the WA-22 Super Javelot , which flew for the first time in June 1961. She kept the wings of the WA-21 and the fuselage is also made of a tubular steel construction. In contrast to the WA-21, the bow of the WA-22 is clad with GRP . The nose was lengthened for a better streamlined shape and the aircraft got a new, flatter and one-piece canopy. At the rear, the vertical surfaces are still made of wood, but are painted. In 1964 the Super Javelot was revised once more. The V-position of the outer wings has been increased to 5.5 degrees. The aerodynamics of the wing root was optimized and the wings were completely covered with birch plywood to improve the laminar flow .

The WA-23 finally was merely an experimental development. It had the fuselage of the WA-22, but received new wings with a wingspan of 18 meters, a wing aspect ratio of 22 and a new profile that was specially designed for the WA-23 ​​by Maurice Collard. The empty weight of the WA-23 ​​was 295 kilograms. The aircraft made its maiden flight on August 6, 1962.

Versions

Hull of a Wassmer WA-22 Javelot II
  • WA-20 Javelot
  • WA-21 Javelot II
  • WA-22 Super Javelot
  • WA-22 Super Javelot 64
  • WA-22-28
  • WA-23

Issued copies

  • WA-21 Javelot II in the Musée Aéronautique Berry, Touchay , France
  • WA-22 Super Javelot in the Musée Regional de l'Air, Angers , France

Technical specifications

Three-sided view WA-20
Parameter WA-20 Javelot WA-21 Javelot II WA-22 Super Javelot WA-23
crew 1
length 7.08 m 7.00 m 7.21 m 7.04 m
span 16.08 m 15 m 18 m
height - 1.79 m 1.89 m -
Wing area 15.5 m² 14.4 m²
Wing extension 16.07 15.7 -
Glide ratio 29 28 30th 35
Slightest sinking 0.68 m / s at 75 km / h 0.75 m / s at 72 km / h 0.7 m / s at 80 km / h -
Empty mass 230 kg 195 kg 205 kg -
Max. Takeoff mass 330 kg 350 kg 340 kg -

literature

  • BS Shenstone: The World's Sailplanes: The Gliders of the World: Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II . 1st edition. Organization Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue, Zurich 1963 (English, French, German).
  • John WR Taylor: Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1959-60 . Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London 1959 (English).
  • John WR Taylor: Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1960-61 . Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London 1960 (English).
  • John WR Taylor: Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1962-63 . Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London 1962 (English).
  • John WR Taylor: Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1966-67 . Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London 1966 (English).
  • Michael Hardy: Gliders & Sailplanes of the World . Ian Allen Ltd, London 1982, ISBN 0-7110-1152-4 (English).
  • Bob Ogden: Aviation Museums and Collections of Mainland Europe . Air Britain (Historians) Ltd, 2009, ISBN 978-0-85130-425-0 (English).
  • Dave Partington: European registers handbook 2010 . Air Britain (Historians) Ltd, 2010, ISBN 978-0-85130-418-2 (English).

Web links

Commons : Wassmer WA-20  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Michael Hardy: Gliders & Sailplanes of the World . Ian Allen Ltd, London 1982, ISBN 0-7110-1152-4 (English).
  2. ^ A b c d John WR Taylor: Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1960-61 . Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London 1960.
  3. ^ John WR Taylor: Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1966-67 . Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London 1966.
  4. ^ John WR Taylor: Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1962-63 . Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London 1962.
  5. ^ A b Bob Ogden: Aviation Museums and Collections of Mainland Europe . Air Britain (Historians) Ltd, 2009, ISBN 978-0-85130-418-2 (English).
  6. ↑ LA BASE DES PLANEURS. j2mcl-planeurs.net, accessed April 21, 2018 .