Scheibe L-Spatz 55
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The L-Spatz 55 is a German glider of wood and fabric construction that was built in 1952 until 1962.
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[edit] History
Scheibe Flugzeugbau built the Spatz A in 1952. Two years later in 1954 the first L-Spatz 55 was airborne. The letter L stands for Leistung, which is German for performance. Three hundred L-Spatz 55s were built in Germany, 155 were produced in France under the name A.60 Fauconnet, and 16 produced under in Italy named MS-30 L Passero. This model was discontinued in 1962.
[edit] Features
It is a single-seater glider with a cruising (max L/D) speed of 45mph. It has an empty weight of 157kg and a maximum take-off weight of 269kg. The wings and tail were constructed using fabric-covered wood, whereas the fuselage consisted of steel tubing covered with fabric.
[edit] Performance
The L-Spatz 55 has good climbing performance due to light construction. The glide angle is 1:29, which was reasonable for pre-1960 performance. The longest known cross-country flight was more than 600 km from Burg Feuerstein, Germany to France.
[edit] Usage
Many gliding clubs operated the L-Spatz 55, well known for its easy handling. Recovery from a spin in the L-Spatz 55 is easy.
