Glaser-Dirks DG-600

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The DG-600 is a glider manufactured by Glaser-Dirks as a successor to the DG-202 and DG-400 series of gliders where carbon fiber reinforced plastics was used.

Design and development

The DG-600 fuselage is based on the fuselage of the DG-400 but with a more slender tailboom which also incorporates a tailfin ballast tank with a capacity of 7 liters. The design of the canopy and the instrument panel is practically the same as on other DG gliders.

The control surfaces incorporate flaperons which serve as both flaps and ailerons. The wing has a newly designed thinner airfoil and higher aspect ratio than previous types of DG gliders. This gives a higher performance but at a cost of worse slow-speed characteristics, making it less suitable for gliding competitions with frequent gaggles in thermals. The same problem is also noticeable on LS-7 and ASW-24 gliders where improved performance was to be achieved with thinner airfoils.

The negative effects (i.e. a stall without much warning) of this design are most pronounced on 15-meter wingspan without winglets. These characteristics caused the relative unpopularity of this glider and only 114 aircraft were produced (partially because the moulds were later destroyed in a factory fire). Later versions with 17 and 18 m wingspan offer much better low-speed handling.

Variants

There are three different models of DG-600:

  • DG-600/15 - original version with 15 m wingspan
  • DG-600/17 - version with 17 m wingspan (later changed to 18 m)
  • DG-600M - with Rotax 275 engine, capable of self launching
  • DG-600/18
  • DG-600M
  • DG-600/18M

Specifications

NOTE: The following data represent later versions of DG-600

DG-600/15 DG-600/18
Crew 1 1
Maiden flight 14 January 1992 14 January 1992
Competition class FAI 15 m FAI 18 m
Wing sections HQ35/HQ37 HQ35/HQ37
Wing span 15 m 18 m
Length 6.83 m 6.83 m
Wing surface 10.95 m2 11.81 m2
Aspect ratio 20.55 27.42
Empty mass 257 kg 262 kg
Maximum mass 525 kg 480 kg
Water ballast 180 kg 180 kg
Wing loading (max. payload) 47,9 kg/m2 40,6 kg/m2
Stall speed 64 km/h 62 km/h
Sink rate 0.56 m/s 0.49 m/s
L/D 45 50

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to DG-600.
Aircraft produced by Glaser-Dirks Flugzeugbau, later DG Flugzeugbau
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