Schempp-Hirth Janus
The Schempp-Hirth Janus is a high performance two-seat glider that was built by Schempp-Hirth GmbH.
Design and development
The design was by Dipl-Ing Klaus Holighaus and the prototype first flew in May 1974. The production examples incorporated several improvements in January 1975. The Janus has a glass-fibre monocoque fuselage similar to that of the Nimbus-2 but the cockpit section is lengthened to accommodate the two pilots in tandem with dual controls under a right-hand side hinged one-piece canopy. Landing gear consists of either a non-retractable main wheel (Janus A, B & C) or a retractable main wheel (later models of Janus C and all Ce's) with a drum or disc brake, and a nose-wheel. The two-piece wings have 2° forward sweep on the leading edge, and have camber-changing flaps which are operated between +12° and -7°. The Janus has upper surface airbrakes, and although uncommon the Janus C could also be fitted with a tail parachute.
Production
100 Januses were built by early 1980 plus three motorised Janus CMs. It is particularly suitable for cross-country instruction and training to fly flapped gliders.
Variants
- Janus A
- Janus B
- Janus C
- Janus Ce
- Janus CM - motorised version with Rotax 535C engine
- Janus CT - motorised version with Solo 2350 engine
The Janus B was produced from March 1978. It has a fixed-incidence tailplane instead of the all-moving type previously fitted. The Janus C has carbon-fibre wings of 20 m span and a carbon-fibre tailplane. The Janus Ce was certified in 1991 and incorporated modifications to the cockpit and fin.
The Janus M is a motorised version with a Rotax engine mounted on a pylon aft of the cockpit and retracting into the fuselage. The prototype first flew in 1978.
The French developed the Janus as the SCAP–Lanaverre SL-2. (SCAP is the Société de Commercialisation Aéronautique du Plessis SàRL with Lanaverre Industries) It first flew in 1977. The main differences from the Janus A are the provision for water ballast in the wings, a fixed tailplane with elevators, and a more comfortable cockpit.
Specifications (Janus C)
General characteristics
- Crew: Two
- Capacity: 240 kg (530 lb) water ballast
- Length: 8.62 m (28 ft 3 in)
- Wingspan: 21.00 m (69 ft 11 in)
- Height: 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in)
- Wing area: 17.3 m2 (186 ft2)
- Empty weight: ca. 365 kg (803 lb)
- Gross weight: 700 kg (1,540 lb)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 250 km/h (155 mph)
- Maximum glide ratio: 43
- Rate of sink: 0.6 m/s (118 ft/min)
See also
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- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
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