Hannover Vampyr
| Vampyr | |
|---|---|
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| Vampyr with broad, swept wing tips and wing warping control, as at the 1922 Rhön contest | |
| Role | Competition glider |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Hannoversche Waggonfabrik (Hanover Coach and Carriage Works), (HAWA) |
| Designer | George Madelung and Arthur Proell, Akaflieg Hannover |
| First flight | 1921 |
| Number built | 1 |
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The Hanover H.1 Vampyr (known in Germany as the "HAWA Vampyr") was a glider which took part in the German gliding competitions of 1921 and 1922 held on the Wasserkuppe. Probably the first heavier than air aircraft to use stressed skin,[1] it has been claimed as the model for all modern sailplanes.[2][3]
Design and development
The Vampyr was designed by Georg Hans Madelung, a lecturer at the aerotechnical institute of the University of Hanover supervised by Professor Albert Proell. They had it built at the Hanover Coach and Carriage Works (HAWA). It had a wooden structure which was covered with a mixture of plywood and fabric. The fuselage was simple, flat sided and essentially rhomboidal in profile. In plan it tapered to the tail. The upper face was fabric covered but the rest used plywood.[1]
The most innovative part of the aircraft was its wing. The majority of gliders at this time were monoplanes and it was becoming appreciated that better performance in terms of glide ratio would come with higher aspect ratio. Long wings were vulnerable to torsional flexing and so most used two spar designs. The Vampyr's designers used a single spar and stabilized the wing with ply covering forward of the spar around the leading edge; this formed a torsion resisting D-box and was probably the first use of stressed skin on any aircraft apart from airships.[1]
Behind the spar the wing was fabric covered. It was built in three parts, a rectangular centre section and two tapered outer panels bearing ailerons. By 1922 these had been replaced by parallel, swept sections with provision for wing warping. The strength of the wing, mounted on top of the fuselage, required only short lift struts between the spar and fuselage. The pilot sat under the wing leading edge in an open cockpit; forward of the wing extra fuselage panels gave the fuselage a hexagonal cross-section. Three balls, one in the nose and two side-by-side under mid-wing formed the undercarriage.[1]
A one piece moving tailplane was hinged at the extreme rear of the fuselage. Because the Vampyr was a short aircraft it required a large fin. Both this and the rudder were angular and, like the tailplane, fabric covered. Originally the top of the fin and the rudder lay in a straight line but in 1923 the latter was extended upwards, balanced and square topped.[1]
Operational history
The Vampyr, flown by Arthur Martens, competed in the second Rhön gliding contest, held on the Wasserkuppe in 1921. Though not soaring, it made several long flights and was clearly the best glider present. It was damaged in a launch incident and so the Vampyr did not win, but it was awarded a prize for its innovative wing design. The glider remained on the Wasserkuppe, was repaired and by September had made a flight of 7.5 km (4.7 mi).[1]
It was back at the Wasserkuppe the following year and outperformed all including its development, the Hannover Greif, with a flight of 3 hours and 10 minutes. This was a new record for duration and was rewarded with a 50,000 Mark prize.[4][5]
Over the next few years high-wing monoplane gliders were often described as being "of the Vampyr type".[6]
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Specifications (1921 version)
Data from Sailplanes 1920-1945;[1] Performance, Deutsches Museum[3]
General characteristics
- Crew: One
- Length: 12.60 m (41 ft 4 in)
- Wingspan: 5.54 m (18 ft 2 in)
- Wing area: 16.0 m2 (172 sq ft)
- Aspect ratio: 9.95
- Airfoil: Göttingen 441
- Empty weight: 120 kg (265 lb)
- Gross weight: 195 kg (430 lb)
- Wing loading: 12 kg/m2 (2.5 lb/sq ft)
Performance
- Rate of sink: 0.75 m/s (148 ft/min) approximately
- Lift-to-drag: best about 16
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Simons, Martin (2006). Sailplanes 1920-1945 (2nd revised ed.). Königswinter: EQIP Werbung & Verlag GmbH. pp. 15–17. ISBN 3 9806773 4 6.
- ↑ "Vampyr "Hannover"" (in German). German Sailplane Museum. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Akaflieg Hannover Vampyr, 1921" (in German). Munich: Deutsches Museum. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ "The Hannover glider". Flight XIV (35): pp.499–501. 31 August 1922.
- ↑ "German gliders". Flight XIV (36): pp.454–6. 31 August 1922.
- ↑ "The 1925 Vauville meeting". Flight XVII (33): p.523. 13 August 1925.
External links
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