Akaflieg Stuttgart FS-24

FS 24 Phönix
FS-24 in the Deutsches Museum in Munich
Role Sailplane
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Akaflieg Stuttgart
Designer R. Eppler and H. Nägele
First flight 27 November 1957
Number built 8


The Akaflieg Stuttgart FS-24 Phönix was a glider designed and built in Germany from 1951.

Development

The Phönix was the first glider to use fibreglass in its construction. The development of modern aerofoil sections for gliders required very accurate reproduction with smooth surfaces, using tolerances that were extremely difficult to achieve using conventional wood or metal construction, but could be achieved by using composite materials laid up in a mould.

The design of the FS-24 was started at Akaflieg Stuttgart, (Akademische Fliegergruppe - academic flying group), by R. Eppler and H. Nägele in 1951. Originally it was constructed of balsa wood with a strengthened outer layer of paper and glue layers, which was not satisfactory. The project was abandoned until a grant was received for further research from Baden-Württemberg state. By then glass fibre reinforced polyester resin was available and so it was redesigned using a balsa wood/glass fibre 'sandwich', with the load-bearing points and the edge of the cockpit canopy strengthened with plywood.

At the time the Phönix was designed, emphasis was placed on climb performance rather than high cruising speed, with a low wing loading to optimise thermalling and a faster cruise speed (best Lift /Drag speed) achieved through careful attention to fuselage shape, wing incidence, aspect ratio and other criteria.

The first flight was made on 27 November 1957, and good performance and excellent handling were demonstrated, especially in weak thermal conditions. For its first flights the prototype had a conventional tail unit and fixed undercarriage, but later a T-tail and retractable undercarrriage were fitted. Flaps on the underside of the wing trailing edges could be used to control the glideslope on landing, with minimal trim change. Eight examples of the Phönix were built and all were still flying in 1980, with at least one example now preserved in the Deutsches Museum in Munich and another in the Deutsches Segleflugmuseum at Wasserkuppe.

Surviving aircraft

The prototype fs 24 Phönix is on display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany.[1]

D-8353 is part of the collection of the Deutsches Segelflugmuseum at Wasserkuppe, Germany.[2]

Specifications

FS 24 Stamp

Data from The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde[3][4]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Hirth Hi25 Kria

Related lists

List of gliders

Notes

  1. ↑ "Akaflieg Stuttgart fs-24 Phönix, 1957". Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  2. ↑ "Bölkow fs-24 "Phönix T0"". Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  3. ↑ Shenstone, B.S.; K.G. Wilkinson; Peter Brooks (1958). The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs dans Le Monde (in French and German) (1st ed.). Zurich: Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue. pp. 51–54.
  4. ↑ "fs 24 - Phönix". Stuttgart University. Retrieved 13 June 2013.

References

  • "fs 24 - Phönix". Stuttgart University. Retrieved 8 September 2015. 
  • "Bölkow fs-24 "Phönix T0"". Retrieved 13 June 2013. 
  • "Akaflieg Stuttgart fs-24 Phönix, 1957". Retrieved 13 June 2013. 
  • Shenstone, B.S.; K.G. Wilkinson; Peter Brooks (1958). The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs dans Le Monde (in French and German) (1st ed.). Zurich: Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue. pp. 51–54. 

External links

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