Schleicher K7

K7 Rhönadler
Role Glider
National origin West Germany
Manufacturer Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co
Designer Rudolf Kaiser
Introduction 1960
Status Production completed
Number built 550
Developed from Schleicher Ka-2
Variants Schleicher ASK 13

The Schleicher K7 Rhönadler, aka Ka-7 or K-7, is a West German high-wing, two-seat, glider that was designed by Rudolf Kaiser and produced by Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co.[1][2]

Often referred to as the Ka-7 or K-7, the US Federal Aviation Administration type certificate officially designates it as the K7.[1][2][3]

Design and development

K7 wing being recovered, showing the wooden structure.

The K7 was intended as a two-place trainer with good performance, a rare combination in trainers of its time.[1][2]

The K7 is constructed with a welded steel tube fuselage, covered in doped aircraft fabric covering. The wing is a wooden structure with a doped fabric covering and employs a Goettingen 533 (16%) airfoil at the wing root, transitioning to a Goettingen 533 (14%) section at the wing tip. The wing features powerful dive brakes. The landing gear is a fixed monowheel. The earlier Ka-2 variant has a plywood monocoque fuselage.[1][2][3][4]

After 550 had been built, the K7 was superseded in production by the Schleicher ASK 13.[1][2]

The K7 can be converted into a K7/13 with a conversion kit to lower the wing to the mid-wing position and installation of a one-piece canopy, rendering the aircraft similar to the ASK-13.[1]

Operational history

A K7 was flown to a new world multi-place glider speed record for flight around a 500 km (311 mi) triangle of 84 km/h (52 mph) in 1964 in South Africa.[1][2]

Variants

Ka-2
Early version with a plywood monocoque fuselage[1][3]
K7
Main production version with a steel tube fuselage.[1][2][3]
K7/13
K7 converted to a mid-wing arrangement, plus a single piece canopy, to resemble an AS-K 13[1]

Specifications (K7)

K7 after landing

Data from Sailplane Directory, Soaring and FAA Type Certificate 7g3,[1][2][3] The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde[5]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Related lists

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Activate Media (2006). "Ka-7 Schleicher". Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Said, Bob (November 1983). "1983 Sailplane Directory". Soaring Magazine. Soaring Society of America. USPS 499-920.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Federal Aviation Administration (February 1961). "Type Certificate Data Sheet No. 7g3" (PDF). Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  4. ↑ Lednicer, David (2010). "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  5. ↑ Shenstone, B.S.; K.G. Wilkinson; Peter Brooks (1958). The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs dans Le Monde (in English, French, and German) (1st ed.). Zurich: Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue. pp. 9–13.

References

  • Activate Media (2006). "Ka-7 Schleicher". Retrieved 23 July 2011. 
  • Said, Bob (November 1983). "1983 Sailplane Directory". Soaring Magazine. Soaring Society of America. USPS 499-920. 
  • Federal Aviation Administration (February 1961). "Type Certificate Data Sheet No. 7g3" (PDF). Retrieved 23 July 2011. 
  • Lednicer, David (2010). "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". Retrieved 23 July 2011. 
  • Shenstone, B.S.; K.G. Wilkinson; Peter Brooks (1958). The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs dans Le Monde (in English, French, and German) (1st ed.). Zurich: Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue. pp. 81–87. 

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