Schempp-Hirth Cirrus
| Cirrus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Open-class sailplane
|
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Schempp-Hirth |
| Designer | Klaus Holighaus |
| First flight | 1967 |
| Number built | 183 |
The Schempp-Hirth Cirrus is an
Development
The Cirrus was designed by Dipl.-Ing.
By 1971, 107 Cirrus had been built in Germany. Production was transferred to Vazduhoplovno Tehnicki Centar (VTC) at Vršac in Yugoslavia where an additional 63 were built.
Haro Wodl won the 1968 World Gliding Championships in the open class, flying a Cirrus.
Design
Although Holighaus had designed and built the ground-breaking
, he followed a completely different design philosophy for the Cirrus, preferring a thicker airfoil and the use of PVC foam instead of balsa as a core material.The resultant Cirrus has mid-set cantilever wings with a span of 17.74 metres, and a conventional low-set cruciform tailplane. It can carry water-ballast in the wings. There are no flaps. For
Aerodynamics
Holighaus chose a rather thick flapless Wortmann airfoil (FX 66-196/161) which had low
Construction
All-fiberglass glider, with foam core sandwiches for the wing skins and fuselage bulkheads. Internal tubular-steel frame interconnects the wings, cockpit and landing gear, carrying the flight and landing stresses. This steel frame is bolted to the fiberglass shell.
The Cirrus was built in female moulds, an innovation that became the standard method for all manufacturers.
Variants
- The first prototype had an all-flying V-tail.
- The original Cirrus has a span of 17,74m. Sometimes it is called Open Cirrus.
- Cirrus VTC were produced in Yugoslavia under license by the Vazduhoplovno Tehnicki Centar in Vršac.
Developments
- Standard Cirrus, Standard Cirrus VTC and Standard Cirrus 75 have a wingspan of 15m and a T-tail.
Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew: One
- Capacity: 98 kg (215 lb) water ballast
- Length: 7.20 m (23 ft 8 in)
- Wingspan: 17.74 m (58 ft 2 in)
- Height: 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
- Wing area: 12.6 m2 (136 sq ft)
- Aspect ratio: 24.9
- Airfoil: FX 66-196, FX 60-126 (tips)
- Empty weight: 276 kg (607 lb)
- Gross weight: 400 kg (880 lb)
Performance
- Maximum glide ratio: 44
- Rate of sink: 0.50 m/s (98 ft/min)
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
References
- Selinger P, Segelflugzeuge vom Wolf aum Discus, Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart, 1989
- Ryan J, Cirrus Test Pilot Report, Soaring, July 1967
- Foley W, The Schempp-Hirth Cirrus, Soaring, July 1967
- Simons M, Sailplanes 1965–2000, Equip, 2000
External links
