Civil Aviation Department BS-1 Bharani

Last updated
BS-1 Bharani
RoleTwo seat trainer glider
National origin India
ManufacturerCivil Aviation Department
DesignerS. Ramamritham
First flight6 April 1962

The Civil Aviation Department BS-1 Bharani was a tandem seat trainer glider designed and built in India in the early 1960s.

Contents

Design and development

Several Civil Aviation Department aircraft were named after divisions (nakshatra) of the zodiac used in Hindu astrology; Bharani (भरणी) is one of these, literally meaning "the bearer". The glider named after it was a wood-framed aircraft, covered with fabric and plywood. It had a high cantilever wing with a single spar, ahead of which ply covering formed a torsion resisting box. Behind the spar it was fabric covered. The leading edge was straight and unswept but forward sweep on the trailing edge both tapered the wing in plan and resulted in a forward sweep of 1° at the spar. The wing had 1° of dihedral, wooden plain ailerons and wooden air brakes which opened above and below the wing. [1]

The fuselage was a wood framed, ply covered semi-monocoque. The tandem cockpit was ahead of the wing under a two piece canopy which merged into the upper wing, assisted by a small transparency in the leading edge to improve upward vision from the rear seat. The forward part hinged sideways and the aft part rearwards. It had dual controls and instrumentation; oxygen supplies could be fitted if necessary. The tail unit had a straight edged, ply covered fin with a full, rounded, fabric covered rudder. Apart from some ply covering on the inner part of the tailplane the horizontal surfaces were also fabric covered. The leading edge of the straight tapered tailplane was well ahead of that of the fin. [1]

The undercarriage was a fixed single monowheel, without a brake but assisted by a rubber-sprung nose skid which had a steel underside that could be replaced if damaged. There was also a small tail skid which was sprung with tennis balls. [1]

The first flight was on 6 April 1962. No Civil Aviation Technical School designs were produced by them, though some were produced by external companies provided with full plans by the School. No production of the Bharani had been reported by late 1963. [1]


Specifications

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1964/5

General characteristics

Performance


Related Research Articles

Cijan-Obad Orao

The Cijan-Obad Orao is a competition single seat sailplane designed in Yugoslavia just after World War II, one of the most advanced of its type at the time. It flew in three World Gliding Championships, having greatest success at its first in 1950 when it reached third place.

The Kirigamine Mita is a training glider, seating two in tandem, designed in Japan in the early 1960s. A modified version, first flown in 1966, was produced in modest numbers.

Maeda 703

The Maeda 703 was one of the first indigenous Japanese gliders, a high performance single seat aircraft which first flew in 1940. Three were built, two with gull wing wings; one of these set a national endurance record in 1941.

CVV 8 Bonaventura

The CVV 8 Bonaventura was a two-seat competition glider designed and built in Italy during the 1950s. Fifteen were produced.

Schleicher Rhönadler German single-seat glider, 1932

The Schleicher Rhönadler, DFS Rhönadler or Jacobs Rhönadler is a high performance, single seat competition sailplane built in Germany in the 1930s. More than 65 were built.

The UTG-1 Loudon was an intermediate glider designed and built at the University of Toronto in Canada during the late 1940s.

The CVT1 Zigilo was a single-seat, 12-metre-span (39 ft) Italian training glider designed and built in Italy in the 1950s. Only one was completed.

The IIL IS-5 was a single seat, high performance sailplane designed by Iosif Șilimon and built in Romania in 1960.

The IIL IS-7 was a two-seat, sailplane designed by Iosif Șilimon and built in Romania in the late 1950s. Only one prototype was built.

The IIL IS-8 was a two-seat sailplane designed by Iosif Șilimon and built in Romania in 1960. They served with Romanian gliding clubs.

The IIL IS-10 was a high-performance, single-seat glider, designed and built in Romania in the early 1960s. It was the first Romanian aircraft to use laminar flow airfoils.

The IIL IS-11 was an aerobatic, single seat glider, designed and built in Romania in 1959. It was built in small numbers.

The Schleicher K 10 is a Standard class competition glider, designed by Rudolf Kaiser and built in Germany in 1963. Only a few were produced.

Schneider ES-57 Kingfisher

The Schneider ES-57 Kingfisher is a low-cost, short-span Australian glider capable of respectable cross country soaring flights. It was produced in small numbers in the late 1950s.

The Merville SM.31 is a French high performance glider with a laminar flow wing, first flown in 1960. Only one was built.

Zlin Z-25 Šohaj

The Zlín Šohaj series of club gliders began as a post World War II development of the DFS Olympia Meise. A large number were built in the 1940s and '50s.

The Civil Aviation Department Kartik was an Indian single seat competition glider first flown in 1963. It was built in small numbers and remained under development until 1975.

The Civil Aviation Department Ashvini was the first two-seat glider designed and built in India. It was produced in small numbers in the early 1960s.

Czerwiński CW 7

The Czerwiński CW 7 was a Polish aerobatic glider first flown in 1934. Despite a structural weakness that prevented inverted flight, a small batch of CW 7s were used by several aeroclubs until the start of World War II.

The Jancsó-Szokolay M22 was a Hungarian single-seat sailplane first flown in 1937. Twenty were built and the type set several national records. Some remained in service up to about 1953.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, John W R (1964). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1964-65. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd. pp. 366–7.