Lommatzsch Lom-61 Favorit

Lom-61 Favorit
Role	High performance single seat glider
National origin	German Democratic Republic
Manufacturer	VEB Apparatebau Lommatzsch
Designer	Hans Wegerich, Hans Hartung and Wolfgang Heintze
First flight	c.1961
Number built	5

Last updated October 19, 2019

The Lommatzsch Lom-61 Favorit is a single seat, high performance glider designed and built in the German Democratic Republic in the early 1960s. A small number were used by clubs.

A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding. This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplanes are aerodynamically streamlined and so can fly a significant distance forward for a small decrease in altitude.

Design and development

The Lommatzsch factory of the Volkseigener Betrieb Flugzeug (Association of the People's Aircraft Enterprises) was responsible for glider design and production in the DDR.^[1] The Lom-61 was principally designed by Hans Wegerich, Hans Hartung and Wolfgang Heintze.

Lommatzsch is a municipality located in the district of Meißen in the Free State of Saxony, Germany.

The Favorit has a high wing with a 6-series NACA laminar flow airfoil, straight tapered in plan. This was built in two pieces around a single spar at 40% chord with pine and honeycomb supported plywood skin, linked by a central section integral with the fuselage. There are Schempp-Hirth airbrakes mounted further aft than usual, at 70% chord. The ailerons are gapless and split into pairs on either side.^[2]

Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards which includes medium-density fibreboard (MDF) and particle board (chipboard).

Fuselage aircraft main body which is the primary carrier of crew, passengers, and payload

The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, and cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, as well, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage, which in turn is used as a floating hull. The fuselage also serves to position control and stabilization surfaces in specific relationships to lifting surfaces, which is required for aircraft stability and maneuverability.

Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH is a glider manufacturer based in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany.

The wooden fuselage of the Favorit is slender, with a maximum cross section of 0.38 m², and tapers rearwards only gently. The tail surfaces are straight tapered, with marked sweep on the fin but none on the rudder, which extends to the keel. The horizontal surfaces are mounted on top of the fuselage, forward enough for the rudder hinge to be ahead of the elevator trailing edge. Forward of the wing, the cockpit is under a long, low, single piece canopy. The Favorit lands on a fixed monowheel, partially enclosed in the fuselage, rubber sprung and fitted with brakes, assisted by a rubber sprung nose skid.^[2]

A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fins are also used to increase surface areas for heat transfer purposes, or simply as ornamentation.

A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other conveyance that moves through a fluid medium. On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane. A rudder operates by redirecting the fluid past the hull (watercraft) or fuselage, thus imparting a turning or yawing motion to the craft. In basic form, a rudder is a flat plane or sheet of material attached with hinges to the craft's stern, tail, or after end. Often rudders are shaped so as to minimize hydrodynamic or aerodynamic drag. On simple watercraft, a tiller—essentially, a stick or pole acting as a lever arm—may be attached to the top of the rudder to allow it to be turned by a helmsman. In larger vessels, cables, pushrods, or hydraulics may be used to link rudders to steering wheels. In typical aircraft, the rudder is operated by pedals via mechanical linkages or hydraulics.

The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge rejoins. Essential flight control surfaces are attached here to control the direction of the departing air flow, and exert a controlling force on the aircraft. Such control surfaces include ailerons on the wings for roll control, elevators on the tailplane controlling pitch, and the rudder on the fin controlling yaw. Elevators and ailerons may be combined as elevons on tailless aircraft.

The Lom-61 first flew, as its name suggests, around 1961. Though variants for 1962-4 were discussed, they were not built.

Operational history

Only five Favorits were built, flying competitively in the DDR until 1980. One set a national record of 107 km/h (67 mph) over a 100 k (62 mi) triangle; another was the first to fly a German 50 km (310 mi) triangle.

Aircraft on display

German sailplane museum, Wasserkuppe:DM-2704

Specifications

Data from Segelflugzeuge^[2]

General characteristics

Crew: One
Length: 6.74 m (22 ft 1 in)
Wingspan: 15.00 m (49 ft 3 in)
Height: 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)
Wing area: 12.40 m² (133.5 sq ft)
Aspect ratio: 18.15
Airfoil: NACA 65₂-615.5
Empty weight: 225 kg (496 lb)
Gross weight: 335 kg (739 lb)

An airfoil or aerofoil is the cross-sectional shape of a wing, blade, or sail.

Performance

Maximum speed: 20 km/h (12 mph, 11 kn)
Maximum glide ratio: 38:1 at 95 km/h (59 mph; 51 kn)
Rate of sink: 0.60 m/s (118 ft/min) minimum, at 76 km/h (47 mph; 41 kn)
Wing loading: 27.0 kg/m² (5.5 lb/sq ft)
Landing speed: 70 km/h (44 mph; 38 kn)

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References

↑ Taylor, John W R (1960). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1960-61. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd. pp. 173–4.
1 2 3 Schmidt, A.F. (1969). Aerotyp Segelflugzeuge. Berlin: Transpress VEB. pp. 38–9.

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[JAWA60-1] Taylor, John W R (1960). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1960-61. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd. pp. 173–4.

[Schmidt-2] 1 2 3 Schmidt, A.F. (1969). Aerotyp Segelflugzeuge. Berlin: Transpress VEB. pp. 38–9.