Mitchell Nimbus

Last updated

Nimbus
Role Glider
National origin United States
Designer Don Mitchell
First flight1954
Introduction1956 (Nimbus III)
StatusProduction complete

The Mitchell Nimbus is a series of American, single-seat, high-wing gliders that was designed by Don Mitchell in the 1950s. Mitchell is also well known for his ultralight Mitchell Wing A-10 and U-2 designs. [1] [2]

Contents

Design and development

The Nimbus series was designed as an attempt to combine a high aspect ratio wing with a thin airfoil section to produce a fast cross country sailplane. [1] [2]

The first Nimbus prototype used a Göttingen airfoil, which resulted in lower than expected performance. It first flew in 1954. [3] The Nimbus III, introduced in 1956, employed an FX-05-191 airfoil and this greatly improved performance. The Nimbus III is constructed entirely from wood and incorporates a three-piece wing, with a center section and removable wing tips. Rib spacing is 6 inches and the plywood leading edge extends to 83% of the chord. [1] [2] [4]

Operational history

The original Nimbus's fuselage was severely damaged at the May 1954 NCSA Soaring Meet during a cross country flight and as a result the Nimbus II was rushed to completion to be ready for the US National Soaring Contest in 1954 at Lake Elsinore, California. The Nimbus II was completed in time and Dr. J.B. Sawyer flew it to 15th place. He was forced to withdraw from the contest after the 5th day when he let go of the controls in flight and the glider pitched up steeply. After landing it was discovered that the elevator attach bracket was bent and they were unable to repair it at the contest. Sawyer went on to fly the Nimbus II on a 230-mile flight at a 1955 glider meet in Lincoln, California. He also soared it to over 20,000 ft (6,096 m) in Minden, Nevada during the summer of 1955. At the 1956 US National Contest in Grand Prairie, Texas the Nimbus III was flown by Vic Swierkowski and won the Design Contest. The Nimbus II was also flown at the Nationals by Sawyer in 1956 and actually out-scored the Nimbus III. [1] [2] [4] [5] [6]

Nine Nimbus III kits were produced by Mitchell and of these, four were reported as having been completed. In April 2011 there was one Nimbus III on the US Federal Aviation Administration registry. [1] [2] [7]

Variants

Nimbus I
Initial version with a Göttingen airfoil [1] [2]
Nimbus II
Improved version [1] [2]
Nimbus III
Improved version with an FX-05-191 airfoil. [1] [2]

Aircraft on display

Specifications (Nimbus III)

Data from Sailplane Directory and Soaring [1] [2]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related Research Articles

Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-2 German single-seat glider, 1971

The Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-2 is an Open Class glider built by Schempp-Hirth during the 1970s. The Nimbus-2 first flew in April 1971 and a total of over 240 examples of all subtypes have been built until the beginning of the 1980s. It replaced the Schempp-Hirth Cirrus.

Glasflügel 303 German single-seat glider, 1976

The Glasflügel 303 Mosquito is a composite 15 metre Class single-seat sailplane manufactured by Glasflügel between 1976 and 1980.

Glasflügel 604 German single-seat glider, 1970

The Glasflügel 604 is a high-wing, T-tailed, single seat, FAI Open Class glider that was designed and produced in West Germany by Glasflügel starting in 1970.

Slingsby Prefect British single-seat glider, 1948

The Slingsby T.30 Prefect is a 1948 British modernisation of the 1932 single-seat Grunau Baby glider. About 53 were built for civil and military training purposes.

DFS Weihe German single-seat glider, 1938

The DFS Weihe is a German single-seat, high-wing, 18 metre wingspan, high-performance glider that was designed by Hans Jacobs in 1937-38.

The Ross R-6 is a tandem two-seat, high-wing glider that was designed by Harland Ross and first flown in 1956.

The Applebay Zia is an American, single-seat, high-wing, twin-boom, pusher configuration motor glider that was designed by George Applebay for the 1982 Sailplane Homebuilders Association Homebuilt Sailplane Design Contest. The aircraft was intended to be offered as a factory completed aircraft or as a kit. It first flew in 1982.

Laister LP-15 Nugget American glider

The Laister LP-15 Nugget is an American single-seat, high-wing glider designed by Jack and Bill Laister for the FAI Standard Class.. It first flew in 1971.

Schreder Airmate HP-8 American glider

The Schreder Airmate HP-8 is an American, high-wing single seat glider that was designed by Richard Schreder after the loss of the HP-7 in 1957.

DFS Zögling German single-seat glider, 1926

The Zögling is a German high-wing, cable-braced, single seat primary glider that was designed by Alexander Lippisch in 1926 and produced with many variations by a variety of manufacturers.

Johnson RHJ-6 Adastra American glider

The Johnson RHJ-6 Adastra was an American mid-wing, two-seat glider that was designed and constructed by Dick Johnson and first flown on 3 April 1960.

The Oldershaw O-3 is an American high-wing, single seat, V-tailed glider that was designed by Vernon Oldershaw. Two examples were constructed as gliders and then both were later converted to motor gliders.

The Parker RP9 T-Bird is an American, high-wing, T-tailed, single-seat, FAI Open Class glider that was designed and constructed by Ray Parker between 1956 and 1962.

Hütter Hü 17 Utility train glider

The Hütter Hü 17, is a German high-wing, strut-braced, single-seat, utility training glider that was designed by brothers Ulrich Hütter and Wolfgang Hütter in the 1930s.

Lehtovaara PIK-16 Vasama

The Lehtovaara PIK-16 Vasama is a Finnish mid-wing, single-seat, FAI Standard Class glider that was designed by Tuomo Tervo, Jorma Jalkanen and Kurt Hedstrom, who were students at the Polyteknikkojen Ilmailukerho (PIK) and produced by Lehtovaara.

Schleicher Ka-4 Rhönlerche II German two-seat glider, 1953

The Schleicher Ka-4 Rhönlerche II, sometimes called the KA-4 or even K 4, is a West German high-wing, strut-braced, two-seat glider that was designed by Rudolf Kaiser and produced by Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co.

The Kelsey K-16 is an American, strut-braced, high-wing, two-seat, glider that was designed and constructed by William Frank Kelsey of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Masak Scimitar American glider

The Masak Scimitar was an American mid-wing, single-seat glider that was designed and constructed by Peter Masak. It first flew in 1995.

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 Horikawa H-23B-2 is a two-seat training glider designed and built in Japan in the 1950s. It was produced in small numbers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Activate Media (2006). "Nimbus III Mitchell". Archived from the original on April 5, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Said, Bob: 1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine , page 15. Soaring Society of America, November 1983. USPS 499-920
  3. ↑ "J2mcL Planeurs - Fiche planeur n°". www.j2mcl-planeurs.net. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Swierkowski, Vic (May–June 1956). "Nimbus III". Soaring. 20 (3): 17, 19.
  5. ↑ "21st National Story". Soaring. 18 (5): 5. September–October 1954.
  6. ↑ Barnaby, Captain R.S. (September–October 1956). "23rd Annual US National Soaring Championships". Soaring. 20 (5): 13–19.
  7. ↑ Federal Aviation Administration (April 2011). "Make / Model Inquiry Results" . Retrieved April 18, 2011.
  8. ↑ National Soaring Museum (2011). "Sailplanes in Our Collection". Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.