Elfe | |
---|---|
Neukom S-4 Elfe 17 | |
Role | Open Class and Standard Class sailplane |
National origin | Switzerland |
Manufacturer | Neukom |
Designer | W. Pfenninger |
First flight | 1964 |
The Neukom Elfe is family of Swiss single-seat high-performance sailplane designs.
The aircraft is a shoulder-wing cantilever monoplane with a wing made from a balsa and plywood sandwich covered in fiberglass and a fuselage built from plywood. [1]
The first Elfe was a 9-metre wingspan glider that was designed by Swiss designer W. Pfenninger before World War II. [1]
A new design was introduced by Pfenninger in 1947 and was named the Elfe 2. This was probably the first sailplane to feature a laminar flow airfoil. It crashed due to rudder flutter [1]
The Elfe series was then taken over, improved and strengthened by the Swiss engineer Markwalder into a third prototype, called the Elfe PM-3. [1] [2]
The sole PM-3's construction was started in one factory, but finished in another. It was first flown in 1955 and then went into storage for three years. The aircraft is built from Swiss pine and birch plywood and has a 52.5 foot wingspan. The PM-3 has dive brakes and full-span flaps with aileron interconnects to the flaps. It originally had fixed landing gear, but has been retrofitted with retractable mainwheel. [2]
It was retrieved from storage and flown in Europe by Rene Compte who brought it to compete in the U.S. Nationals at El Mirage, Arizona, held in 1962. After the US Nationals the aircraft was not returned to Europe, but was sold, remained in the US and registered as N6351U in the Experimental – Exhibition/Racing category. [2] [3] In 1999 the PM-3 was sold again and moved to the United Kingdom. [4]
Compte originally reported the glider as being very pleasant to fly, but it did not do well in weak soaring conditions. It performed well only in conditions of strong lift. The PM-3 has a glide ratio of 40:1. [2]
Albert Neukom then took over the design and developed the Elfe M, Elfe MN and the AN66. [1]
The next in the line was the V-tailed Standard Elfe S-1, which first flew in 1964. [1]
The second prototype, the S-2, was similar to the S-1, but had a conventional tail. The S-3 was the production version of the S-2 and was first flown in 1966 and entered production that same year. It had a cruciform tail, trailing edge airbrakes and a retractable main wheel. [1]
In competition, a Standard Elfe that was flown by Markus Ritzi of Switzerland, placed second in the 1965 World Gliding Championships held at South Cerney, United Kingdom. United States pilot A. J. Smith finished first in the Standard Class at the 1968 World Gliding Championships held at Leszno, Poland in an S-3. [1]
General characteristics
Performance
The DFS Olympia Meise was a German sailplane designed by the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS) for Olympic competition, based on the DFS Meise.
The Schempp-Hirth Discus is a Standard Class glider designed by Schempp-Hirth. It was produced in Germany between 1984 and 1995 but has continued in production in the Czech Republic. It replaced the Standard Cirrus. It was designed by Klaus Holighaus.
The Schempp-Hirth Cirrus is an Open Class glider built by Schempp-Hirth between 1967 and 1971 and by VTC until 1977. It was replaced by the Nimbus 2.
The Glasflügel 201 Standard Libelle is an early composite Standard Class single-seat sailplane produced by Glasflügel from 1967.
The Schweizer SGS 1-34 is a United States Standard Class, single-seat, high-wing glider built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York.
The HP-14 is a Richard Schreder-designed all-metal glider aircraft that was offered as a kit for homebuilding during the 1960s and 1970s. It was originally developed by retrofitting improved wings to the fuselage and tail of the HP-13, and first flew in 1966. Schreder won the 1966 US national soaring championship in the prototype HP-14.
The SZD-59 Acro is a single-seat glass composite glider for aerobatics and cross-country flying by PZL Allstar of Bielsko-Biała, Poland.
The Akaflieg München Mü13 Merlin and Akaflieg München Mü13 Atalante were gliders designed and built in Germany from 1935. A motor-glider version of the Merlin was converted by the addition of a small engine in the nose, as the Mü13M Motormerlin. Post-war development as the Mü13E entered production as the Scheibe Bergfalke.
The Torva 15 was a single-seat glider designed and built in the United Kingdom from 1970.
The SZD-24 Foka (Seal) was a single-seat high-performance aerobatic glider designed and built in Poland in 1960.
The SZD-41 Jantar Standard was a Standard Class glider designed and produced in Poland from 1973.
The EoN 460 series are wooden single-seat standard class sailplanes, built in the UK in the 1960s. It did not have major competition success but some remain in use in 2021.
The Wiederkehr GHW-1 Cu-Climber is an American, high-wing, single-seat glider that was designed by George H. Wiederkehr and first flown in 1968.
The Slingsby T.59 Kestrel is a British Open class glider which first flew in August 1970. Of fibreglass construction, it features camber-changing flaps, airbrakes, and a retractable main wheel.
The Applebay GA-111 Mescalero is an American high-wing, T-tailed single-seat, FAI Open Class glider that was designed by George Applebay.
The FFA Diamant is a family of Swiss high-wing, T-tailed, single-seat, FAI Standard Class and FAI Open Class gliders that was designed by engineering students under supervision of Professor Rauscher at the ETH Zurich and manufactured by Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein AG (FFA) of Altenrhein, Switzerland.
The Prue UHP-1 is an American high-wing, single-seat, T-tailed FAI Open Class glider that was designed by Irving Prue.
The Bréguet Br 900 Louisette was a short-span, single-seat competition sailplane built in France in the 1940s. It set some French gliding records but was unsuccessful at the international level. Only six production aircraft were built.
The VTC Delfin is a competition single seat Standard class glider designed and built in Yugoslavia in the 1960s. It had some success in national competitions and went into small scale production.