Scheibe Spatz
Single-seat German glider, 1952
The Scheibe Spatz (German: "Sparrow") is a German glider with a mixed metal and wood construction that was built in 1952 until 1962. Later versions were known as the L-Spatz, the letter L standing for Leistung, which is German for "performance".
Scheibe Flugzeugbau built the Spatz A in 1952. Two years later in 1954 the first L-Spatz 55 was airborne. Three hundred L-Spatz 55s were built in Germany, 155 in France under the name Avialsa A.60 Fauconnet, and 16 in Italy as the Meteor MS-30 L Passero; production was discontinued in 1962.
It is a single-seater cantilever shoulder-winged sailplane with a cruising (max L/D) speed of 45 mph. It has an empty weight of 157 kg and a maximum take-off weight of 269 kg. The single spar wing and tail were constructed using fabric-covered wood, whereas the fuselage consisted of steel tubing covered with fabric.
The L-Spatz 55 has good climbing performance due to light construction. The glide angle is 29:1. The longest known cross-country flight was more than 600 km from Burg Feuerstein, Germany to France.
Many gliding clubs operated the L-Spatz 55, well known for its easy handling, including easy recovery from a spin.
01Variants
- Spatz A
- Certified in 1952 with a 13.20 metre wingspan, 6.19 m length.
- Spatz B
- Strengthened and improved variant with a 13.20 metre wingspan, 6.19 m length, certified in 1952.
- Spatz 55
- Certified in 1952 with a 13.20 metre wingspan, 6.25 m length.
- L-Spatz
- Certified in 1954 with a 15.00 metre wingspan, 6.05 m length.
- L-Spatz 55
- Certified in 1954 with a 15.00 metre wingspan, 6.25 m length.
- L-Spatz III
- Certified in 1966 with a 15.00 metre wingspan, 6.25 m length.
- Avialsa 60 Fauconnet
- Licence production in France.
- Meteor MS-30 L-Passero
- Licence production in Italy.
- Electravia Electro Light 2
- Electric aircraft version powered by an electric drive system, with a nose-mounted propeller.
02Aircraft on display
- Museum für Luftfahrt und Technik
- National Soaring Museum
- Museum of Military Technique GRYF in Dąbrówka near Wejherowo (Poland)
03Specifications (L-Spatz 55)
Data from The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 6.25 m (20 ft 6 in)
- Wingspan: 15 m (49 ft 3 in)
- Wing area: 11.7 m2 (126 sq ft)
- Aspect ratio: 19
- Airfoil: Mü-Profil 14%
- Empty weight: 153 kg (337 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 265 kg (584 lb)
Performance
- Never exceed speed: 180 km/h (110 mph, 97 kn)
- Rough air speed max: 110 km/h (68 mph; 59 kn)
- Aerotow speed: 110 km/h (68 mph; 59 kn)
- Winch launch max speed: 90 km/h (56 mph; 49 kn)
- Terminal velocity: 200 km/h (124.3 mph; 108.0 kn)
- g limits: +4 -2
- Maximum glide ratio: 29 at 80 km/h (50 mph; 43 kn)
- Rate of sink: 0.58 m/s (114 ft/min) at 67 km/h (42 mph; 36 kn)
- Wing loading: 22.6 kg/m2 (4.6 lb/sq ft)
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Scheibe Spatz”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- L-Spatz 55 D-1738 EDMB 20050925.jpg by Bergfalke2, Public domain
- Avialsa-A60-01.jpg by Bertrand Labévue, CC BY-SA 4.0
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