Akaflieg Darmstadt D-28 Windspiel
Akaflieg Darmstadt · Germany · first flew 1932 · glider
The Akaflieg Darmstadt D-28 Windspiel (Italian Greyhound) was a single-seat, high-performance sailplane designed in Germany in the early 1930s.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × none, embedded-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 5.98 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Small 12 m span single-seat sailplane
- Silk-covered wing
- High-mounted wing
A small, manoeuvrable glider with a 12 m span, silk-covered for lightness; it weighed less empty than its pilots.
Specifications
- The Akaflieg Darmstadt D-28 Windspiel has a length of 5.98 m (20 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 12 m (39 ft).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It was built by the Akaflieg Darmstadt student group. The date of the first flight is uncertain, but a 1933 date is plausible, and it was performing record flights by early 1934.
Variants
It was intended to exploit a growing understanding of thermal soaring.
Where you'll see it
It held the world straight-line distance record for a time in 1934.
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