Akaflieg Hannover H.2 Greif

Akaflieg Hannover · Germany · first flew 1922 · glider

The Akaflieg Hannover H.2 Greif (Griffon) was a 1922 development of the successful Vampyr glider. It flew in three successive Rhön contests but failed to match the achievements of its predecessor.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	1 × none, embedded-mounted
F — Fuselage	Cantilever three-part wing mounted on top of the fuselage with a cut-out in the leading edge for the pilot's head
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Cantilever three-part wing mounted on top of the fuselage with a cut-out in the leading edge for the pilot's head
Short elliptical-section plywood fuselage
Undercarriage of two semi-recessed balloon-tyred wheels on the centreline

A high-wing glider with a rectangular centre section and straight-tapered outer panels, and a broad fin with a rectangular tailplane at the extreme rear.

Specifications

The Akaflieg Hannover H.2 Greif has a length of 5.32 m (17 ft).
It has a wingspan of 11.6 m (38 ft).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

It shared the Vampyr's high, thick wing and short fuselage layout, though both wing and fuselage were new. Lateral control was by wing warping.

Variants

Only one Greif was built. By 1923 the horizontal tail had been modified to a fixed tailplane and elevator.

Where you'll see it

The Greif and Vampyr both flew at the 1922 Rhön contests, but the Greif could manage only 26 minutes against over three hours for the Vampyr, probably because of the leading-edge cut-out. It competed at the next two Rhöns and was destroyed in a landing collision in January 1925 at Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Related aircraft

AircraftIQ — the aircraft field guide: 8,606 recognition guides, live overhead identification, works offline.