HVS
Hütter, Villinger and Schüle · Germany · first flew 1982 · glider
The HVS was a human-powered aircraft, designed and built by three German aeronautical professionals, Wolfgang Hütter, Franz Villinger and Wilhelm Schüle. Its name comes from their surnames.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × none, embedded-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Pod-and-boom fuselage with a pusher propeller on a pylon near the rear |
| T — Tail | V-tail |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- V-tail providing both directional and pitch control
- Shoulder-mounted tapered wing with a shallow inverted gull configuration
- Pod-and-boom fuselage with a pusher propeller on a pylon near the rear
It is a shoulder-wing monoplane with a V-tail and a recumbent pilot who drives a pusher propeller with treadles. The wing can be lifted off to give the pilot access.
Specifications
- The HVS has a length of 5.5 m (18 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 16.15 m (53 ft).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Work began in October 1974 and construction reportedly took 15,000 working hours. The aircraft first flew on 20 June 1982 at the Leipheim Luftwaffe base in Bavaria. Its longest flight was 720 m, flown by Oskar Staudenmayer on 4 December 1982.
Variants
Only one HVS was built.
Where you'll see it
The HVS had a higher wing loading and greater flight speeds than most contemporary human-powered aircraft, and could fly in winds greater than its own airspeed. It is now on display at the Technik Museum Sinsheim in Germany.
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