Schleicher Rhönbussard
Alexander Schleicher · Germany · first flew 1933 · glider
The Rhönbussard was a German single-seat intermediate glider designed by Hans Jacobs in the early 1930s. It was meant as a trainer that could also be flown competitively.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × none, embedded-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 5.8 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Cantilever wing on a low pedestal with a parallel-chord centre section and tapered outer panels
- Semi-elliptical wingtips
- Open cockpit under the leading edge of the wing, with a rounded rudder reaching the keel
An all-wood glider with a smooth oval fuselage, a cantilever wing without dihedral and a nose cone of metal.
Specifications
- The Schleicher Rhönbussard has a length of 5.8 m (19 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 14.3 m (47 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 130 km/h (81 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
In 1932 Alexander Schleicher asked Hans Jacobs for a glider more advanced than the Grunau Baby but cheaper and easier to fly than the Rhönadler. The all-wood result had a span 1.43 m greater than the Baby and a wing loading 50 per cent higher.
Variants
The earliest examples had no lift-reducing or drag-increasing surfaces; later ones were fitted with them.
Where you'll see it
More than two hundred were built. Sixteen competed at the 15th Rhön meeting in 1934, and Eugen Wagner flew 325 km in one in 1936. Three remained on European civil registers in 2010.
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- Arup S-2
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