Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-3

Nimbus-3
Role Open-class sailplane
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Schempp-Hirth
Designer Klaus Holighaus
First flight 21 February 1981




The Schempp-Hirth Nimbus 3 is a glider built by Schempp-Hirth.

Design and development

The Nimbus-3 uses carbon-fibre extensively and has a new wing profile compared with the Nimbus-2. It has a four-piece carbon-fibre wing with a 22.9 metre span but may be increased to 24.5 or 25.5 metres with tip extensions. The outer wing panels are slightly modified Ventus wings. When rolling at large aileron deflection, small spoiler flaps deploy at the inner wingtip to compensate for lack of rudder power. It was first flown on 21 February 1981 by its designer Dipl.-Ing Klaus Holighaus. A glide ratio of 60:1 has been claimed. The Nimbus-3T version has a sustainer engine.

Nimbus-3s took the first three places in the Open Class in the 1981 World Gliding Championships, but because of the expense of Open Class gliders there were only 12 entrants. In the next World Championships, it took the top six places and it won again in the 1985 'Worlds'.

The Nimbus-3D is the two-seater version. First flight was in May 1986. There is a slight forward sweep of the wings. There are also a self-launched version (Nimbus-3DM) and a sustainer version (Nimbus-3DT).

The successor was the Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4.

Specifications (Nimbus 3)

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988-89[1]

General characteristics

Nimbus 3/24: 24.5 m (80 ft)
Nimbus 3/24: 24.5 m2 (264 sq ft)
Nimbus 3/24: 35.9
Nimbus 3/24: 396 kg (873 lb)

Performance

Nimbus 3/24: 59 km/h (32 kn; 37 mph)
200 km/h (110 kn; 120 mph) in rough air
180 km/h (97 kn; 110 mph) on aero-tow
150 km/h (81 kn; 93 mph) on winch launch
Nimbus 3/24190 km/h (100 kn; 120 mph) in rough air
Nimbus 3/24:58 at 95 km/h (51 kn; 59 mph)
Nimbus 3/24: 0.41 m/s (81 ft/min) at 75 km/h (40 kn; 47 mph)
Nimbus 3/24: 44.9 kg/m2 (9.2 lb/sq ft)

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References

  1. ↑ John W.R. Taylor, ed. (1988). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988-89. London: Jane's Information Group. p. 628. ISBN 0-7106-0867-5.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Schempp-Hirth.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.