TASS, August 4. Students at the Institute of Aerospace Engineering of Samara National Research University named after S.P. Korolev designed a glider to teach basic flying skills to aviation enthusiasts. The engineless aircraft stands out from its analogues because of its light weight, unique wing strength and its ability to fold away. This design is expected to replace some foreign equipment in domestic aviation clubs in the future, becoming a kind of practical flying "textbook" for future gliders and pilots, the university's press service said Thursday.
"A distinctive feature of this glider is its collapsible design. The wings can be easily "detached" and the glider is ready to be transported by car. The glider can be assembled in 20-25 minutes. The weight of an empty sailplane is just 115 kilograms, and its maximum allowed operating speed is 150 km/hour. It is a simple and reliable single-seat glider, designed for initial pilot training, the basics - takeoff and landing. Nowadays most Russian aero clubs usually use foreign-made gliders for training, and I think our glider will interest DOSAAF and private aero clubs," the press service quotes Pavel Pyatnitsa, head of interdepartmental design bureau of light aviation.
According to the head of bureau, these kinds of gliders are necessary at the first stage of training when cadets are just learning to correctly perform takeoff and landing, when they try to understand and feel the aircraft, developing necessary skills. This is what is considered to be the most difficult stage of training. On the second stage students, accompanied by an instructor, master flying and the art of gliding along a given route in a more complex and advanced two-seat glider.
Thanks to the glider's light weight it does not need a tow-plane for takeoff, this device can be launched into the sky with the help of a winch or a rubber cord - almost like shooting a stone from a slingshot, which, among other things, helps the flying club to save money on aviation fuel.
One of the obvious advantages of the aircraft is a simple design, which does not require expensive factory equipment. It requires only domestic materials and components, it's easy and cheap repair, and shows good flight performance.
Aerodynamics
The technical specifications for the glider were formulated by the students themselves during an open discussion. The length of the glider is up to 6 meters, the wingspan up to 9 meters. Designers predicted the aerodynamic quality of the device approximately equal to 11 - this means that during the descent to 1 km in low wind conditions the glider can cross 11 km in a horizontal direction. Larger industrial gliders have aerodynamic qualities up to 60, but 11 is not a bad result for such a small aircraft, the press service of the university notes. The Su-27 supersonic fighter has approximately the same aerodynamic qualities as the Samara glider, at 11.6. The famous AN-2 corn crop duster has the same figure of 10.
"The students based their calculations on the current aviation regulations for light aircraft. A wing was constructed and tested at the factory according to our specifications, and, according to the test results, it was able to withstand eightfold overloads, although fourfold overloads are sufficient according to aviation rules. That is, if the total weight of the airplane during takeoff, including the pilot, is up to 200 kg, the wings will be able to bear about 900 kg. However, the actual test load amounted to 1,800 kg. Of course, the assembled glider will undergo an operational load test of the fuselage and stabilizer before the first flight", said Pyatnitsa.
The first glider is currently being assembled and is expected to be ready for flight in the near future.
Gliders for pilot training
In Soviet times, learning to fly a glider was almost an obligatory step in a future pilot's career after a school airplane modeling class and before entering flight school.
Nowadays, glider flying is usually taught at DOSAAF flying clubs.
Most training gliders are two-seat Czech gliders L-13 Blanik, produced since the 50s of the last century. Their production was discontinued in 2006, the weight of an empty glider - 292 kg. They also use more modern Polish single-seat SZD-48-2 Yantar Standard 2 (developed in the 1970s) and SZD-48-3 Yantar Standard 3 (developed in the 1980s, empty weight 274 kg).