Glaser-Dirks DG-600
{{Short description|German single-seat glider, 1987}}
{{More footnotes|date=May 2011}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
|name=DG-600 |image=DG-600.jpg |caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type |type=15 and 18 metre class sailplane |national origin=Germany |manufacturer=Glaser-Dirks/DG Flugzeugbau |designer= |first flight=1987 |introduced= |retired= |status= |primary user= |number built=114 |developed from= |variants with their own articles= }} |
The Glaser-Dirks DG-600 is a glider manufactured by Glaser-Dirks as a successor to the DG-202 and DG-400 series of gliders where carbon fiber reinforced plastics was used.
Design and development
The DG-600 fuselage is based on the fuselage of the DG-400 but with a more slender tailboom which also incorporates a tailfin ballast tank with a capacity of 7 liters. The design of the canopy and the instrument panel is practically the same as on other DG gliders.
The control surfaces incorporate flaperons which serve as both flaps and ailerons. The wing has a newly designed thinner airfoil and higher aspect ratio than previous types of DG gliders. This gives a higher performance but at a cost of worse slow-speed characteristics, making it less suitable for gliding competitions with frequent gaggles in thermals. The same problem is also noticeable on LS-7 and ASW-24 gliders, where improved performance was to be achieved with thinner airfoils.
The negative effects (i.e. a stall without much warning) of this design are most pronounced on 15-meter wingspan without winglets. These characteristics caused the relative unpopularity of this glider and only 114 aircraft were produced (partially because the moulds were later destroyed in a factory fire). Later versions with 17 and 18 m wingspan offer much better low-speed handling.
Variants
;DG-600/15:original version with 15 m wingspan
;DG-600/17:version with 17 m wingspan (later changed to 18 m)
;DG-600M:with Rotax 275 engine, capable of self launching
;DG-600/18:
;DG-600M:
;DG-600/18M:
Specifications (15m wings)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988-89{{cite book |title=Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988-89 |year=1988 |publisher=Jane's Information Group |location=London |isbn=0-7106-0867-5 |editor=John W.R. Taylor|pages=620–621}}
|prime units?=met
|crew=1
|length m=6.83
|span m=15
|height m=1.35
|wing area sqm=10.95
|aspect ratio=20.55
|airfoil=root;HQ-35; tip:HQ-37
|empty weight kg=255
|max takeoff weight kg=525
|more general=
- Water ballast: {{convert|180|L|USgal impgal|abbr=on}} in two wing tanks + {{convert|7|L|USgal impgal|abbr=on}} in fin tank for trimming.
|stall speed kmh=64
|never exceed speed kmh=270
|never exceed speed note=in smooth air
::::{{convert|200|kph|kn mph|abbr=on}} in rough air
::::{{convert|200|kph|kn mph|abbr=on}} on aero-tow
::::{{convert|150|kph|kn mph|abbr=on}} on winch launch
|g limits=+5.8 -3.8
|glide ratio=46
|sink rate ms=0.56
|wing loading kg/m2=47.94
|wing loading note=max
|more performance=
|avionics=
}}
NOTE: The following data represent later versions of DG-600
| class="wikitable" | ||
| DG-600/15 | DG-600/18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 1 |
| Maiden flight | 14 January 1992 | 14 January 1992 |
| Competition class | FAI 15 m | FAI 18 m |
| Wing sections | HQ35/HQ37 | HQ35/HQ37 |
| Wing span | {{convert|15|m|ft|abbr=on}} | {{convert|18|m|ft|abbr=on}} |
| Length | {{convert|6.83|m|ft|abbr=on}} | {{convert|6.83|m|ft|abbr=on}} |
| Wing surface | {{convert|10.95|m2|sqft|abbr=on}} | {{convert|11.81|m2|sqft|abbr=on}} |
| Aspect ratio | 20.55 | 27.42 |
| Empty mass | {{convert|257|kg|lb|abbr=on}}257 kg | {{convert|262|kg|lb|abbr=on}} |
| Maximum mass | {{convert|525|kg|lb|abbr=on}} | {{convert|480|kg|lb|abbr=on}} |
| Water ballast | {{convert|187|kg|lb|abbr=on}} | {{convert|187|kg|lb|abbr=on}} |
| Wing loading (max. payload) | 47,9 kg/m2 | 40,6 kg/m2 |
| Stall speed | {{convert|64|kph|kn mph|abbr=on}} | {{convert|62|kph|kn mph|abbr=on}} |
| Sink rate | {{convert|0.56|m/s|ft/min|abbr=on}} | {{convert|0.49|m/s|ft/min|abbr=on}} |
| L/D | 45 | 50 |
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Glaser-Dirks DG-600}}
- [http://www.scalesoaring.co.uk/GLASS/Documentation/DG/DG600/DG600.html DG-600 Article] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924094731/http://www.scalesoaring.co.uk/GLASS/Documentation/DG/DG600/DG600.html |date=2015-09-24 }} at [http://www.scalesoaring.co.uk Scale Soaring UK]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716135140/http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/dg400-600-e.html?&0= DG Flugzeugbau GmbH]
{{DG Flugzeugbau aircraft}}
Category:1980s German sailplanes