Photograph:
Schempp-Hirth Arcus ZK-GBF (c/n 115) at Drury, New Zealand (Wings Over New Zealand)
Country of origin:
Germany
Description:
Two-seat high-performance glider
Power Plant:
One 19.6 kw (26 hp) Solo 2350 two-cylinder, two-stroke, 430 cc engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 20 m (65 ft 6 in)
- Length: 8.73 m (28 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 15.6 m² (167.9 sq ft)
- Max speed: 275 km/h (171 mph)
- Max glide ratio: 50:1
- Empty weight: 420 kg (926 lb)
- Loaded weight: 750 kg (1,654 lb)
History:
The Arcus was developed by Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH in Germany as a two-seat 20 metre high-performance glider, employed the latest developments in aerodynamic research, and has been described as a practical aircraft complementing the Company’s Duo Discus series of gliders. It is available as a glider or a self-launched glider, the prototype flying for the first time on 7 April 2009. The aircraft had a completely newly designed wing with flaps, being described as flaperons, along the whole span, the wing design and method of construction being new to the Company. A body of state of the art knowledge was available, the wing design was geared towards glide ratio and the best possible handling and climbing results. The flaps provided necessary smooth performance on take-off for the self-launched model. The aircraft shares the fuselage of the Duo Discus.
Two engines are available, the Solo 2350 unit with an ILEC control unit, this being a sustainer version using the Oehler-Turbo system. It is a two-cylinder, two-stroke, air-cooled unit of 430 cc which provides 19.6 kw (26 hp) at 5,500 rpm. The other is the 2625-2 unit, which had previously been certified in the Nimbus-4DM, is of similar configuration and is for self-launching, providing 47 kw (64 hp) at 6,500 rpm. The Company also announced it would offer an ‘electricity-powered’ variant, this being developed by Schempp-Hirth with Lange Aviation in Zweibrucken and is based on the Antares 20E.
A number of examples have been imported to this region, including VH-IAR (c/n 28), VH-FTT (c/n 30) and VH-GDV (c/n 15). Examples have also been imported to New Zealand, an Arcus M becoming ZK-GBF (c/n 115) on 7 July 2015 to the Arcus Syndicate of Wellington.