Stemme S10
Encyclopedia
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The Stemme S10 is a self-launching
Motor glider
A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: A fixed wing aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion ,...

 sailplane
Glider aircraft
Glider aircraft are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Mostly these types of aircraft are intended for routine operation without engines, though engine failure can...

 produced by Stemme AG
Stemme
Stemme AG is a German glider manufacturer. Aircraft production is complemented by service, maintenance and repair of their sports & personal aircraft.-List of Stemme aircraft:*Stemme S10- Self Launching motorglider and original aircraft...

 in Strausberg
Strausberg
Strausberg is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, located 30 km east of Berlin. With a population of 26,206 in 2010 it is the largest town in the district of Märkisch-Oderland.-History:...

 (Germany) since the 1980s. The engine is mounted amidships and it features an unusual folding propeller which is stowed inside the aircraft's nose-cone when the engine is not in use.

Design and development

The Stemme S10 also has several unusual features such as a tailwheel undercarriage and a side-by-side cockpit. It does not have a tow hook connection, meaning that it must self-launch. The two main wheels retract & lower electrically, and can also be lowered manually if needed. There is an option to fold wings to reduce hangar span to 11.4 meters (approx 37feet). The engine restart time is 5 seconds. A solar panel can provide additional electrical power during long flights. It has a steerable tailwheel, Schempp-Hirth spoilers
Spoiler (aeronautics)
In aeronautics, a spoiler is a device intended to reduce lift in an aircraft. Spoilers are plates on the top surface of a wing which can be extended upward into the airflow and spoil it. By doing so, the spoiler creates a carefully controlled stall over the portion of the wing behind it, greatly...

 and optional winglets. The current variant, the S10-VT, has a variable-pitch propeller which allows more power doing take off, and a new turbocharged Bombadier Rotax engine (formerly used a Limbach L2400).

First seen at the 1996 Berlin Air Show, the S15 variant has a span reduced to 20 m and has two underwing hardpoints for scientific or surveillance sensor pods. There is also an unpiloted version, the S-UAV, again intended for surveillance.

Operational history

An S10 was flown by Klaus Ohlmann
Klaus Ohlmann
Klaus Ohlmann, born 1952 in Neustadt, Germany is a German glider pilot who has established 36 world records approved by FAI. Among these is the record for a free distance flight with up to 3 turn-points by flying 3,009 km from Chapelco Airport at San Martín de los Andes in a Schempp-Hirth Nimbus 4...

 as a pure glider for a record distance of 2,463 km (1,330 nm), in a 14-hour flight.

Two examples were used by the United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...

 between 1995 and 2002 under the designation TG-11A.

The Stemme S10 is similar in appearance to the Caproni A21S Calif, except that most models of the Calif were pure gliders.

Variants

S10
Standard production variant.

S10VC
Surveillance variant with underwing sensor pods.

Specifications (S 10-VT)


External links

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