Ventus-2
Ventus 2b being winch-launched at Lasham airfield
Role	15 metre-class and 18 metre-class sailplane
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Schempp-Hirth
First flight	1994
Number built	627

The Schempp-Hirth Ventus-2 is a sailplane produced by Schempp-Hirth since 1994. It replaced the highly successful Schempp-Hirth Ventus.

The Ventus-2a and 2b are 15 metre sailplanes. The 'a' version has a narrow fuselage and the wider fuselage version is called the 2b. Winglets are used with these models. The 18 metre span Ventus-2c was introduced in 1995 but was almost an entirely different aircraft with a different fuselage and wings, but it has the option of shorter tips with winglets to fly as a 15 metre glider.

From 2003 the Schempp-Hirth Discus-2 fuselage was used for all versions, which now have the designations 2ax, 2bx and 2cx. Flight tests in 1996 showed that the 15 metre version had a glide angle of 46:1 but only after considerable work on sealing gaps and by using turbulators.

The narrow Ventus-2a has been highly successful in competitions with consecutive World Championship wins from 1995 to 2003. A narrow bodied version with an 18 metre span, the Ventus 2cxa has also been built.

Some Ventus-2c and 2cx are fitted with small Solo 2625 sustaining engines (turbos) and are designated with a T suffix, while some are self-launching with a more powerful version of the same engine and have the suffix 'M'. The 2cT climbs at up to 0.9 m/s (177 ft/min) and the 2cM at over 3 m/s (590 ft/min). Ranges for the two vesions in saw-tooth operation are 370 km (230 miles) and 840 km (525 miles) respectively. The 2cxa has been designed to take a jet engine.

Production of the 2a and 2b has reached 168 aircraft, while the 2c, 2cT, and 2CM has reached 459.

[edit] Specifications (Ventus-2c with 18 metre wings)

General characteristics

• Crew: One
• Capacity: 200 kg (440 lb) water ballast
• Length: 6.81 m (22 ft 4 in)
• Wingspan: 18.00 m (59 ft 1 in)
• Height: 1.30 m (4 ft 3 in)
• Wing area: 9.7 m² (104 ft²) spread, 11.0 m² (119 ft²) swept
• Aspect ratio: 29.5
• Empty weight: 290 kg (640 lb)
• Gross weight: 525 kg (1,155 lb)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 285 km/h (180 mph)
• Rate of sink: 0.51 m/s (100 ft/min)

[edit] References

• Specifications of Schempp-Hirth gliders

v • d • e Schempp-Hirth glider types Wooden construction Göppingen Gö 1 · Göppingen Gö 3 · Göppingen Gö 4 · Göppingen Gö 5 · Göppingen Gö 9 · Minimoa · SHK · Standard Austria GRP construction Arcus · Discus · Discus 2 · Duo Discus · Janus · Nimbus · Nimbus 2 · Nimbus 3 · Nimbus 4 · Mini-Nimbus · Open Cirrus · Standard Cirrus · Ventus · Ventus-2

v • d • e Lists relating to aviation General Timeline of aviation · Aircraft (manufacturers) · Aircraft engines (manufacturers) · Rotorcraft (manufacturers) · Airports · Airlines (defunct) · Civil authorities · Museums Military Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft Accidents/incidents General · Military · Commercial (airliners) · Deaths Records Airspeed · Distance · Altitude · Endurance · Most-produced aircraft

This article on an aircraft of the 1990s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e