Beaufort Gliding Club

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Club Aircraft


Two-Seaters

  1. Beaufort Gliding Club Zephyrus
  2. Schempp-Hirth Janus B

Single Seaters

  1. Grob G 102 Astir CS-77
  2. Schempp-Hirth Standard Cirrus 75

 

 

Beaufort Gliding Club Zephyrus

VH-GHZ S/N GFA-HB-60

Specifications

  • Span:- 17.5m / 56.3ft
  • Area:- 21.88m2 / 235.5ft2
  • Aspect ratio:- 13.5
  • Airfoil:- N.A.C.A. 4415
  • Empty weight:- 433kg / 954.6lb
  • Payload:- 184kg / 406lb
  • Gross weight:- 617kg / 1,360lb
  • Wing loading:- 28.17kg/m2 / 5.77lb/ft2
  • Structure:- steel tube and wood. 

Performance

  • L/D:- max. 25 @ 93kph / 50kts
  • Vne:- 193kph / 104kts / 120mph
The Beaufort Gliding Club Zephyrus, designed to American standards, is a two place, high-wing, strutted monoplane.  It was originally designed as a single-seat glider in Melbourne during the late 1940's by club member Douglas Lyon. The design was modified to a high-performance two-seat configuration in 1951 and construction was commenced by the Beaufort Gliding Club shortly thereafter. Declining membership in the fifties delayed construction and it was not until 1966 that the glider first flew. It has a fuselage of steel tube framework covered with fabric.  The wings are of glued wooden construction and have a single main spar. This spar is continuous and straight between the wing root and the wing tip. Casein glue has been used throughout the wing and the timbers used have been spruce for solid sections and birch for plys. A rear false spar carries the aileron along its outer portion. A drag spar runs between the rear fuselage attachment fitting and the strut attachment fitting on the main spar. An unusual feature is that the rear cockpit is accessed through a hinged door on the starboard side. The Zephyrus soars well and has made many good cross-country flights including several in excess of 300 kms. In 1988 the Zephyrus was placed first on handicap in the Australian National Two-Seat Championships, flying against the more modern Janus and Twin Astir sailplanes.

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Schempp-Hirth Janus B

VH-IZI S/N 71

Specifications

  • Span:- 18.2m / 59.8ft
  • Area:- 16.6m2 / 178.7ft2
  • Aspect ratio:- 20
  • Airfoil:- Wortmann FX-67-K-170/15
  • Empty weight:- 370kg / 816lb
  • Payload:- 250kg
  • Gross weight:- 650kg / 1,367lb
  • Wing loading:- 37.4kg/m2 / 7.66lb/ft2
  • Structure:- Fibreglass. 

Performance

  • L/D:- max. 39 @ 95kph / 51kts
  • Vne:- 220kph / 119kts

 

3 Axis View Schempp-Hirth Janus
Designed by Klaus Holighaus in 1969, the prototype first flew in 1974 and production commenced in 1975.  The Janus is a high performance, flapped two-seater fitted with a non-retractable undercarriage with a Disk brake.  The Janus B became available to customers in March 1978, this having a fixed-incidence tailplane instead of the all-moving type previously fitted. VH-IZI first flew in 1979.

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Grob G 102 Astir CS-77

VH-IKT  S/N 1693

Specifications

  • Span:- 15.0m / 49.2ft
  • Area:- 12.40m2 / 133.5ft2
  • Aspect ratio:- 18.2
  • Airfoil:- Eppler E 603
  • Empty weight:- 255kg / 562lb
  • Payload:- 195kg / 430lb
  • Gross weight:- 450kg / 992lb
  • Wing loading:- 36.29kg/m2 / 7.43lb/ft2
  • Structure:- fibreglass 

Performance

  • L/D:- max. 38 @ 105kph / 56kts / 65mph
  • Min sink:- 0.70m/s / 2.3fps / 1.36kts @ 85kph / 46kts
  • Vne:- 250kph / 135kts / 155mph

 

The Astir CS (club standard) was the first sailplane designed and serially produced by Grob. It features composite (fibreglass/resin) construction, a large wing Area, a T-tail and Water ballast. A Standard Class Sailplane, the large wing Area gives good low speed handling characteristics. The main gear retracts.  A slightly improved version, the CS-77, was introduced in 1977. The CS-77 has a different rudder profile and a slimmer fuselage than the earlier Astir. 

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Schempp-Hirth Standard Cirrus 75

VH-GON  S/N 608

Specifications

  • Span:- 15.0m / 49.2ft
  • Area:- 10.00m2 / 107.5ft2
  • Aspect ratio:- 22.5
  • Airfoil:- Wortmann FX-S-02-196 mod.
  • Empty weight:- 220kg / 485lb
  • Payload:- 170kg / 375lb
  • Water ballast:- 60kg / 132lb
  • Gross weight:- 390kg / 860lb
  • Wing loading:- 39.0kg/m2 / 7.99 lb/ft2
  • Structure:- steel-tube centre section framework, fibreglass sandwich fuselage PVC foam core wings with fibreglass skin.

Performance

  • L/D:- max 38 @ 90kph / 49kts / 56mph
  • Min sink:- 0.57m/s / 1.87fps / 1.01kts @ 75kph / 40kts / 46mph
  • Vne:- 220kph / 119kts / 137mph

 

The Standard Cirrus was a follow-on to the original Open Class Cirrus design but is a completely different aircraft.  It has a 15m wing with airbrakes on the top surface only, an all-moving T-tail and is constructed of fibreglass with a steel tube skeleton in the wing-fuselage centre section.  In 1975 an improved version, the Cirrus 75, was introduced with redesigned wing fairings, larger airbrakes, longer nose, modified tailplane attachment fitting and other modifications.

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Last modified: 16 June 2021