Engineering:Slepcev Storch
| Slepcev Storch | |
|---|---|
| |
| Slepcev Storch registered in Switzerland | |
| Role | Type-certified, kit and ultralight STOL aircraft |
| National origin | Australia , Serbia |
| Manufacturer | Slepcev Aircraft Industry Storch Aviation Australia Storch Aircraft Serbia |
| Designer | Nestor Slepcev |
| First flight | 1994 |
| Status | In production (2015) |
| Developed from | Fieseler Fi 156 Storch |
The Slepcev Storch (English: Stork) is a Serbian type-certified, kit and ultralight STOL aircraft, designed by Yugoslavian-Australian Nestor Slepcev and currently produced by Storch Aircraft Serbia in several different versions. The ultralight version is a 3/4 scale replica of the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch of the Second World War and is supplied as a kit for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.[1][2][3][4]
Design and development
The aircraft was first flown in 1994. It was originally manufactured by Slepcev's company, Slepcev Aircraft Industry of Beechwood, New South Wales, Australia . The company was later renamed Storch Aviation Australia. The aircraft was type-certified in 1999 to the Joint Airworthiness Requirements - Very Light Aircraft (JAR-VLA) standard,[5] with contributions from aeronautical engineer C. W. "Bill" Whitney.[6] Production then moved to Serbia where a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight category model was developed.[1][3][7]
Like the original Fi 156, the Slepcev Storch features a strut-braced high-wing, a two-seats-in-tandem enclosed cockpit, with extensive glazing, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration. It is made from welded steel tubing with its flying surfaces fashioned from sheet aluminium and covered in doped aircraft fabric. The ultralight version has a 10 m (32.8 ft) span wing with an area of 15 m2 (160 sq ft), large flaps and leading edge slots. The wings are supported by V-struts and jury struts. Engines fitted vary by model.[1][3]
Operational history
The designer has a keen interest in Second World War history and wanted to use an example of his Storch design to re-enact the 12 September 1943 rescue of Benito Mussolini by Otto Skorzeny and his SS commandos from his imprisonment by Italian Carabinieri guards on the Gran Sasso mountain.[8] It took Slepcev a year to gain Italian approvals for the flight and on 24 August 1996, he landed a Storch Mk 4 at the site, 53 years after the original dramatic rescue had taken place.[4]
Variants
- Storch/Storch Mk 4
- Homebuilt kit version, powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Rotax 912ULS or 115 hp (86 kW) Rotax 914, with a gross weight of 550 kg (1,213 lb). Certification includes Australian and Spanish JAR-VLA. Available as a kit or as ready-to-fly.[1][3][2][7][9]
- Storch Microlight
- FAI compliant microlight 3/4 sized version, powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Rotax 912ULS, with a gross weight of 450 kg (992 lb). Available as a kit or as ready-to-fly.[1][3][10][11]
- Super Storch
- Full scale homebuilt kit version, powered by a 180 hp (134 kW) Lycoming O-360, with a gross weight of 862 kg (1,900 lb). Available as a kit only.[1][3][12]
- Storch Moose
- Full scale homebuilt kit version, powered by a 360 hp (268 kW) Vedeneyev M14P, with a gross weight of 1,500 kg (3,307 lb). Available as a kit only.[1][3][13]
Specifications (Microlight)
Data from Bayerl and Tacke[1][3]
General characteristics
- Crew: one
- Capacity: one passenger
- Wingspan: 10 m (32 ft 10 in)
- Wing area: 15 m2 (160 sq ft)
- Gross weight: 450 kg (992 lb)
- Fuel capacity: 40 litres (8.8 imp gal; 11 US gal)
- Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 912ULS four cylinder, liquid and air-cooled, four stroke aircraft engine, 75 kW (101 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 150 km/h (93 mph, 81 kn)
- Cruise speed: 133 km/h (83 mph, 72 kn)
- Stall speed: 40 km/h (25 mph, 22 kn)
- Rate of climb: 6 m/s (1,200 ft/min)
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
- Carlson Criquet a ¾ scale variant for homebuilders
- Pazmany PL-9 Stork a ¾ scale variant for homebuilders
- RagWing RW19 Stork a ¾ scale variant for homebuilders
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, pages 77 and 121. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04, page 162. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 128. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ISSN 1368-485X
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Storch Aviation Serbia - About Storch Aviation". Slepcevstorch.com. 1996-08-24. http://www.slepcevstorch.com/about%202.htm. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
- ↑ Australian Type Certificate for the Slepcev Storch (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) Retrieved 2012-09-07
- ↑ Macel, Arthur (September 2013). "Bill Whitney, Spirit of St Louis". Sport Pilot 27 (9): 20–21. https://www.raa.asn.au/storage/sport-pilot-27-sep-2013.pdf.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Downey, Julia: 1999 Kit Aircraft Directory, Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 68. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
- ↑ Annussek, Greg (2005). Hitler's Raid to Save Mussolini Capo Press. ISBN:978-0-306-81396-2
- ↑ "Storch Aircraft Serbia - Slepcev Storch MK4". Slepcevstorch.com. http://www.slepcevstorch.com/storch.htm. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- ↑ "Storch Aircraft Serbia - Slepcev Storch Microlight". Slepcevstorch.com. http://www.slepcevstorch.com/micro_storch.htm. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- ↑ Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 81. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ISSN 1368-485X
- ↑ "Storch Aircraft Serbia - Slepcev Super Storch". Slepcevstorch.com. http://www.slepcevstorch.com/super_storch.htm. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- ↑ "Storch Aircraft Serbia - Slepcev Storch Moose". Slepcevstorch.com. http://www.slepcevstorch.com/moose.htm. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
External links
- Official website archives on Archive.org
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