Schleicher K7 Explained
The Schleicher K7 Rhönadler is a West German high-wing, two-seat, glider that was designed by Rudolf Kaiser and produced by Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co.[1] [2]
Often referred to as the Ka-7 or K-7, the US Federal Aviation Administration type certificate officially designates it as the K7.[3]
Design and development
The K7 was intended as a two-place trainer with good performance, a rare combination in trainers of its time.
The K7 is constructed with a welded steel tube fuselage, covered in doped aircraft fabric covering. The wing is a wooden structure with a doped fabric covering and employs a Goettingen 533 (16%) airfoil at the wing root, transitioning to a Goettingen 533 (14%) section at the wing tip. The wing features powerful dive brakes. The landing gear is a fixed monowheel. The earlier Ka-2 variant has a plywood monocoque fuselage.[4]
After 550 had been built, the K7 was superseded in production by the Schleicher ASK 13.
The K7 can be converted into a K7/13 with a conversion kit to lower the wing to the mid-wing position and installation of a one-piece canopy, rendering the aircraft similar to the ASK-13.
Operational history
A K7 was flown to a new world multi-place glider speed record for flight around a 5000NaN0 triangle of 840NaN0 in 1964 in South Africa.A K7 was assigned to 2 Wing AAFC and used to train Australian Air Force Cadets 228 Squadron at Bundaberg from 2007 to 2014.[5]
Variants
- Ka-2
Early version with a plywood monocoque fuselage
- K7
Main production version with a steel tube fuselage.
- K7/13
K7 converted to a mid-wing arrangement, plus a single piece canopy, to resemble an AS-K 13References
- Web site: Ka-7 Schleicher. 23 July 2011. Activate Media. 2006. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111117093614/http://www.sailplanedirectory.com/PlaneDetails.cfm?planeID=182. 17 November 2011.
- Said. Bob. 1983 Sailplane Directory. Soaring Magazine. November 1983. USPS 499-920. Soaring Society of America.
- Web site: Type Certificate Data Sheet No. 7g3 . 23 July 2011. Federal Aviation Administration. February 1961.
- Web site: The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage . 23 July 2011. Lednicer . David . 2010.
- Book: Shenstone, B.S.. The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs dans Le Monde. 1958. Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue. Zurich. 81–87. 1st . K.G. Wilkinson . Peter Brooks. English, French, German.
Notes and References
- Web site: Ka-7 Schleicher. 23 July 2011. Activate Media. 2006. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111117093614/http://www.sailplanedirectory.com/PlaneDetails.cfm?planeID=182. 17 November 2011.
- Said. Bob. 1983 Sailplane Directory. Soaring Magazine. November 1983. USPS 499-920. Soaring Society of America.
- Web site: Type Certificate Data Sheet No. 7g3 . 23 July 2011. Federal Aviation Administration. February 1961.
- Web site: The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage . 23 July 2011. Lednicer . David . 2010.
- Web site: Gliding. 1 January 2018. 20 April 2020.
