which is reflected according to the strain.” He points to an al-
most nine-metre-long wing that ends in striking, raised winglets.
“Together with the DLR Institute of Flight Systems, we want to
use the Discus to investigate the possibilities of elastic aircraft.”
Uncharted territory has never been a foreign phrase to
the Braunschweig-born scientist. You can tell that he has experi-
ence in his field, and so he says of the responsibility that the
flights in a prototype entail: “Occasionally, we practice para-
chuting from the cockpit at the summer camp,” pointing to the
slim blue backpack that every glider pilot carries like a thin cush-
ion. “But not to worry, this is just a dry run on the ground,
mainly involving getting the proper technique for climbing out.”
Every evening, the participants at the summer camp, who
number up to 50, convene in the restaurant at the airfield. From
the terrace, they can enjoy a view across the green grassland of
the airfield and, behind it, the Sun on the horizon. Before eating
comes the daily debriefing, led by Anton Dilcher, chairman of
Idaflieg. In the style of a student get-together, it is somewhat
casual, but nonetheless purposeful. Dilcher, who has short hair,
a beard and aviator sunglasses, is known as ‘Mr Bean’ in these
circles. The 24-year-old has a slight English accent, which, to-
gether with his likeable sense of humour, has led to him being
nicknamed after the English comedian. Anton Dilcher, or Mr
Bean, originally came from Halifax in Canada. Five years ago, he
came to Germany to study and joined the Akaflieg in
Braunschweig.
“We have just been talking about the flights that took
place today,” the aerospace engineering student explains over
chicken drumsticks and chips. “This time, many of the trainee
pilots were concerned with ‘Zachering’.” This process, which
goes back to aviation pioneer Hans Zacher, involves using simple
tools to measure the flight properties of gliders that go beyond
straightforward gliding. A stopwatch, a tape measure, a hand-
held dynamometer and a somewhat unusual-sounding device
called a ‘PhiPsiTheta’ are in the experimenting students’ tool-
boxes. “We use the PhiPsiTheta to determine angular positions
relative to the horizon,” explains Dilcher, as chips are brought to
the table. “To do this, you just need a hand-sized piece of trans-
parent plastic on which to mark various angular positions with
lines.” This small device hangs in the cockpit, in the pilot’s field
of view. In the event of non-level flight, the pilot can then sim-
ply read off the angle to the horizon. Dilcher has an amazingly
simple explanation for the device’s curious name: “Phi, psi and
theta are the three angles used in the coordinate system. These
are angles we measure with the PhiPsiTheta.”
In addition, the students are investigating the rudder ef-
fect and manoeuvrability when ‘Zachering’. “We just need a
hand-held dynamometer on the control column,” the glider pi-
lot says. At the end the flight, properties are painstakingly docu-
mented by the students in a Zacher log. There are also numer-
ous special measurement projects for the ambitious trainee re-
searchers. “For example, we can fit a probe on the wing of the
glider that measures the angle of attack, or we can use fila-
ments bonded to the wing surface and cameras to reveal flow
separation.”
Even after the evening meal, the participants all still have
jobs to do – the flight logbooks must be filled in and the gliders
put into the hangars. There are instructions regarding new
gliders that are being brought to the meeting at short notice.
“Community and community spirit are especially important to us
at the Idaflieg summer camp,” the chairman emphasises on the
way to the hangars. “Everyone here at the airfield and in the
camp site makes a personal contribution to the big picture.”
Some of the young aviation enthusiasts will surely belong to the
next generation of aviation researchers – and some may even
join DLR soon.
•
More information:
DLR test pilot George Mitscher in the cockpit of the DLR aerotow
plane ‘Victor Eco’. Normally, Mitscher flies the DLR research aircraft
Do228-101. For three weeks in August, he is a tow pilot at Aalen-
Elchingen.
Eight questions concerning
gliding
1. What is the minimum age at which a person can fly a
glider?
You are allowed to start training to become a glider pilot from
the age of 15, even 14 with a special exemption. You can then
receive your pilot’s licence on your 16 birthday at the earliest.
2. What altitude/speed can a glider reach?
The normal range for a flight above land is an altitude of
around 3000 metres and a speed of up to 180 kilometres per
hour. In central Europe, the record distances travelled in a glider
– depending on the category – are between 1500 and 2000
kilometres. The altitude world record is 15,447 metres, set by
Steve Fossett and Einar Enevoldson in 30 August 2006 on a
flight over the Argentine Andes along the Chilean border.
3. How many gliding clubs are there in Germany?
There are around 900 gliding clubs in Germany, run by the
German Aeroclub. Fifteen of these are aerodynamics student
groups, called Akafliegs.
4. When was the first glider built?
The first glider was also the first aircraft: the first glider flights
go back to Otto Lilienthal in 1891, but Albrecht Ludwig
Berblinger carried out the first short hops and flight tests in
1811.
5. How popular is gliding?
Worldwide, there are almost 120,000 active glider pilots,
almost a third of which live in Germany (source: DAeC).
6. What materials is a glider made of?
Modern gliders are made almost exclusively of carbon fibre
reinforced composites. This material enables low structural
mass and large aerodynamic advantages in the structural shape.
7. What is ‘Zachering’?
‘Zachering’ involves the investigation of the flight properties
of gliders. It is named after Hans Zacher, who established
pioneering processes during his time at the DFS (Deutsche
Forschungsanstalt Segelflug; German Glider Research Institute,
which later became the DFVLR, the German Research Institute
for Aviation and Spaceflight).
8. How long can a glider flight last?
For as long as the Sun is shining and thermals are being
produced, or the wind is blowing strongly enough for ridge lift
to be generated on a mountain. A glider can only be flown
during the daytime, so the maximum duration is from sunrise
to sunset.
Two new faces in small
aircraft research at DLR
Johannes Anton, DLR Flight
Facility in Braunschweig
Johannes Anton first climbed
into a glider at the age of 14.
His father, himself a glider pilot,
had taken him to the local
flying club in Erlangen. Several
months later he was already
being allowed to sit at the
controls alone above the
clouds. Youth gliding club
and secondary school were
followed by a degree in
mechatronics at Munich University, where he soon became
a member of the local student flying group. He took part in
numerous projects with the group, including testing the
Munich Schlacro-Mü30 motorised aerobatic aircraft. The
enthusiast became increasingly interested in flying small
aircraft in Idaflieg (the Amateur Association of German
Groups of Aerodynamics Students). Since August 2012,
Anton has been working for the DLR Flight Facility in
Braunschweig. He is responsible for glider and small aircraft
research and for coordinating the collaboration between
DLR and Idafleig.
Kai Rohde-Brandenburger,
DLR Institute of
Aerodynamics and Flow
Technology
Kai Rohde-Brandenburger
actually intended to use his
degree in mechanical engineer-
ing from TU Braunschweig to
follow in his father’s footsteps
and go into the automotive
industry straight after gradua-
tion. But at university, he met
a fellow student whom he
followed into the workshop of Braunschweig Akaflieg,
filled with curiosity. From then on, he could not leave flying
alone and finally completed an engineering degree in the
aerospace sector. For his degree and beyond, he carried
out development work for the Braunschweig SB-14 glider,
which was given new curved wing tips specifically as a
result of his calculations. Since July 2013, Rohde-
Brandenburger has been responsible for scientific
leadership of glider and small aircraft research at the
DLR Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology,
where he is in close contact with the managers of
Idaflieg and the associated student flying groups.
Community spirit is very important amongst the students – after
landing, everyone lends a hand to push the glider back to the take-off
position.
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