Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4

infobox Aircraft
name = Nimbus 4
type = high-performance FAI Open Class glider

manufacturer = Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH



caption = Nimbus 4M with powerplant deployed
designer = Klaus Holighaus
first flight = 1990
introduction =
retired =
status =
primary user =
more users =
produced =
number built = 85 (as of 1999)
program cost=
unit cost =
developed from = Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-3
variants with their own articles =

The Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4 is a family of high-performance FAI Open Class gliders designed by Klaus Holighaus and manufactured by Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH in Kirchheim, Germany. The Nimbus-4 first flew in 1990.

The Nimbus-4 family is a direct derivative of its predecessors at the highest performance end of the Schempp-Hirth product range, the Nimbus-2 and Nimbus-3. In total as of 1999, 33 single-seat and 52 two-seat models had been produced. The wing has a multi-tapered planform and the wingspan was increased to 26.5 metres. The aspect ratio is 38.8. The fuselage was also lengthened, and a larger rudder was fitted.

The manufacturer claims this glider has a glide ratio of better than 60:1 at a best glide airspeed of 59 knots, meaning it can glide over 60 kilometres on course for every 1000 metres of altitude lost.cite web |url=http://www.schempp-hirth.com/index.php?id=nimbus-4&L=1 |title=Nimbus-4 |accessdate=2007-12-17 |publisher=Schempp-Hirth |work=]

There is a two seat version, the 4D, and motor glider versions with either turbo engines (designation T) or self-launching engines (designation M).

Nimbus-4DM

The Nimbus-4DM is typical of the Nimbus-4 design, except for variations in cockpit and powerplant configuration and associated operating limitations. It a 2-seat, high-performance motorized glider, constructed from fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) composites, featuring full span flight controls and a T-tail (with fixed horizontal stabilizer and two-piece elevator). The manufacturing process uses a hand lay-up of composite material plies and epoxy resins.

The wing's 26.5-meter (87-foot) span consists of three sections per side, consisting of a wing tip, outboard section, and inboard section. The inboard sections mate at the fuselage and the outer wing sections mate with the inboard sections approximately 12.6 feet outboard of the fuselage root chord. The wing shells are a carbon fiber/foam core sandwich construction with one main spar constructed of a glass fiber/foam core shear web and carbon fiber spar flanges. A single-vane flap spans the entire inboard wing section. Three sections of ailerons (that is, inboard, center, and outboard) span the outboard wing section with a fourth aileron, used to minimize the effects of adverse yaw, attached to the wing tip.

The forward fuselage (cockpit) is constructed of Kevlar, carbon and glass fiber laminate, reinforced by a double skin on the sides with integrated surrounding canopy frame and seat pan mounting flanges. The single-piece canopy hinges sideways and opens to the right. The aft fuselage section is constructed of a pure carbon fiber monolithic shell, stiffened by carbon fiber/foam core bulkheads and glass fiber webs.

The horizontal stabilizer is constructed of glass fiber/foam core sandwich with carbon fiber reinforcements. The elevator halves are a hybrid composite (carbon and glass fiber) monolithic shell. The vertical stabilizer is carbon fiber/foam core sandwich construction. The single-piece rudder is constructed of glass fiber/foam core sandwich.

The flight controls are all push/pull tubes except for the rudder, which is controlled via cables.

The Nimbus-4DM is powered by a liquid-cooled 44 kW Bombardier (Rotax) model 535C engine with a 3:1 belt reduction drive. The powerplant is housed in the fuselage immediately aft of the wing. An electrically driven spindle drive (jackscrew) extends the propeller pylon upwards and forward from the engine bay. When stowed, two doors mounted to the rear fuselage conceal the powerplant. The jackscrew is attached between the airframe and the upper forward end of the pylon such that when the jackscrew is retracted (shortened) the pylon is pulled upwards and forward into its flight position.

Accident history

U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators queried the German Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA), Germany's equivalent of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding the accident history of the Nimbus-4DM in conjunction with a 1999 accident near Minden, Nevada where both occupants of the aircraft were killed. In this accident, the glider broke up in flight during the recovery phase after a departure from controlled flight while maneuvering in thermal lift conditions. Airborne witnesses in other gliders who saw the beginning of the accident sequence said the glider was in a tight turn, as if climbing in a thermal, when it entered a spiral or a spin. With a 45-degree nose-down attitude, the speed quickly built up as the glider completed two full rotations. The rotation then stopped, the flight stabilized on a northeasterly heading, and the nose pitched further down to a near-vertical attitude (this is consistent with the spin recovery technique specified in the Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM)). The glider was observed to level its attitude, with the wings bending upward and the wing tips coning higher, when the outboard wing tip panels departed from the glider, the wings disintegrated, and the fuselage dove into the ground. Several witnesses estimated that the wing deflection reached 45 degrees or more before the wings failed. Examination of the wreckage disclosed that the left and right outboard wing sections failed symmetrically at two locations.

In this case, the NTSB determined "that the probable cause of this accident was the pilot's excessive use of the elevator control during recovery from an inadvertently entered spin and/or spiral dive during which the glider exceeded the maximum permissible speed, which resulted in the overload failure of the wings at loadings beyond the structure's ultimate design loads."

There were then only three previous accidents worldwide on file with the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (BFU), Germany's equivalent of the NTSB. The first was a non-injury long landing accident in Fayence, France, on September 4, 1994. The second involved a collision with the ground during takeoff in Fuentemilanos, Spain, on July 27, 1997, which resulted in two fatalities. The improper installation of the horizontal stabilizer led to the third accident in Lüsse, Germany, on June 13, 1999, in which two occupants were injured during an attempted takeoff when the stabilizer separated from the empennage just after liftoff.

Regarding other service/accident experience with the Nimbus-4 family of gliders, the BFU has recorded four incidents/accidents with the single-seat versions. Three events are known of non-injury accidents during off-field landings, and one fatal accident was due to collision with a mountain.

Additionally, during training for the World Gliding Championships in New Zealand in 1995, a Nimbus-4 (owned by the French Air Force) was destroyed in a midair breakup accident. The glider entered a wave cloud, lost control, and broke up at a speed beyond 400 km/h (The never exceed speed, or "Vne" is 285 km/h, and the design dive speed, or "Vd", is 324 km/h). The pilot survived by bailing out.

According to the LBA, "As far as we know, none of the incidents/accidents recorded indicated a technical failure."

NTSB investigators became aware of another accident involving a Nimbus-4DM that occurred in Spain shortly after the Minden, Nevada, accident. According to the Comision de Investigacion de Accidentes y Incidentes de Aviacion Civil, Spain's equivalent of the NTSB, the glider broke up in flight following a high-speed excursion beyond Vne. According to preliminary information supplied by the Spanish authorities, the pilot stated they were in a turn when a heavy thermal caused the glider to enter a steep descending spiral. The pilot could not recover the aircraft from the spiral and the airspeed quickly exceeded Vne. The pilot then reported that the right wing failed and he bailed out.

Joint Airworthiness Requirements Certification

The LBA issued type certificate No. 868 on July 11, 1995, certificating the Nimbus-4DM glider in the standard class, utility category. The certification basis listed on the type certificate is Joint Airworthiness Requirements (JAR) 22 for Sailplanes and Powered Sailplanes, effective June 27, 1989, inclusive of Change 4 and amendments 22/90/1, 22/91/1, and 22/92/1. Exemptions to the JARs on the type certificate included 22.201(f)(5)(ii), 22.153, 22.173(b), 22.175(a), and 22.207(a). A special compliance was established on the basis of an equivalent level of safety with JAR 22.1093(b).

Variants

The Nimbus-4DM is a model of the "Nimbus-4 Family," which consists of single-seat and two-seat gliders and motorgliders. The different models are (production data as of 1999):

* Nimbus-4: a single seat glider, Type Certified in Germany January 1, 1994. Total number produced: 11
* Nimbus-4D: a two-seat glider, Type Certified in Germany February 24, 1995. Total number produced: 9
* Nimbus-4T: a single seat self-sustaining motor glider with a retractable engine, Type Certified in Germany June 15, 1993. Total number produced: 12
* Nimbus-4M: a single seat self-launching motor glider with a retractable engine, Type Certified in Germany January 1, 1994. Total number produced: 10
* Nimbus-4DT: a two seat self-sustaining motor glider with a retractable engine, Type Certified in Germany May 5, 1995. Total number produced: 6
* Nimbus-4DM: a two seat self-launching motor glider with a retractable engine, Type Certified in Germany November 7, 1995. Total number produced: 37

pecifications (4DM unless otherwise specified)

aerospecs
ref= [ [http://www.schempp-hirth.com/index.php?id=nimbus-4dm0&L=1 Nimbus 4DM technical data] . Accessed 1 February 2008.] [ [http://www.schempp-hirth.com/index.php?id=nimbus-4dt&L=1 Nimbus 4DT technical data] . Accessed 15 March 2008.]
met or eng?=met

crew=1 (or 2 in type "D" variants only)
capacity=
length m=7.83
length ft=25
length in=8
span m=26.5
span ft=87
span in=
height m=
height ft=
height in=
wing area sqm=17.86
wing area sqft=192.24
aspect ratio=38.8
empty weight kg=595
empty weight lb=1312
gross weight kg=820
gross weight lb=1808

eng1 number=(in type "M" variants only) 1
eng1 type= Rotax 535C
eng1 kw=33
eng1 hp= 44
eng1 kn=
eng1 lbf=
eng1 kn-ab=
eng1 lbf-ab=
eng2 number=(in type "T" variants only) 1
eng2 type= SOLO 2350
eng2 kw= 19.6
eng2 hp= 26.3
eng2 kn=
eng2 lbf=
eng2 kn-ab=
eng2 lbf-ab=

max speed kmh=285
max speed mph=177
cruise speed kmh=142
cruise speed mph=88
range km=
range miles=
endurance h=
endurance min=
ceiling m=
ceiling ft=
glide ratio=60:1
climb rate ms=
climb rate ftmin=
sink rate ms=0.38
sink rate ftmin=75

References

External links

[http://www.schempp-hirth.com/ Schempp-Hirth's homepage]