The Schleicher Condor, also referred to as the Dittmar Condor, is a series of

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high-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

, single and two-seat, gull winged, gliders that were designed by Heini Dittmar in the 1930s, produced in small quantities before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, produced again between 1952 and 1955 by

Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co is a major manufacturer of sailplanes located in Poppenhausen, near Fulda in Germany. It is also the oldest sailplane manufacturer in the world. History The company was founded in 1927 by Alexander Schleicher u ...

and also by Ferdinand Schmetz.Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory,

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'', page 104, Soaring Society of America November 1983. USPS 499-920

Design and development

The first Condor I was introduced in 1932. The aircraft was further developed into the Condor II and the IIA, which replaced strut bracing with a

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

wing. Following the Second World War the two-seat Condor IV first flew in 1951 and was put into series production by Schleicher. The Condor series was built from wood, with the wooden-framed wing covered in doped aircraft fabric. The Condor IV has a span wing that employs a Goettingen 532

airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine. ...

at the wing root, changing to a NACA 0012 section at the wing tip. The wings have balanced DFS-style dive brakes for glidepath control. The

horizontal stabilizer A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplan ...

is of an

all-flying tail A stabilator is a fully movable aircraft horizontal stabilizer. It serves the usual functions of longitudinal stability, control and stick force requirements otherwise performed by the separate parts of a conventional horizontal stabilizer and el ...

design. The landing gear was originally a dolly for take-off, with the aircraft landing on a fixed skid, although at least one was modified to use a fixed monowheel. Some sources state that there were a total of 18 Condors constructed, while one other says that the total number is unknown, but includes at least 18 Condor IVs built under licence in Argentina.VGC News no. 133, Summer 2011, Vintage Glider Club At least one Condor was converted to a motorglider.

Operational history

The Condor design was a record-setter from its earliest flights in the 1930s. In 1935 one was flown to a new world distance record of . Condor IVs were flown in the 1952 World Gliding Championships held in

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. During that contest Ernst-Günther Haase set a new world record in the multi-place category for speed over a triangle of . Hans Luenger imported one Condor IV-2 to the

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in 1952. After the wooden

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

was damaged he built a new design replacement from welded steel tube and covered it with doped fabric. The new fuselage included a fixed wheel for landing gear. This aircraft was removed from the US

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registry in 2007.

Variants

;Condor I :Initial strut-braced, single-seat version introduced in 1932. ;Condor II :Improved strut-braced, single-seat version. ;Condor IIB :Improved cantilever wing, single-seat version. ;Condor IV :Post war two-seat version with a cantilever wing. ;Dittmar-Reidel Motor-Condor:

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's Condor ''La Falda'' was modified to have a strut-mounted power-egg, containing a Kroeber M4 driving a pusher propeller, attached to the centre-section. The intention was for the power-egg to be carried to the glider by the retrieve crew, fitted to the glider and the pilot to fly the glider back to home base without the need to de-rig and transport by trailer. In practice it was found to be impractical due to the complexity of the mounting, as well as time and effort required to mount the power-egg.

Aircraft on display

Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim Flugwerft Schleissheim is an aviation museum located in the German town of Oberschleißheim near Munich, it forms part of the Deutsches Museum collection and complements the aviation exhibits on display at the main site. The museum was opened on ...

Specifications (Condor IV-2)

References

External links

{{Schleicher 1930s German sailplanes Schleicher aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1932 High-wing aircraft Gull-wing aircraft