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The Grob G 103 Twin Astir is a
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Homepage of Grob Aircraft AG
{{Italian military aircraft 1970s German sailplanes Grob aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1976 T-tail aircraft
glass-reinforced plastic
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
two-seat sailplane
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...
that was developed in Germany in the 1970s by Grob Aircraft AG as a counterpart to the single-seat G 102 Astir then in production. Construction throughout is similar, although to preserve the centre of gravity
In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force may ...
of the design, the wings were given a slight forward sweep. While many two-seat derivatives of single-seat sailplanes have fixed undercarriage, due to the added space restrictions created by the second seat, Grob devised a novel retraction system for the Twin Astir. The single wheel was designed to rotate 90° sideways before retracting "flat" under the rear seat, resulting in a rather unusual seating position. This was only incorporated in early examples, later on, the wheel was fixed. Factory options offered to customers included whether the front seat should be equipped with flight instruments, and whether water ballast capacity should be installed.
Production continued until around 1980, when it was replaced in production by the Twin II, a new and not directly related design originally designated ''G 118'' but later redesignated the ''G 103a''. The G 103a was in turn replaced by the Twin III in production in 1989.
The Twin was one of the first two-seat sailplanes built from fibreglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
and has higher glide performance than most similar sailplanes of the time (e.g. Schleicher ASK 21
The ASK 21 is a glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) two-seat glider aircraft with a T-tail. The ASK 21 is designed primarily for beginner instruction, but is also suitable for cross-country flying and aerobatics, aerobatic instruction.
Design and de ...
, Scheibe SF 34
__NOTOC__
The Scheibe SF 34 ''Delphin'' (German: "dolphin") is a two-seat sailplane that was produced by Scheibe in Germany in the late 1970s and 1980s. Designed by Wolf Hoffmann and originally designated the SF H34, it was Scheibe's first ...
and SZD-50 Puchacz).
Operators
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* Italian Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
operated 9 Grob G103 Twin Astir from 1975 until 1999
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* Australian Air Force Cadets
The Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC), known as the ''Air Training Corps (AIRTC)'' until 2001, is a Federal Government funded youth organisation. The parent force of the AAFC is the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Along with the Australian ...
currently operates 2 Twin Astirs as of 2020
Specifications
See also
References
* * *External links
Homepage of Grob Aircraft AG
{{Italian military aircraft 1970s German sailplanes Grob aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1976 T-tail aircraft