The Slepcev Storch ( en, Stork) is a

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

n type-certified, kit and

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

STOL aircraft, designed by Yugoslavian-Australian Nestor Slepcev and currently produced by Storch Aircraft Serbia in several different versions. The ultralight version is a 3/4 scale replica of the

Fieseler Fi 156 Storch The Fieseler Fi 156 ''Storch'' (, " stork") was a German liaison aircraft built by Fieseler before and during World War II. Production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market. It was notable for its excellent short fi ...

of 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 opposi ...

and is supplied as a kit for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', pages 77 and 121. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XBertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 162. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 128. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.

Design and development

The aircraft was first flown in 1994. It was originally manufactured by Slepcev's company, Slepcev Aircraft Industry of Beechwood,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. The company was later renamed Storch Aviation Australia. The aircraft was type-certified in 1999 to the Joint Airworthiness Requirements - Very Light Aircraft (JAR-VLA) standard, with contributions from aeronautical engineer C. W. "Bill" Whitney. Production then moved to Serbia where a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight category model was developed.Downey, Julia: ''1999 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 68. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851 Like the original Fi 156, the Slepcev Storch features a strut-braced

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 co ...

, a two-seats-in-

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

enclosed cockpit, with extensive glazing, fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

and a single engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...

. It is made from welded steel tubing with its flying surfaces fashioned from sheet

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

and covered in doped

aircraft fabric Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...

. The ultralight version has a span wing with an area of , large flaps and

leading edge slot A leading-edge slot is a fixed aerodynamic feature of the wing of some aircraft to reduce the stall speed and promote good low-speed handling qualities. A leading-edge slot is a spanwise gap in each wing, allowing air to flow from below the wing ...

s. The wings are supported by V-struts and

jury strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

s. Engines fitted vary by model.

Operational history

The designer has a keen interest in Second World War history and wanted to use an example of his Storch design to re-enact the 12 September 1943 rescue of Benito Mussolini by

Otto Skorzeny Otto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including th ...

and his SS commandos from his imprisonment by Italian

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...

guards on the

Gran Sasso Gran Sasso d'Italia (; ) is a massif in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. Its highest peak, Corno Grande (2,912 metres), is the highest mountain in the Apennines, and the second-highest mountain in Italy outside the Alps. The mountain lies wi ...

mountain. It took Slepcev a year to gain Italian approvals for the flight and on 24 August 1996, he landed a Storch Mk 4 at the site, 53 years after the original dramatic rescue had taken place.

Variants

;Storch/Storch Mk 4 :Homebuilt kit version, powered by a

Rotax 912ULS The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, later ...

Rotax 914 The Rotax 914 is a turbo-charged, four-stroke, four-cylinder, horizontally opposed aircraft engine with air-cooled cylinders and water-cooled cylinder heads. It is designed and built by the Austrian company BRP-Powertrain, owned by Bombardier ...

, with a gross weight of . Certification includes Australian and Spanish JAR-VLA. Available as a kit or as ready-to-fly. ;Storch Microlight :FAI compliant microlight 3/4 sized version, powered by a

, with a gross weight of . Available as a kit or as ready-to-fly.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 81. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ;Super Storch :Full scale homebuilt kit version, powered by a

Lycoming O-360 The Lycoming O-360 is a family of four-cylinder, direct-drive, horizontally opposed, air-cooled, piston aircraft engines. Engines in the O-360 series produce between 145 and 225 horsepower (109 to 168 kW), with the basic O-360 producing ...

, with a gross weight of . Available as a kit only. ;Storch Moose :Full scale homebuilt kit version, powered by a

Vedeneyev M14P The Vedeneyev M14P is a Russian nine-cylinder, four-stroke, air-cooled, petrol-powered radial engine. Producing , its design dates from the 1940s (Kotelnikov 2005), and is itself a development of the Ivchenko AI-14 engine. The engine has been ...

, with a gross weight of . Available as a kit only.

Specifications (Microlight)

References

External links

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on

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