The Scheibe SF-24 Motorspatz ( en, Motor Sparrow) is a

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

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-seat motor glider that was designed by Egon Scheibe and produced by

Scheibe Flugzeugbau Scheibe Flugzeugbau was a manufacturer of sailplanes and motorgliders in Germany in the second half of the 20th century. Founded by Egon Scheibe at the Munich-Riem Airport to produce his Bergfalke design in 1951,Gunston 1993, p.270 the company ha ...

.Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory,

Soaring Magazine ''SOARING'' is a magazine published monthly as a membership benefit of the Soaring Society of America. It was first published in 1937. The headquarters is in Hobbs, New Mexico. The magazine's article topics include safety issues and accounts of ind ...

'', page 126. Soaring Society of America, November 1983. USPS 499-920 Derived from the unpowered Scheibe Spatz, the Motor Spatz was described in 1983 by

as "one of the more primitive of the breed of self-launching sailplanes".

Design and development

The Motorspatz was an early attempt to create a self-launching glider. Scheibe accomplished this by mounting a

Hirth Hirth Engines GmbH is an engine manufacturer based in Benningen, Germany. It is currently a part of the UMS Aero Group. Hirth began manufacturing aero engines in the 1920s, was taken over by Heinkel in WWII to develop the Heinkel-Hirth jet en ...

engine in the nose of a mostly stock

Spatz ''Spatz'' is a children's comedy series that ran on Children's ITV during the 1990s, produced by Thames Television and created by Andrew Bethell. The show originally ran from 21 February 1990 to 10 April 1992. The show centred on a fast food r ...

glider. The SF-24 is constructed with a welded steel tube

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 ...

that mounts the monowheel landing gear, with a small

tail wheel 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 Terms ...

for ground maneuvering. The wings and tail surfaces are built with wooden structures and covered in doped

aircraft fabric covering 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 ar ...

. The wing has a span, employs an Mu 14%

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. ...

and mounts spoilers for glidepath control. The aircraft was not type certified and 50 were built.

Operational history

In July 2011 there were two Motorspatz registered in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

, including one SF-24 in the ''Experimental - Exhibition'' category and one SF-24B in the ''Experimental - Research and Development'' category.

Variants

;SF-24 :Initial version ;SF-24A :Improved version ;SF-24B :Improved version

Specifications (SF-24)

References

{{Scheibe aircraft 1960s German sailplanes Scheibe aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Motor gliders Aircraft first flown in 1960

Design and development

Operational history

Variants

Specifications (SF-24)

See also

References