Glaser-Dirks DG-300
Encyclopedia : G : GL : GLA : Glaser-Dirks DG-300
 | |
| Type designation | DG-300 |
| Competition class | Club (formerly Standard) |
| Number built | ca. 500 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Length | 6.80 m (22.36 ft) |
| Height | 1.39 m (4.56 ft) |
| Cockpit width | 0.63 m (2.07 ft) |
| Cockpit height | 0.81 m (2.66 ft) |
| Wingspan | 15 m (49.2 ft) |
| Wing area | 10.27 m² (110.5 ft²) |
| Aspect ratio | 21.8 |
| Wing profile | Horst & Quast HQ21/II |
| Empty mass | ca. 245 kg (540 lb) |
| Water ballast | 190 kg (419 lb) or 130 kg (286 lb) |
| Tail water ballast | 5.5 kg (12 lb) optional |
| Maximum mass | 525 kg (1157 lb) |
| Wing loading | ca. 32 – 51 kg/m² (6.6 – 10.5 lb/ft²) |
| Maximum speed | 270 km/h (146 knots) |
| Speed in rough air | 200 km/h (108 knots) |
| Stall speed | 65 km/h (35 mph) at 32 kg/m² |
| Minimum sink rate | ca. 0.59 m/s at 78 km/h (116 ft/min at 42 knots) |
| Best glide ratio | ca. 41 at 100 km/h (54 knots) 42 for DG-300WL |
| Roll rate (-45 to +45 bank) | 4 s at 95 km/h (50 knots) |
The DG-300 is a Standard Class single-seat high performance sailplane built of glass reinforced plastic. The DG-300 was designed by Wilhelm Dirks and manufactured by Glaser-Dirks Flugzeugbau and later by the Slovenian company Elan. About 500 of all versions have been built since production started in 1983. Representative contemporary types from competing manufacturers are the Rolladen-Schneider LS4 and the Schempp-Hirth Discus.
General description
The DG-300 has a flapless wing with triple taper based on the Falcon designed by Hansjörg Streifeneder, and employs the HQ 21/II, a relatively thick profile (ca. 17.5%) with great climbing potential. This wing is 'blown' on the underside by means of a row of diminutive holes to achieve a controlled transition from laminar to turbulent flow. The thickness of the wing makes it relatively sensitive to performance degradation due to contamination by insect impacts or rain drops.It is an agile and excellent climber, but slightly less performing than its competitors in straight flight, especially at higher speeds. A version with winglets was developed that delivers higher performance at low to medium speeds plus increased aileron response. A fully aerobatic version is also available.
The DG-300 has the features that typify the priority given by the manufacturer to convenience and comfort even if at the expense of a little performance. It has the large cockpit of the whole DG range that gives excellent comfort, especially in high altitude flight where the full-length canopy allows the feet to be warmed by sunlight. The view from the cockpit is quite unrestricted, adding to the pleasure and safety of flight.
Major features
- Wings: spar of GRP rovings, wing shell of GRP / foam sandwich
- Elevator: GRP shell
- Rudder: GRP / foam sandwich
- Fuselage: GRP shell
- Conventional T-tail with fixed stabiliser and moving elevator
- Retractable, sprung undercarriage in a sealed gear box
- Large 5"x5" hub main wheel, 200x50mm tail wheel
- Parallelogram control stick
- Automatic control connections
- Self-trimming spring system for the elevator, with trigger release on the control stick
- Schempp-Hirth air brakes on upper wing surface
- Water ballast bags in the wings for 130 or 190 litres
- Very large canopy with low sill giving excellent in-flight visibility
Versions
- The DG-300 Club has a fixed undercarriage for club use.
- The DG-300 Acro is fully aerobatic.
- The DG-303 Elan has winglets and is available in standard, club and acro versions. It is built by the Slovenian company AMS-Flight.
Sources
- [DG Flugzeugbau website]
- DG-300 Flight Manual
- [AMS-Flight]
- [Richard Johnson, A FTE of the DG-300, Soaring, August 1985]
- [Sailplane Directory]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.