The Ho XVI "Colibri"


Usage

 

Trainer

 

Fuselage Construction

Wood

 

Wing Construction

 

Wood

 

Capacity

 

Pilot

 

Span

 

12 m

 

Sweep Angle

 

26.6 degrees

 

Taper Ratio

 

4

 

Wing Root Thickness

 

18% chord

 

Wing Root Depth

 

1.2 m

 

Rib Spacing

 

0.4 m

 

Wing Area

 

9.0 m2

 

Aspect Ratio

 

16.0

 

Pilot position

 

Seated

 

Mid-section width

 

---

 

Cockpit width

 

0.6 m

 

Cockpit height (from seat)

 

1.1 m

 

Empty weight

 

80 kg

 

Ballast (water)

 

---

 

Additional payload

 

80 kg

 

Maximum weight

 

160 kg

 

Wing loading

 

17.8 kg/m2

 

Stall speed

 

55 km/h

 

Landing speed

 

55 km/h

 

Minimum Sink

 

0.65 m/sec at 70 km/h and 17.8 kg/m2 loading

Best Glide Ratio

 

30:1 at 77 km/h and 17.8 kg/m2 loading

Maximum Speed

 

200 km/h

 
I designed a small tailless sailplane for the Buenos Aires club "Condor" in 1950. To make it inexpensive and easy for me club members to build, the wooden ship was constructed in one piece. I wanted to make the aircraft attractive to both students and experienced pilots, therefore a light medium performance 12 meter design was laid out.

 Waldemar Sturm, the club's flight instructor, was in charge of the construction. He also test flew the "Colibri" in a straight auto tow across the Merlo airfield in 1952.

 The aircraft was next taken to the larger Juarez-Celman field near Cordoba for further testing. Heinz Scheidhauer was given the opportunity to make the first aerotow.

 Despite the 500 ft. long tow rope, he appeared to be caught in the propeller turbulence, and lost control. The Ho XVI touched the ground briefly, then shot up to about 50 feet, stalled and came down inverted. Miraculously, Scheidhauer appeared from the rubble with only minor bruises.

 The "Colibri" was never rebuilt, due to the many unanswered questions regarding its stability and controllability.