KB-1 Triglav
After WW2 there were practically no high performance sailplanes available in Slovenia. In year 1947 a competition for a new sailplane design was put up. The sailplane should meet the so called 'Olympic' class specifications with a wingspan of 15 m (49 ft 2 1/2 in), 160 kg (352 lbs) empty weight, 95 kg (209 lbs) payload, maximum speed of 200 km/h (108 kt), uniformity of building materials. Swiss 'Moswey' and German 'DFS Meise' sailplanes were to serve as an example. |
First place in competition went to KB-1 Triglav design and on October 12, 1948 first flight took place at Lesce airfield. The testing showed good results and after a second prototype a batch of 12 planes was built. Some of the aircraft from this batch were still in service ten years later. |
Triglav was designed as an all wood shoulder-set wing plane. The wing was built with main and auxiliary spars and was covered with plywood and fabric. It had flaps and very effective DFS airbrakes. Relatively large dihedral (4o in prototype, 4.47o in production aircraft) was responsible for good lateral stability. Fuselage of elliptic cross section was quite low. It was covered with plywood and had a skid and a fixed wheel on the bottom. Part of the fuselage over the wing attachment fittings could be opened as cover. Cockpit was roomy and had adjustable rudder pedals and a removable canopy that allowed good all round view. The stabilizer was fixed on top of the fuselage and was covered with
plywood, the elevators being covered with fabric and the trimming tab
situated on the left side. The rudder was aerodynamically balanced and
was also covered with plywood and fabric. The plane could be easily put
together or taken apart thus enabling quick and easy transport after an
off-field landing. |
| Data | Production aircraft |
|---|---|
| Wing span | 15.00 m (49 ft 2 1/2 in) |
| Length | 6.83 m (22 ft 6 in) |
| Wing area | 13.52 m2 (145.3 sq ft) |
| Aspect ratio | 17 |
| Dihedral | 4.47o |
| Wing section | Goettingen 549-16%/549, M-6 |
| Empty weight | 166.85 kg (368 lbs) |
| Max weight | 265.00 kg (584 lbs) |
| Wing loading | 19.6 kg/m2 (4.01 lb/sq ft) |
| Best glide ratio | 26 at 69 km/h (37 kt) |
| Min sinking speed | 0.7 m/sec at 65 km/h (2.3 ft/sec at 35 kt) |
