Schempp-Hirth Nimbus 2

DEVELOPMENT and DESCRIPTION

The HS-3 Nimbus high performance single-seater was designed and built in his spare time by Dipl-Ing Klaus Holighaus, with the aid of Schempp-Hirth, of which he became a 50% shareholder in 1970. It had the same fuselage as the Open Class Cirrus married to a new high-set three-piece wing of 22m (72ft 2½in) span and the high aspect ratio of 30.6; the tail unit was similar to that of the Cirrus. The prototype first flew in January 1969 and the next year a Nimbus flown by George Moffat of the USA won the Open Class in the World Gliding Championships at Marfa, Texas.

The HS-3 Nimbus was of glassfibre/foam sandwich construction, the fuselage having a steel tube frame for the attachment of wings and landing gear, and the manually-retracted monowheel had a drum brake. No air brakes were fitted, and the pilot sat under a long two-piece canopy. The Nimbus had an exceptionally high performance, with a best glide ratio of 51:1 at 90kph and a minimum sinking speed of only 0.43m/sec, and this performance would ensure its sales prospects.

The Nimbus 2 is the production version, differing from the HS-3 in having the same fuselage as the Standard Cirrus married to a wing of shorter span (20.3m) and built in four sections to limit weight and dimensions for ease of rigging, storage and trailer transport. The glassfibre/foam sandwich wing structure was stiffened to eliminate the bending experienced with the earlier Nimbus wing, and glassfibre Schempp-Hirth air brakes are fitted in the upper surfaces; there is also a tail braking parachute. The ailerons and interconnected flaps are glassfibre shells, the flap settings ranging from -8° for high speed flight to +6° for soaring in thermals and 20° for landing; the flaps of the earlier Nimbus drooped to 90° for landing. Up to 160 kg of water ballast can be carried. The glassfibre fuselage shell is stiffened with bonded-in foam bulkheads and there is a central tubular steel framework for attaching the wings and landing gear. The Nimbus 2 also differs from the earlier version in having a glassfibre/foam sandwich T-tail very similar to that of the Standard Cirrus; the first 132 Nimbus 2s have an all-moving tailplane, but 133rd and later aircraft known as the Nimbus 2B have a fixed incidence T-tailplane and elevator. The retractable rubber-sprung monowheel has a drum brake. The pilot sits in a semi-reclining seat under a long flush-fitting hinged canopy.

The Nimbus 2C has a higher gross weight, is fitted with new brake type flaps instead of upper surface air brakes, and is available to customers with wings and tailplane built of carbon-fibre as an alternative to glassfibre construction; with the former up to 250kg of water ballast can be carried.

Design work on the Nimbus 2 began in January 1970 and the prototype, construction of which began in April that year, first flew in April 1971. By 1 January 1979 a total of 185 Nimbus 2s, 2Bs and 2Cs had been delivered, and the type has an outstanding competition record. It has twice won the Open Class in World Championships, in 1972 at Vrsac, Yugoslavia, flown by Goran Ax of Sweden and in 1974 at Wakerie, Australia, flown by George Moffat of the USA; in the 1976 World Championships in Finland, Nimbus 2s took no less than 14 of the first 25 places. On 15 February 1977 a Nimbus 2 flown by R. J. Rowe of Australia set a speed record of 134 km/h over a 750km course, and a similar record over 500km was set up by Edward Pearson of Rhodesia in another Nimbus 2 on 27 November 1976. The world distance record to a goal for single-seaters, was set up by a group of three Nimbus 2s which covered 1254.26 kilometers in New Zealand on 14 January 1978.

The Nimbus 2CS that won the 1980 German National championships was modified to have extra wing panels to increase the span to 23.5m (77ft 0in). This preceded the Nimbus 3 which has a four-piece carbon-fibre wing of 22.9m span, and which was first flown in prototype form on 21 February 1981 by its designer Klaus Holighaus. The Nimbus 3 makes extensive use of carbon-fibre in its structure, only the forward fuselage being of glassfibre. The three-part ailerons droop in conjunction with the flaps, and over 80 gallons of water ballast can be carried. The Nimbus 3 is probably the first sailplane to achieve a glide angle of better than 1 in 50, a figure of 55:1 being claimed, and Mk 3s took the first three Open Class places in the 1981 World Gliding Championships at Paderborn, West Germany.

PERFORMANCE DATA

 

Three Axis View Schempp-Hirth Nimbus 2

GGC's Syndicate – VH-GNV

The Nimbus was purchased new in 1977 as a syndicate aircraft, and has remained with the club since. It is one of the later variants of the Nimbus 2 series. The original gelcoat has been replaced in Euracryl. The aircraft is otherwise unmodified.

It has competed in the Australian Nationals a number of times over the years. The present syndicate consists of three members.

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