Scheibe A-Spatz

The Spatz series from Scheibe sprang to life in the early 1950s. The L-Spatz has been extensively modelled but the earlier 'A' and 'B' versions less so. Chris Williams’ designed this glider to fulfil a need to find something that would be handily sized and able to be flown off the slope in light conditions. Chris describes his model as a Spatz 1.
Construction has been simplified so, for instance, straightforward top barn door spoilers have been substituted for the more complicated DFS type. Instead of a top mounted wing with a fairing, non-scale wing root stubs have been specified instead, with the wings retained with rubber bands, as this has proven to be very durable in the event of an un-planned landing. At just 3.8 m span, despite being 1:3.5 scale, the Spatz is easy to launch and its relatively diminutive size should appeal to those to whom the larger sailplanes might seem daunting.

WING AREA: 8.7 sq ft
WING LOADING: 18 oz/sq ft