The Bölkow Phoebus is a

glass fibre Glass fiber ( or glass fibre) is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass. Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the inventio ...

composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic material ...

competition

sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...

, designed and produced in Germany in the 1960s. Large numbers were built, achieving success at some national contests, and many remain active.

Design and development

The Phoebus was designed at a time when glider manufacturers were moving away from all-wood aircraft towards composite structures. Bölkow had been among the early leaders of this change with their Phönix T sailplane in the late 1950s, which used

balsa ''Ochroma pyramidale'', commonly known as balsa, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. It is the sole member of the genus ''Ochroma'', and is classified in the subfamily Bombacoideae of the mallow family Malvaceae. The tree is fa ...

glassfibre Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

sandwich construction. The Phoebus was built in the same way. It is a

shoulder wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...

competition sailplane. The first aircraft, the Phoebus A, was designed to Standard Class rules, with a span of 15 m. Its straight tapered wings have an

aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a geometry, geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangl ...

of 17.1; airbrakes are fitted at 70% chord. The fin and rudder are straight edged and only slightly tapered, with a high aspect ratio all moving

T tail A T-tail is an empennage wikt:configuration, configuration in which the tailplane of an aircraft is mounted to the top of the vertical stabilizer, fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs fr ...

. The

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

is a

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

with the cockpit, ahead of the wings, enclosed with a one piece

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

. The Phoebus A has a

monowheel A monowheel or uniwheel is a type of one-wheeled, single-track vehicle. Unlike the unicycle, a monowheel consists of a large, hollow wheel that loops above and around the driver. Monowheels are typically powered by an engine as with a motorc ...

plus tail bumper undercarriage, but in the later "B" variants the main wheel is retractable. The Phoebus C has a

braking parachute A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...

Operational history

The Phoebus prototype was placed 3rd in the Standard Class at the German national gliding championships of 1964 and 8th at the

World Gliding Championships The World Gliding Championships (WGC) is a gliding competitions, gliding competition held roughly every two years by the FAI Gliding Commission. The dates are not always exactly two years apart, often because the contests are always held in the sum ...

held in the United Kingdom the following year. Production aircraft came 1st and 3rd at the 1966

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n international championships. Many Phoebus remain registered, particularly in Germany and the United States.

Variants

;Phoebus A :1964 15 m span, fixed-gear Standard Class. Discontinued after 1970 FAI rule change. ;Phoebus B :1967 15 m span, retractable gear. In 1970 FAI rules changed, allowing retractable undercarriages in Standard Class. ;Phoebus C :1967 17 m span, retractable gear, braking parachute. Open Class.

Specifications (Phoebus A)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolkow Phoebus 1960s German sailplanes

Phoebus Apollo is one of the Olympian deities in ancient Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases, the Sun and light, poetry, ...

T-tail aircraft Shoulder-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1964

Design and development

Operational history

Variants

Specifications (Phoebus A)

See also

References