The Pipistrel Apis-Bee, also called the Apis/Bee, (''Apis'' means
bee
Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...
in
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
) is a
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
n
mid-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 ...
, single-seat
glider and
motor glider
A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: a fixed-wing aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (MoP), capable of sustained soaring flig ...
that was designed and produced by
Pipistrel
Pipistrel d.o.o Ajdovščina is a Slovenian Ultralight aviation, light aircraft manufacturer established in 1989Or 1989... --> by Ivo Boscarol and based in Ajdovščina. Its facilities are located in Ajdovščina, Slovenia, and near Gorizia, It ...
.
[Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 136. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X]
By October 2018, it was listed as a "legacy" product and production had ended.
Design and development
The Apis-Bee is a second generation derivation of the original
Pipistrel Apis design. The company explains the name of this version, "In some countries, the name 'Apis' is trademarked, so we are unable to use it. These countries are, as far as we know, the following: Germany, Austria, Switzerland and some Scandinavian countries. There, the aircraft is marketed as 'Bee'. We chose this because 'Apis' in Latin means a bee."
The aircraft is made from composites, predominately
carbon fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...
and
fibreglass
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 c ...
with some portions in sandwich configuration and some as shells. The
tailplane
A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabilizer, is a small lift (force), lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters ...
is a
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 ...
configuration. The wing is the same as the wing used on the
Pipistrel Sinus
The Pipistrel Sinus is a two-seat, single-engine ultralight motor glider, developed and manufactured by Pipistrel in Slovenia and Italy.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, pa ...
and
Taurus
Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to:
* Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign
** Vṛṣabha, in vedic astrology
* Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac
* Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological ch ...
. Its span wing employs a 17.01% IMD 029
airfoil
An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is a streamlined body that is capable of generating significantly more Lift (force), lift than Drag (physics), drag. Wings, sails and propeller blades are examples of airfoils. Foil (fl ...
, has an area of , 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 18.33 and mounts
flaperon
A flaperon (a portmanteau of '' flap'' and ''aileron'') on an aircraft's wing is a type of control surface that combines the functions of both flaps and ailerons. Some smaller kitplanes have flaperons for reasons of simplicity of manufactur ...
s as well as
Schempp-Hirth
Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH is a glider manufacturer based in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany.
History
Martin Schempp founded his own company in Göppingen in 1935, with the assistance of Wolf Hirth.
The company was initially called "Sport ...
style
airbrakes. The powered version has a pylon-mounted, retractable
Hirth F33 BS two-stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...
single cylinder engine.
The Apis-Bee differs from the early Apis by the incorporation of 133 improvements, including: retractable landing gear, steerable tailwheel,
ballistic parachute
A ballistic parachute, ballistic reserve parachute, or emergency ballistic reserve parachute, is a parachute ejected from its casing by a small explosion, much like that used in an ejection seat. The advantage of the ballistic parachute over a co ...
, enlarged cockpit, new lighter Hirth F33BS engine that can be removed quickly and has faster engine extension and retraction, a redesigned propeller, lower vibration levels and better cooling, standard wing-mounted fuel tank replacing the former tank, new instrument panel, cockpit control ergonomics, the engine management system from the Taurus, re-balanced and lighter flight control feel, optional 5.00 × 5 main wheel, leather interior, solar panels to run the on-board electrical system, improved cockpit ventilation and canopy defog and a new
firewall
Firewall may refer to:
* Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts
* Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...
between the cockpit and the engine compartment.
Operational history
The Apis-Bee holds many
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...
world records in the under class:
*Free out and return distance: , Tanja Pristavec, DU feminine
*Free distance using up to 3 turn points: , Tanja Pristavec, DU feminine
*Free distance: , (Tanja Pristavec, DU feminine)
*Free distance using up to 3 turn points: , Boštjan Pristavec
*Speed over a triangular course of : , Tanja Pristavec, DU feminine
*Out-and-return distance: , Andrej Kolar, DU general
*Speed over an out-and-return course of : , Andrej Kolar, DU general
*Free Three Turn Points Distance: , Andrej Kolar, DU general
*Free out-and-return distance: , Andrej Kolar, DU general
*Speed record over a triangular course: , Boštjan Pristavec
Specifications (Apis-Bee motorglider)
See also
References
External links
Official website archiveon
archive.org
The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...
{{Pipistrel aircraft
2010s Slovenian sailplanes
Apis-Bee
Motor gliders
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Mid-wing aircraft
T-tail aircraft
Single-engined piston aircraft
Aircraft with retractable bicycle landing gear