Diamond HK36 Super Dimona

H36 Dimona and HK36 Super Dimona
Diamond HK36 Super Dimona
Role	Motor glider
National origin	Austria
Manufacturer	Diamond Aircraft Industries
Designer	Wolf Hoffmann
First flight	9 October 1980 (H36) October 1989 (HK36R)
Status	In production (HK36 Super Dimona)
Number built	more than 900
Variants	Diamond DV20

The Diamond HK36 Super Dimona is an extensive family of Austrian low-wing, T-tailed, two-seat motor gliders that were designed by Wolf Hoffmann and currently produced by Diamond Aircraft Industries.

The series started with the Hoffmann H36 Dimona, a touring motorglider introduced in the early 1980s. The aircraft were initially produced by Hoffmann Flugzeugbau, which became HOAC Flugzeugwerk and later Diamond Aircraft Industries.

Built entirely from fibreglass, the H36 family all use a Wortmann FX 63-137 airfoil. The wings feature top-surface Schempp-Hirth-style airbrakes. The wings can be folded by two people in a few minutes to allow storage. The original H36 has 16.0 m (52.5 ft) wings, while the later members of the family added slightly greater span. The H36 offers a 27:1 glide ratio, while later variants improved that by one point, to 28:1. Cockpit accommodation seats two in side-by-side configuration, under a hinged bubble canopy.

The series are type certified in Europe and North America. The H36 received its US Federal Aviation Administration certification on 9 July 1986. Due to its fibreglass construction, the US certification includes the restriction "All external portions of the glider exposed to sunlight must be painted white except of (sic) wing tips, nose of fuselage and rudder."

In March 1987 an improved variant was developed by Dieter Köhler and the subsequent HK36R first flew with a Limbach L2400 engine in October 1989.

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Wikipedia