Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-3

Nimbus-3
Role	Open-class sailplane
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Schempp-Hirth
Designer	Klaus Holighaus
First flight	21 February 1981

The Schempp-Hirth Nimbus 3 is a glider built by Schempp-Hirth.

The Nimbus-3 uses carbon-fibre extensively and has a new wing profile compared with the Nimbus-2. It has a four-piece carbon-fibre wing with a 22.9 metre span but may be increased to 24.5 or 25.5 metres with tip extensions. The outer wing panels are slightly modified Ventus wings. When rolling at large aileron deflection, small spoiler flaps deploy at the inner wingtip to compensate for lack of rudder power. It was first flown on 21 February 1981 by its designer Dipl.-Ing Klaus Holighaus. A glide ratio of 60:1 has been claimed. The Nimbus-3T version has a sustainer engine.

Nimbus-3s took the first three places in the Open Class in the 1981 World Gliding Championships, but because of the expense of Open Class gliders there were only 12 entrants. In the next World Championships, it took the top six places and it won again in the 1985 'Worlds'.

The Nimbus-3D is the two-seater version. First flight was in May 1986. There is a slight forward sweep of the wings. There are also a self-launched version (Nimbus-3DM) and a sustainer version (Nimbus-3DT).

The successor was the Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4.

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988-89

General characteristics

Performance

...
Wikipedia