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Schleicher Ka 7

K7 Rhönadler
Schleicher K 7 D-5844 vl.jpg
Role Glider
National origin West Germany
Manufacturer Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co
Designer Rudolf Kaiser
Introduction 1960
Status Production completed
Number built 550
Developed from Schleicher Ka-2
Variants Schleicher ASK 13

The Schleicher K7 Rhönadler, aka Ka-7 or K-7, is a West German high-wing, two-seat, glider that was designed by Rudolf Kaiser and produced by Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co.

Often referred to as the Ka-7 or K-7, the US Federal Aviation Administration type certificate officially designates it as the K7.

The K7 was intended as a two-place trainer with good performance, a rare combination in trainers of its time.

The K7 is constructed with a welded steel tube fuselage, covered in doped aircraft fabric covering. The wing is a wooden structure with a doped fabric covering and employs a Goettingen 533 (16%) airfoil at the wing root, transitioning to a Goettingen 533 (14%) section at the wing tip. The wing features powerful dive brakes. The landing gear is a fixed monowheel. The earlier Ka-2 variant has a plywood monocoque fuselage.

After 550 had been built, the K7 was superseded in production by the Schleicher ASK 13.

The K7 can be converted into a K7/13 with a conversion kit to lower the wing to the mid-wing position and installation of a one-piece canopy, rendering the aircraft similar to the ASK-13.

A K7 was flown to a new world multi-place glider speed record for flight around a 500 km (311 mi) triangle of 84 km/h (52 mph) in 1964 in South Africa.

Data from Sailplane Directory, Soaring and FAA Type Certificate 7g3, The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde


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