eta flights this summer?

I have been anxiously awaiting news of incredible flights of the eta glider this year. Any news?

What is the latest?

Last I heard (third-hand) was 'handling problems'.

problems getting it in and out the hangar?

I was in Germany last week and saw the Eta in the DLR hangar at Braunschweig. It is indeed being regularly flown, by Hans-Werner Große. It is an amazing looking sailplane, beautifully designed, detailed, and finished...much more than I expected of a prototype. After it flew last summer, a new lighter fuselage was built with redesigned control linkages that were needed to increase stiffness in the control system. The original prototype control mechanism wasn't stiff enough to maintain proper flap positions under aerodynamic loads, which resulted in incorrect lift distribution as evidenced by the extreme flex in the wing in straight flight. That is reportedly fixed. I spoke with an ASH-25 pilot who has flown near the new Eta and reports 'noticeably better performance than the ASH at low speeds'. Apparently the goals of the project were realized.

I was told that the Eta is currently being redesigned to achieve a lower maximum gross weight of 850 kg, the highest currently allowed by the IGC for competition soaring. A second prototype at the lower empty weight is reportedly under construction. In the meantime, Hans-Werner Große is enjoying exclusive use of the highest performance sailplane in the world, and is reportedly looking for world record opportunities.

Dave Cole

Hi Jeremy,

The only handling problem is to move it on the ground by hand. With 3 person it's hard to push it by hand, you better need 5.

It's flying smooth and the manouverability is very good.Time of bank change 45 to 45 degrees is 5-5.3 seconds. The design goals of manouverability are met at all.

But there will be 'third hand information' about problems all the time, just normal, I bet.

Bye, Steffen