Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus - Design and Development

Design and Development

The Duo Discus replaced the Janus as Schempp Hirth's high performance two seater trainer. Although it shares its name with the highly successful Standard Class Discus, any resemblance is only superficial. It first flew in 1993 and is still in production at the factory in Orlican in the Czech Republic. It has a 20 metre four piece wing that is slightly swept forward so that the rear pilot is close to the centre of gravity. Its best glide ratio was measured as 44:1. An optional 'turbo' retractable 2-stroke engine can be specified for extended gliding sessions. Over 500 Duo Discuses had been built by August 2007. Its chief rival is now the DG Flugzeugbau DG-1001. In U.S. Air Force service it is known as the TG-15A.

Read more about this topic:  Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus

Famous quotes containing the words design and/or development:

    “With wonderful art he grinds into paint for his picture all his moods and experiences, so that all his forces may be brought to the encounter. Apparently writing without a particular design or responsibility, setting down his soliloquies from time to time, taking advantage of all his humors, when at length the hour comes to declare himself, he puts down in plain English, without quotation marks, what he, Thomas Carlyle, is ready to defend in the face of the world.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    “There are two things which cannot be attacked in front: ignorance and narrow-mindedness. They can only be shaken by the simple development of the contrary qualities. They will not bear discussion.”
    —John Emerich Edward Dalberg, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902)