The Scheibe SF-25 Falke (English: Falcon) is a German touring motor glider developed from the earlier Bergfalke glider by Scheibe Flugzeugbau. Since May 2006 the business has been run by Scheibe Aircraft GmbH.
SF-25 Falke | |
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Scheibe SF 25 B at Schmallenberg-Rennefeld | |
Role | Motor Glider |
National origin | West Germany |
Manufacturer | Scheibe Aircraft GmbH |
First flight | 1963 |
Number built | 1,200+ by October 1998 |
Developed from | Scheibe Bergfalke |
The company had produced the Motor Spatz but decided to produce a better light aircraft based on the Bergfalke glider. It had a new forward fuselage with an enclosed cockpit with two side-by-side seats and originally a Hirth F10A2a engine in the nose. It first flew in May 1963 as the SF-25A Motor Falke. After an initial batch of aircraft the wing was lowered and it was renamed as just the SF-25B Falke. A number of variants were built with various engines and the type was licence built by Sportavia-Putzer, Aeronautica Umbra (Italy), Loravia (France) and Slingsby (United Kingdom). The current model is the SF 25C. It is currently available with a choice of three engines: the Rotax 912 80 hp, the Rotax 912S (100 hp) and the Rotax 914F3 (115 hp).
General characteristics
Performance
Byron Bay gliding club (Australia) have re-engined using a Jabiru 2200. "We get a sound 500 ft/min climb rate measured with a logger and this aircraft will take an honest 190kg pay load with 1 hour of fuel"[3]