Scheibe Spatz


The Scheibe Spatz is a German glider with a mixed metal and wood construction that was built in 1952 until 1962. Later versions were known as the L-Spatz, the letter L standing for Leistung, which is German for "performance".
Scheibe Flugzeugbau built the Spatz A in 1952. Two years later in 1954 the first L-Spatz 55 was airborne. Three hundred L-Spatz 55s were built in Germany, 155 in France under the name Avialsa A.60 Fauconnet, and 16 in Italy as the Meteor MS-30 L Passero; production was discontinued in 1962.
It is a single-seater cantilever shoulder-winged sailplane with a cruising speed of 45 mph. It has an empty weight of 157 kg and a maximum take-off weight of 269 kg. The single spar wing and tail were constructed using fabric-covered wood, whereas the fuselage consisted of steel tubing covered with fabric.
The L-Spatz 55 has good climbing performance due to light construction. The glide angle is 29:1. The longest known cross-country flight was more than 600 km from Burg Feuerstein, Germany to France.
Many gliding clubs operated the L-Spatz 55, well known for its easy handling, including easy recovery from a spin.

Variants

;Spatz A
;Spatz B
;Spatz 55
;L-Spatz
;L-Spatz 55
;L-Spatz III
field
;Avialsa 60 Fauconnet
;Meteor MS-30 L-Passero
;Electravia Electro Light 2

Aircraft on display