Jonker Sailplanes Newsletter

Transcription

1 This is the third, intended to give a general update on progress at JS, with the latest information and ongoing developments. The newsletter supplements the more general information on the website and provides JS1 Revelation owners and enthusiasts with behind the scenes news unavailable elsewhere. If you have any feedback on this newsletter, or just wish to get some more specific information, then please do not hesitate to contact either JS or one of the authorised JS agents. This third Newsletter focuses on the upcoming 2010 World Gliding Championships The 2010 World Gliding Championships The 31 st World Gliding Championships are being held in Szeged, Hungary, hosted by the Hungarian Gliding Association and the Szeged Flying Association. The three flapped classes will compete in Szeged, the 18-Metre Class, the 15-Metre Class and the Open Class. Fifty-two pilots are entered in the 18-Metre Class with many well-known names including a few flying the JS1 Revelations. The official contest is from 25 th July to 6 th August, with the opening ceremony on 24 th July preceded by three days of official training and technical control. Szeged is located in South-Eastern Hungary, near the borders with Romania and Serbia. The terrain is classic flatland thermal soaring so there is limited advantage in local knowledge. The official contest website is For the latest JS news during the WGC, see the JS Facebook site Sailplanes/ Page 1 of 5

2 The Six JS1 Revelation Pilots in the WGC 2010 Listed in IGC ranking order: Ronald Termaat (Netherlands): Runner-up in 18-Metre Class at WGC 2008, Luesse Germany Winner in 18-Metre Class at EGC 2007, Issoudun, France Runner-up in Open Class at Dutch Nationals 2010, Twente, Netherlands Ronald is flying JS1B-011 MP, affectionately known as Mannekin Pis after the little boy statue in Brussels. Humour aside, MP is the initials of Mary Palmer, the wife of Stan Palmer who owns MP. After WGC 2010, MP will be sent to the USA. Ronald s own JS1 Revelation will be delivered later in Ronald is aiming to better his silver medal position in the last WGC and has been training intensively for the last six months. He was narrowly beaten in the 2010 Dutch Nationals by a Nimbus 4D, so a very competitive result for both Ronald and the JS1 Revelation. Russell Cheetham (UK): Russell is the one on the left Winner in 18-Metre Class at EGC 2009, Nitra, Slovakia Winner in Open Class at EGC 2004, Pociunai, Lithuania Russell is flying his JS1B-013 E1, just recently delivered into the UK. For the past few months Russell has been practicing using UJ. Russell is aiming to achieve the rare combination of simultaneously being both World and European Champion. Bill Elliott (USA): Winner in US 18-Metre Nationals 2010, Caesar Creek, Ohio Winner in US 18-Metre Nationals 2008, Mifflin, Pennsylvania Just hot from winning the US Nationals in a JS1 Revelation, Bill will be flying his own JS1 Revelation WE in Szeged. Bill has been flying the JS1 Revelation US demonstrator for several years, serial number 002. Bill is looking forward to flying a JS1 Revelation with the latest competition modifications and competing at the highest level. Bill s crew at the WGC 2010 is fellow pilot Gary Carter of Atlanta, Georgia. John Coutts (New Zealand): Winner in 15-Metre Class at WGC 2003, Leszno, Poland Runner-up in Standard Class at WGC 1999, Bayreuth, Germany John is flying JS1B-010 UJ, on loan from Barton Tate before sending it to the USA after the WGC John has been practising with his JS1B BAT the Batmobile in South Africa for the last six months. John is aiming to join the exclusive group of multiple winners of World Championships. Page 2 of 5

3 And of course, Attie Jonker and Uys Jonker representing South Africa. The Boyhood Dream The JS Support Team Attie & Uys are in the unique position at WGC 2010 of flying a sailplane that they have designed and built, truly a dream come true. The dream behind the JS1 Revelation started with two young lads helping their father build a glider. From those early days initiated the idea of developing their own glider to fly in competitions, an idea that grew into designing and building a sailplane that would be competitive at the highest level. This passion and enthusiasm created Jonker Sailplanes and the JS1 Revelation. In addition to the WGC Six, Jonker Sailplanes personnel will be at Szeged to assist the pilots (and crews) of the JS1 Revelations with technical support, a range of proprietary spares and a wealth of information. As active glider pilots, Jonker Sailplanes recognises the need for good continuing support after delivery. Ronald Taljaard has been at Jonker Sailplanes since the first mould was made and knows the JS1 Revelation inside-out. Now in charge of prototyping modifications, Ronald has the broadest range of technical skills and will be able to make repairs and any maintenance required during the WGC And he can explain the intricate details of the JS1 Revelation, from wing spar cap manufacture to centre of gravity optimisation. Johann Bosman ( Bossie ), Chief Aerodynamicist at Jonker Sailplanes, is the guru behind the state of the art aerodynamics of the JS1 Revelation. He will be presenting at and participating in the 30 th OSTIV Congress that will be held in parallel to the WGC OSTIV is the Organisation Scientifique et Technique du Vol à Voile, with the objective of furthering the technical developments of soaring. Iain Baker will be at the WGC 2010 in the role of leading JS sales & marketing. With many years of management and operational experience at Airbus, Iain is involved with all aspects of Jonker Sailplanes, including product strategy, development projects, production management, quality controls, certification and continuing support. New Australian & New Zealand Agents for Jonker Sailplanes Todd Clark and Brett Hunter are the newly appointed agents for Jonker Sailplanes in Australia and New Zealand. They will jointly manage the marketing in Australasia, while Todd will handle sales and support in Australia and Brett in New Zealand. We ll feature a little more about Todd and Brett in the next newsletter, including reporting on the first JS1 Revelation in Australia, competing in the Nationals at start of October Todd Clark Brett Hunter toddclark@hotmail.com hunter.b@ihug.co.nz Tel: Tel: Mobile: Mobile: Page 3 of 5

4 The JS1 Revelation Excellent performance: Efficient climb performance in all ballast conditions Shallow glide angles in cruise at slow and high speeds Easy of handling with balanced and responsive control Quality of ride, being able to feel the thermals but without feeling too soft or too hard Striving for the highest quality of design & manufacture Simple, innovative, robust design without unnecessary complexity or over-engineering Practical incorporation of cutting edge technology Continual development to maintain technology lead High manufacturing quality Designed and manufactured to current airworthiness standards Type certificated to CS-22 Airworthiness Certification Standards, with ICAO-compliant Certificates of Airworthiness Safety cockpit with crashworthiness features (and with full scale testing completed) EASA Type Validation process started Continuous development and design refinements Jet turbine sustainer in development o All JS1 Revelations from serial number 12 have structural provision for the sustainer o First jet turbine & systems installation starting end July o First flight planned by end September o Jet turbine certification being finalised in summer 2010 Competition modifications o JS Louvred Air Extractor (with patent application) o Recessed bug wipers with electronic control o Further improvements in development Many minor refinements, often prompted by pilot suggestions (as JS actively listens to pilot feedback) Strong support worldwide Agents in place worldwide to provide local support and advice JS Maintenance & Repair Organisation approval process started Ability to authorise annual maintenance and repairs on South African registered JS1 Revelations anywhere in the world Locally based proprietary spares distribution centres Page 4 of 5

5 JS Louvred Air Extractor Johan Bosman, Chief Aerodynamicist at Jonker Sailplanes, and his team have used Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) methods to successfully develop and optimise a significantly improved type of cockpit air extractor. The unique aspects of the JS Louvred Air Extractor are the subject of a worldwide patent application. It is known that sailplane cockpit ventilation is affected by internal flow resistance within the fuselage; with the consequence that air entering a cockpit generally cannot exit sufficiently at the rear of the tail-boom. The inherent flow restriction within the fuselage results in cockpit pressurisation, causing air to escape between the canopy frame and the cockpit edge. This air leakage trips the laminar boundary layer on the fuselage to turbulent flow, thus increasing profile drag. Various attempts have been made at efficient cockpit ventilation devices, but correctly guiding the ventilation air out of the cockpit and into the free-flow outside the fuselage requires particular attention to detail. Simply adding a collector funnel and hole in the fuselage may achieve some beneficial effect. However the opening location, size, and geometry details are crucial to successfully allowing the ventilation flow to re-enter the boundary flow over the fuselage with minimal disturbance (i.e. without increasing drag and generating noise). Unlike some air extractors, the JS Louvred Air Extractor opening is situated at the optimum fuselage location in the region of most negative pressure, on the upper fuselage approximately aligned with the negative pressure peak of the wings. As Dick Butler, recognized forerunner in extractor experimentation, successfully discovered, this means the extractor sucks air out of the cockpit, instead of requiring a slight positive pressure to blow air out of the cockpit. To minimise boundary layer disturbances downstream of the ventilation exit location, the JS Louvred Air Extractor utilises a new louvre type design with centre aerofoil. The patent-pending design effectively directs the extracted airflow tangential to the fuselage surface which is crucial for minimising drag and avoiding any separation bubbles. The size and geometry of the extractor lower the pressure level inside the cockpit to ambient levels and allow the ventilation air to seamlessly re-enter the external flow outside the fuselage. Observations during side-by-side flights between JS1 Revelation sailplanes fitted with and without the new extractor indicate a perceptible performance improvement. The JS Louvred Air Extractor properly depressurises the cockpit and prevents air from escaping from the canopy perimeter. Cockpit noise levels are also generally lower with the JS Air Extractor. And of course, the JS Louvred Air Extractor increases pilot comfort due to improved cooling airflow in the vicinity of the pilot s head. All new production JS1 Revelation sailplanes can be fitted with the JS Louvred Air Extractor as an optional extra and prior production sailplanes may be retrofitted. And of course the WGC Six are all fitted with the extractor. Page 5 of 5