AK-X glider

Posted by OCFlier@reddit | WeirdWings | View on Reddit | 38 comments

Seen on WeChat Channels “AK-X，The coolest flying wing configuration glider in contemporary times The German University Student Flight Club is a hundred-year-old umbrella-structured community covering many German universities. The products of Germany and many leading companies around the world have an inherent connection with the German University Student Flight Club. Their motto is “Students study, build and fly”. This one has the ultimate pneumatic design and mechanical engineering details. Benbo has been paying attention to it since the launch of this project. Marvel at their bold ideas and rigorous mechanical engineering design. Although it has not yet entered the actual flight state, it does not damage the expectations for it.”

Reply to Post

38 Comments

[-]

SuDragon2k3@reddit

>The German University Student Flight Club Makes you wonder what they were doing in the 1930's.

[-]

Better_Anteater_9872@reddit

They had a big and peacefull vacation.

[-]

wildskipper@reddit

Glider clubs were a way for the Germans to circumvent the restrictions imposed on them following WW1. They had a lot of glider 'clubs' to train pilots.

[-]

psunavy03@reddit

[thats_the_joke.jpg]

[-]

Diogenes256@reddit

Lots of great glider designs come from Germany. This goes all the way back to the Treaty of Versailles. They were still allowed to pursue unpowered flight and it is still a hub of innovation today.

[-]

tudorapo@reddit

"Until 1933 three glider planes were built, named "Zögling"/"Pupil", "Hol’s der Teufel"/"Let the devil get it" and "Karlsruhe". On May 13, 1933, the Akaflieg Karlsruhe was dissolved. The entire equipment was repossessed to the Karlsruhe grouping of the German Aviation Federation. "

[-]

AnalBlaster700XL@reddit

Probably something wrong, considering how many members they lost during the following ten years.

[-]

thumplabs@reddit

MOUSTACHIO Seriously though, holy hell in a handbag, this is pure insanity someone got into this thing pre-computational CFD simulation and tried to fly around in it.

[-]

felicss1@reddit

The AK-X is in the final stages of being built. Furthermore, the members of the Akaflieg Karlsruhe flew a 1:2 scale model of the thing to test its flight characteristics. There is the SB-13 from the Akaflieg Braunschweig, which had a very similar configuration, though it had much straighter wings so less elevator authority. That flew a few times, broke its undercarriage during its maiden flight, and now resides in a museum.

[-]

getting_serious@reddit

Here's something from the real Internet https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akaflieg_Karlsruhe_AK-X

[-]

SchreiberBike@reddit

There it says (adapting the translation), that there's not a lot of room for improvement in conventional glider design, but if we try something completely off the wall, maybe we can make some new progress. I suspect physics is the reason why there's not a lot of room for improvement on conventional designs. I'm sure they're learning a lot trying though. More power to them.

[-]

getting_serious@reddit

At least that's what they argued pitching their project. Akaflieg has always been about daring designs that think outside the box. Optimizing details in existing designs is what the same people do once they get hired. :)

[-]

Rooilia@reddit

Pneumatic or aerodynamic?

[-]

BassKitty305017@reddit

Probably aero

[-]

Rooilia@reddit

Indeed.

[-]

killer_marsupial@reddit

Guaranteed to return to its launch site.

[-]

ventus1b@reddit

The kind of glider you want to take on a XC flight.

[-]

ArptAdmin@reddit

There's a joke in here somewhere about moustaches and canards but I can't come up with it. It's quite beautiful, I wonder how much it has for ballast. I think the weight/balance window would be quite small.

[-]

Grouchy_Individual68@reddit

Unlike other gliders, the pilot’s mass has minimal impact on the aircraft's CG because the seat is located very close to the center of gravity. The CG is adjusted using removable ballast to optimize performance and flight characteristics. The mass can be adjusted with water ballast tanks as in other high performance gliders.

[-]

66hans66@reddit

Yeah, I suspect one could have a big lunch and find oneself in trouble.

[-]

snappy033@reddit

Uhmm what happens if you stall?

[-]

Grouchy_Individual68@reddit

We tested the stall and spin behavior with a 1:2 scale RC model (7.5 m wingspan, \~60 kg MTOM). With forward CGs the stall is easy to control and the aircraft is reluctant to spin. With rearward CGs, the stall characteristics are more violent, the aircraft is more likely to enter a spin, and recovery is slightly more difficult. The 1:2 model was able to recover from spins at all tested CGs, which gives us hope for good stall characteristics in the manned model as well. You can see the stall behavior of the scale model in this video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEBi3doCcy0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEBi3doCcy0)

[-]

66hans66@reddit

Well that depends on rather a lot of things. What are you thinking might happen?

[-]

snappy033@reddit

Topples backward end over end.

[-]

66hans66@reddit

Why would it do that? You think they can design this and not calculate COG?

[-]

Harpies_Bro@reddit

I guess that’s one way to do a flying wing

[-]

halfmanhalfespresso@reddit

Which way does it go?

[-]

Working_Fig_4087@reddit

From the website it looks like the front is where the wing meets the fuselage. It's like flying a giant mustache. [https://akaflieg-karlsruhe.de/en/ak-x\_en/](https://akaflieg-karlsruhe.de/en/ak-x_en/)

[-]

NoDoze-@reddit

Mustache. Yes!

[-]

WolfFish2022@reddit

Looks fun to ride.

[-]

GlockAF@reddit

I’m glad you asked, I was wondering too!

[-]

Ragnarok_Stravius@reddit

It goes forward then banks back to whoever threw it.

[-]

NoDoze-@reddit

Looks pretty sweet! I want to fly it!

[-]

syzygybeaver@reddit

That looks like it would be a blast to fly!

[-]

Kappa_Bera_0000@reddit

No way I'm getting into that. If I’m going to experience an uncommanded pitch inversion due to loss of horizontal stabilizer authority. Let it be on a Delta Airlines flight; just as God intended mankind to experience a full negative-G, 180-degree attitude excursion. https://preview.redd.it/mtbhxtvfk89g1.png?width=728&format=png&auto=webp&s=8b3f06c61a27a93a87eb2bfdb3538c4dd27d5748

[-]

brockhopper@reddit

Oh hell yeah

[-]

xF4K3@reddit

The AK-X is currently being built by the Akaflieg Karlsruhe, which is the academic flying club at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The main structural components are all done and some final tests that are required by the German aviation authorities are currently being conducted. You can find some information on these on the Youtube channel, for example [https://youtu.be/QsudMyYHdTw](https://youtu.be/QsudMyYHdTw) Very cool that the project is spread on WeChat ;) All publicity is helpful. To continue with the required tests and future projects, the club is reliant on sponsors and industry partners. The next project AK-11 will be a sailplane with a laminar flow leading-edge flap, which will enable an even smaller wing (with higher wing loading) and therefore hopefully better performance at high speeds. However, it will have a "normal" tail section ;)

[-]

Creative-Ad9092@reddit

That aspect ratio is higher than Willie Nelson.