Bergfalke\u00a0(Mountain Falcon) is a beautiful name for an\u00a0aircraft, especially when it is meant to glide silently among\u00a0the birds. This is a classic sailplane design, constructed\u00a0with steel tubing, plywood, fabric, and a tandem cockpit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The German aircraft designer Egon Scheibe had a\u00a0background in the German armed forces before he began\u00a0designing sailplanes in the post-war years. He founded\u00a0the company Scheibe\u00a0Flugzeugbau\u00a0in 1951.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The aircraft was produced in a number of different versions up until the early 1980s. By the mid-1980s, the company had produced over 2000 planes, mostly sailplanes, 300 of which were Bergfalke models. Egon Scheibe designed aircraft until his death in 1997. His son took over, and later the company has had new owners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Scheibe Bergfalke II\/55 was developed in the mid-1950s. The Swedish sailplane pilot Lennart St\u00e5hlfors requested an aircraft specifically adapted to Swedish conditions. The aircraft became a major sales success in Sweden, Austria, and southern Germany. It was relatively inexpensive to buy and maintain, and it was well suited as a training aircraft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The aero club Stavanger Aero Klubb used the Bergfalke during the 1950s and 1960s. The club operated from the old airfield at Forus. They often used a winch on the ground to launch the aircraft, giving just enough altitude to complete a landing circuit. For longer flights, the aircraft was usually aero-towed by a small airplane. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The museum\u2019s aircraft was purchased by\u00a0the aero club Sandefjord\u00a0Flyklubb\u00a0in 1966\u00a0and received the registration LN-GBH. In\u00a01974, it was heavily damaged at Jarlsberg\u00a0and was removed from the aircraft registry.\u00a0The aircraft arrived at Flyhistorisk Museum\u00a0Sola in July 1990. It had\u00a0some damage that\u00a0was provisionally repaired before being put\u00a0on display later that same year.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bergfalke\u00a0(Mountain Falcon) is a beautiful name for an\u00a0aircraft, especially when…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[82,76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-civil-aircraft","category-exhibitions","featured-image-size-large"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nType<\/strong><\/td> Two-seat\u00a0sailplane<\/td><\/tr> First flight<\/strong><\/td> 1951<\/td><\/tr> Length<\/strong><\/td> 8 m<\/td><\/tr> Wingspan<\/strong><\/td> 16,6 m<\/td><\/tr> Height<\/strong><\/td> 1,7 m<\/td><\/tr> Weight, empty and maximum<\/strong><\/td> 245 \/ 440 kg<\/td><\/tr> Maximum speed<\/strong><\/td> 160 km\/h<\/td><\/tr> Country of origin<\/strong><\/td> Germany<\/td><\/tr> Museum number<\/strong><\/td> FMSG2011.24.01<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n