Ka4 Rhoenlerche , version 2.0 for FS98
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This airplane requires Microsoft Flight Simulator 98
(tested with German and US version). Already converted !
Engines: none
T/O Weight: 400 kg max., 200 kg empty
Length: 7.3 m
Wing span: 13 m
Top cruise speed: 170 km/h max.practicable
Stall speed: 50 km/h
Best cruise: 85 km/h at 1.3 m/s sinkrate (my estimate)
Minimum sinkrate: 1.0 m/s at some 75 km/h
Crew: 2 , student pilot + flight instructor
Note: For gliders in Germany usually the speed and hight/sinkrates
are given in the metric system (i.e. 1 km/h = 0.6214 mph = 0.5399 kts)
and 1 m/s = 196.85 ft/min
The generic FS glider cockpit however shows mph and feet altit.
, the vario reads in ft/min. This "shortcoming" is now solved by a
panel available with metric instruments for speed and sinkrate.
For the pilots used to anglo american system see below table:
T/O Weight: 883 lb max., 441 lb empty
Length: 23.99 ft
Wing span: 42.64 ft
Top cruise speed: 106 mph (92 kts) max.practicable
Stall speed: 31 mph (27 kts)
Minimum sinkrate: 197 ft/min at 32 mph
Average sinkrate: 300 ft/min
History of original Ka4 Rhoenlerche:
First flight in the 50`s, built to replace the single seat (and risky)
beginner planes after WWII.
The Ka4 is a training glider for beginner pilots, built some 350 units.
The glider has no impressive performance, the glide ratio is only 19
(i.e. for some 400 m AGL you get max 5 min flight time), but is very
forgiving if flown close to critical values. So you get a lot of takeoff
(towing) and landing practice. Maybe therefore the
nickname was choosen "Rhoenstein" or "Rhoenstone" whereas the original
name is linked to a well performing bird the "Lerche". Rhoen or in German
Rhön is a beautiful mountaineer landscape about in the center of Germany.
It is also the cradle of glider flying, that started in the early 20`s on
the mountain called Wasserkuppe.
The year 1976 showed that this glider is able to go for a triangle flight
course of 300 km and 100 km if flown by skilled pilots and fine weather
conditions as reported in "der adler".
The glider has a damped main skid with a fixed wheel, and fixed tailskid.
The aircraft has no flaps, but spoilers on the inner wing top with only
moderate effect. The fuselage is a fabric covered steel tube framework,
wings and stabilizers are built up by wood and fabric covered.
The glider has no extraordinaire painting (as most gliders do),
but I have tried to copy the finnish as much as possible.
Sentimental journey:
In 1972 I have started glider pilots education on this type of glider on
another historic glider airfield the "Hornberg", near my former
home city.
Due to some unlucky events I did not complete and switched to
RC modelling and since 1993 added the flight sim virus.
I would like to express my warmest regards and my veneration to the
flight instructors of that short period, spending a lot of time and
patience on me. Thanks, Peter Lackner, Roland Jas and Mr. Graupner.
Features of Sim Model:
- A panel is now available with metric gauges
- No Flaps
- The spoiler key operates the spoiler.
- On touch down try to keep the wings level below 40 km/h,
else you will receive a crash if not disabled from the menue.
Once the glider comes to a stop it may not always lay down a wing as
usual, I did observe this work in FS98 (on my machine at least).
Operation:
Take-off with a little trick, under the menue "exact location"
type in your desired hight and speed,you will be beamed up to what
you like, but use feasible values, trim for level
and continue flight accordingly. Easier is to use the provided
situation which gives a correct speed and some hight to continue.
Installation to FS98 , NOTE ! files are already converted:
Copy the directory KA4 include the Subdirectories MODEL , PANEL , SOUND and TEXTURE
under your \FS98\AIRCRAFT directory.
Then copy the contents of the Directory GAUGES to the FS98 subfolder \GAUGES
(If you already have some of these *.gau-files, then overwrite it.)
Ka4 Chelan.stn goes to \PILOTS if you like
Source files from AF5, Lerche98.afx and .PCX files for textures
are not included, but may be made available on request (Vers.1 only).
Legal stuff:
This is FREEWARE, so honestly don't make any money with this.
No commercial distribution on any sampler CD-ROM or else
without the written expression of both authors (panel and aircraft).
I do not accept any liabilty if some misfunction happens to your system.
Comments are welcome.
You are free to upload into other services.
Data are from the magazine
"FMT - Flug-und Modelltechnik"
,issued October 1993 by Verlag für Technik und Handwerk GmbH,
Baden-Baden
Additional documentation used was an article issued
in "der adler" 1/76 and 8/76.
I would like to express many thanks to the author of the panel design,
Wolfgang Piper, he inspired me to delete some bugs and provided quite
a lot of own work with the panel and instruments to appear with his
panel for the Ka4 Rhoenlerche. Thanks for the nice idea and the good
cooperation Wolfgang.
Holm und Rippenbruch and have fun!
April 27th 1998
Wolfram Beckert, Wolfgang Piper
Immenstaad, Lake Constance ,Germany
CIS E-mail
101702,2567 (101702.2567@Compuserve.com)
WolfgangPiper@Compuserve.com
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In September 1998 the glider was fitted out with new design by Manuel Medel.
September 1998
Version 2: New Flightdynamics and a new vario with delay.
Thank you, Max Roodveldt, for your varios!
April 1999
Version 3: New Flightdynamics, new realistic panel and new design.
Max Roodveldt made the gauges again.
Visite my homepage (other gliders and newest versions) at
