The Stemme S10 is a self-launchingsailplane produced by Stemme AGinStrausberg (Germany) since the 1980s. The engine is mounted amidships and it features an unusual folding propeller which is stowed inside the aircraft's nose-cone when the engine is not in use.
The Stemme S10 also has several unusual features such as a tailwheel undercarriage and a side-by-side cockpit. It does not have a tow hook connection so it must self-launch. The two main wheels retract and lower electrically, though they can also be lowered manually if needed. There is an option to fold wings to reduce hangar span to 11.4 m (37 ft 5 in). The engine restart time is 5 seconds. A solar panel can provide additional electrical power during long flights. It has a steerable tailwheel, Schempp-Hirth spoilers and optional winglets. The current variant, the S10-VT, has a variable-pitch propeller which allows more power during take off, and a new turbocharged Bombardier Rotax 914F engine in place of the earlier Limbach L2400. Most parts are made in Poland, but future production will be handled by Remos Aircraft.[1]
First seen at the 1996 Berlin Air Show, the S15 variant has a span reduced to 20.0 m (65 ft 7 in) and has two underwing hardpoints for scientific or surveillance sensor pods. There is also an unpiloted version, the S-UAV, again intended for surveillance.
Atmospheric measurements were made with S10 VT during the Mountain Wave Project (MWP) Expedition Argentina'99 1,550 km (963 mi) record flight to Tierra del Fuego[2] and during Expedition Mendoza 2006, when scientific measurements of atmospheric turbulence were made up to 12,500 m (41,010 ft) around and over the highest mountain of the Americas, Aconcagua.[3]
An S10 was flown by Klaus Ohlmann as a pure glider for a record distance of 2,463 km (1,530 mi) , in a 14-hour flight.
^Jackson, Paul (2004). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2003-2004. Coulsdon, Surrey, United Kingdom: Jane's Information Group. pp. 176–177. ISBN0-7106-2537-5.