Derived from the unpowered Scheibe Spatz, the Motor Spatz was described in 1983 by Soaring Magazine as "one of the more primitive of the breed of self-launching sailplanes".
Design and development
The Motorspatz was an early attempt to create a self-launching glider. Scheibe accomplished this by mounting a Hirth engine in the nose of a mostly stock Spatz glider.[1][2]
The SF-24 is constructed with a welded steel tube fuselage that mounts the monowheel landing gear, with a small tail wheel for ground maneuvering. The wings and tail surfaces are built with wooden structures and covered in doped aircraft fabric covering. The wing has a 14.0 m (46 ft) span, employs an Mu 14% airfoil and mounts spoilers for glidepath control.[1][2][3]
In July 2011 there were two Motorspatz registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration, including one SF-24 in the Experimental - Exhibition category and one SF-24B in the Experimental - Research and Development category.[4]
