DFS / Olympia-Meise

Glider Reg. Number: N74ZH

1947

Design & Development

The DFS Olympia Meise is an historic German single-seat sailplane designed by Hans Jacobs in 1938. It was selected as the standard competition glider for the 1940 Olympic Games. Though the Olympics were canceled due to WWII, it became a highly successful, mass-produced aircraft, with over 1,600 built. 
Developed by the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS), it features classic wood-and-fabric construction. Its handling was famously described by legendary British pilot Philip Wills as "a piece of poetry". 

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 7.3 m (23 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 15 m (49 ft 3 in)
• Width: 0.58 m (1 ft 11 in) maximum fuselage width
• Wing area: 15 m² (160 sq ft)
• Aspect ratio: 1.5
• Empty weight: 165 kg (364 lb) equipped
• Max takeoff weight: 290 kg (639 lb)

Performance

• Never exceed speed: 220 km/h (137 mph; 119 kn)
• Aerotow speed: 100 km/h (62.1 mph; 54.0 kn)
• Winch launch speed: 80 km/h (49.7 mph; 43.2 kn)
• Maximum glide ratio: 25 at 70 km/h (43.5 mph; 37.8 kn)
• Rate of sink: 0.67 m/s (132 ft/min) at 60 km/h (37.3 mph; 32.4 kn)
• Wing loading: 17 kg/m² (3.5 lb/sq ft)

Variants

DFS Olympia Meise

The original design for the 1940 Olympic gliding competition; built in large numbers during and after World War II, in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria and Brazil.

Chilton Olympia 2

A single prototype built in England by Chilton Aircraft in 1946.

Elliotts of Newbury EoN Olympia

Further production in the UK after Elliotts acquired the rights to the design from Chilton.

EoN Type 5 Olympia 1: Improved Olympia-Meise. Landing skid.

EoN Type 5 Olympia 2: Fixed monowheel.

EoN Type 5 Olympia 3: Jettisonable dolly wheels and skid.

EoN Type 5 Olympia 4: New wing section, NACA 643618 at root, NACA 64₃421 at tip