Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Grob Aircraft
Grob Aircraft SE, formerly Grob Aerospace, is a German aircraft manufacturer, specialising in gliders and general aviation.
Since its foundation in 1971, Grob Aircraft produced a range of aircraft. Initially focusing on gliders, it soon grew into other markets. The company has produced a range of trainer aircraft, many of which have been operated in quantity by a number of military air wings. It has also produced specialised high-altitude intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft. According to Grob Aircraft, it has delivered over 4,500 airframes which have cumulatively flown over seven million hours across hundreds of operators spread over five continents.
Since the 1970s, the copious use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer in the manufacture of its aircraft has been a hallmark of the firm's designs. Over 75% of the components of its aircraft, including composite (carbon fibre and glass fibre reinforced polymer) elements, are manufactured in-house at the firm's facility located at the Mindelheim-Mattsies Airfield in Tussenhausen-Mattsies, Bavaria.[citation needed]
The company was founded as Grob Aerospace during 1971 by Dr. Burkhart Grob (26 March 1926 - 20 May 2016). Dr. Grob had been a qualified pilot as well as a mechanical engineer who ran a business producing machine tooling prior to creating the company; he had been inspired to produce his own glider after being informed of the lengthy production time involved in glider production at the time, convinced that it could be done better. Accordingly, Grob Aerospace had been founded with the vision of producing full-composite gliders that would be highly cost-competitive while facilitating a high rate of construction.
At the onset of operations, Grob Aerospace was involved in the production of gliders, having quickly secured subcontracting work from the existing German manufacturer Schempp-Hirth to build the firm's Standard Cirrus glider under licence. In excess of 200 Standard Cirruses were produced by Grob, the initial example being constructed at its machining workshop in Mindelheim. As the firm's production capacity expanded, Grob Aerospace relocated its operational base to a larger facility at the newly established Tussenhausen-Mattsies airfield.
In 1974, Grob began to pursue independent glider production, harnessing its accumulated experience with composite construction. Instead of producing gliders that directly competed with the larger established manufacturers, the company differentiated its product by orientating itself towards the club market and adopting competitive pricing for its new product, the G-102 Astir, the first Grob-designed glider. During its long production life, over a thousand examples of the type would be produced. The G-102 was quickly followed by the larger two-seat G 103 Twin Astir line of sailplanes.[citation needed]
During the late 1970s, Grob also branched out into motorised aircraft, developing the G 109. First flown on 14 March 1980, it was the world's first production all-composite motor glider upon receiving its type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1981. In addition to widespread civilian use of the type, perhaps the most prominent operator of the G 109 was the Royal Air Force, who adopted it for their Volunteer Gliding Squadrons (VGS) to train Air Cadets through the Gliding Induction and Gliding Scholarship courses up until 5 May 2018; in RAF service, the Grob 109B was designated Vigilant T1.
The G 109 was only the start of Grob Aerospace's motorised aircraft lineup. It was followed by the larger G 115, an all-composite two-seat aerobatic monoplane, which received certification from the FAA during 1987. Not all of the firm's designs were taken forward into production; the GF 200, a relatively unorthodox business aircraft, flew during the early 1990s but never progressed beyond test flights. The G160 Ranger, another business aircraft somewhat similar to the Pilatus PC12, similarly did not enter production. During 1996, Grob Aerospace decided to end production of gliders in favour of concentrating its manufacturing base on its powered aircraft instead.[citation needed]
Hub AI
Grob Aircraft AI simulator
(@Grob Aircraft_simulator)
Grob Aircraft
Grob Aircraft SE, formerly Grob Aerospace, is a German aircraft manufacturer, specialising in gliders and general aviation.
Since its foundation in 1971, Grob Aircraft produced a range of aircraft. Initially focusing on gliders, it soon grew into other markets. The company has produced a range of trainer aircraft, many of which have been operated in quantity by a number of military air wings. It has also produced specialised high-altitude intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft. According to Grob Aircraft, it has delivered over 4,500 airframes which have cumulatively flown over seven million hours across hundreds of operators spread over five continents.
Since the 1970s, the copious use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer in the manufacture of its aircraft has been a hallmark of the firm's designs. Over 75% of the components of its aircraft, including composite (carbon fibre and glass fibre reinforced polymer) elements, are manufactured in-house at the firm's facility located at the Mindelheim-Mattsies Airfield in Tussenhausen-Mattsies, Bavaria.[citation needed]
The company was founded as Grob Aerospace during 1971 by Dr. Burkhart Grob (26 March 1926 - 20 May 2016). Dr. Grob had been a qualified pilot as well as a mechanical engineer who ran a business producing machine tooling prior to creating the company; he had been inspired to produce his own glider after being informed of the lengthy production time involved in glider production at the time, convinced that it could be done better. Accordingly, Grob Aerospace had been founded with the vision of producing full-composite gliders that would be highly cost-competitive while facilitating a high rate of construction.
At the onset of operations, Grob Aerospace was involved in the production of gliders, having quickly secured subcontracting work from the existing German manufacturer Schempp-Hirth to build the firm's Standard Cirrus glider under licence. In excess of 200 Standard Cirruses were produced by Grob, the initial example being constructed at its machining workshop in Mindelheim. As the firm's production capacity expanded, Grob Aerospace relocated its operational base to a larger facility at the newly established Tussenhausen-Mattsies airfield.
In 1974, Grob began to pursue independent glider production, harnessing its accumulated experience with composite construction. Instead of producing gliders that directly competed with the larger established manufacturers, the company differentiated its product by orientating itself towards the club market and adopting competitive pricing for its new product, the G-102 Astir, the first Grob-designed glider. During its long production life, over a thousand examples of the type would be produced. The G-102 was quickly followed by the larger two-seat G 103 Twin Astir line of sailplanes.[citation needed]
During the late 1970s, Grob also branched out into motorised aircraft, developing the G 109. First flown on 14 March 1980, it was the world's first production all-composite motor glider upon receiving its type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1981. In addition to widespread civilian use of the type, perhaps the most prominent operator of the G 109 was the Royal Air Force, who adopted it for their Volunteer Gliding Squadrons (VGS) to train Air Cadets through the Gliding Induction and Gliding Scholarship courses up until 5 May 2018; in RAF service, the Grob 109B was designated Vigilant T1.
The G 109 was only the start of Grob Aerospace's motorised aircraft lineup. It was followed by the larger G 115, an all-composite two-seat aerobatic monoplane, which received certification from the FAA during 1987. Not all of the firm's designs were taken forward into production; the GF 200, a relatively unorthodox business aircraft, flew during the early 1990s but never progressed beyond test flights. The G160 Ranger, another business aircraft somewhat similar to the Pilatus PC12, similarly did not enter production. During 1996, Grob Aerospace decided to end production of gliders in favour of concentrating its manufacturing base on its powered aircraft instead.[citation needed]