Powered Replica Me 163 Komet to Fly in Germany

[southwestforests]

Hey Y'all; Just came across this while surfing the web before sunrise after being awakened by a big crash of thunder,

After several years of work a flying, powered replica of the iconic Luftwaffe last-ditch interceptor is set to be unveiled in Germany​

March 12, 2024

Powered Replica Me 163 Komet to Fly in Germany

An ambitious project has been conducted in Germany by Heinz-Dieter Sippel, who has been working on building a flying, powered replica of the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet for the last few years.

vintageaviationnews.com

The new 1:1 scale replica is the work of Heinz-Dieter Sippel. After years of work, he built his Me 163B entirely from composite materials in a lightweight sandwich construction. Sippel received support from the German Society for the Preservation of Historic Aircraft and the company Silence Aircraft.

Like the original, the replica measures 5.99 meters from nose to tail and the wingspan is 9.3 meters. However, the weight of the real Komet, which was 4.3 tons, was far more than Sippel’s Me 163B. The replica should weigh only 240 kilograms. The speed also seems quite comfortable at around 140 km/h. A JetCat turbine type P1000-Pro with a kilonewton of thrust provides propulsion. It is powered by kerosene (Jet A-1), diesel, or petroleum. The start is either in F-tow or self-start.

 

[Archibald]

Wow. Even without the very dangerous rocket however I'm a bit unsure about the Me-163 basic flight characteristics... swept wing without tail ain't very stable. And then how about the undercarriage ? and since the turbine ain't a rocket, where is the air intake ?

 

[southwestforests]

I'm a bit unsure about the Me-163 basic flight characteristics.

All I'm able to offer about that is this from the article,

An unpowered replica (registered D-1636) was built in the 1990s by former Luftwaffe pilot Joseph Kurtz and flown for several years, but it has been a museum piece at the Flugmuseum Messerschmitt for some time.

 

[HoHun]

Hi Archibald,

Wow. Even without the very dangerous rocket however I'm a bit unsure about the Me-163 basic flight characteristics... swept wing without tail ain't very stable.

You have to consider that Lippisch had perfected the design of tailless aircraft over quite a few iterations of gliders in peace time.

If you check for example Eric Brown's opinion, who evaluated the Me 163 for the British, he considered it a perfectly well-behaved aircraft, and used it as a benchmark when commenting on other tailless designs of the post-war era, many of which did in fact have the kind of problems you're describing.

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

 

[fightingirish]

The replica of Me 163 was first presented to the public at the German aviation exhibition AERO 2024 in Friedrichshafen, near the Lake Constance (the Bodensee) in Southern Germany.
Source with picture (German):

Eigenbau mit Strahltriebwerk: Die Me 163 Komet ist der heimliche Star auf der AERO 2024

Die Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet war eine Legende, jetzt soll sie als UL-Replikat wiederauferstehen: Heinz-Dieter Sippels "Kraftei"-Nachbau ist einer der Stars auf der AERO 2024. Es bleibt nur ein kleiner Wermutstropfen. Aber der hat nichts mit dem Flugzeug selbst zu tun.

www.flugrevue.de

 

[southwestforests]

The replica of Me 163 was first presented to the public at the German aviation exhibition AERO 2024 in Friedrichshafen, near the Lake Constance (the Bodensee) in Southern Germany.
Source with picture (German):

Translation technology is a wonderful thing.
Update is appreciated, thanks!
Ahh yes, insurance and proper documentation with the aviation authorities ...
no barnstorming here,

When does the new Me 163 fly?
Sippel does not have a specific first flight date yet. Initially, various soil and load tests are scheduled for the coming weeks. As a next step, the replica comet is to be flown in two to three metres above the ground as a sailor. In addition, there is still a lot of paperwork to be done – everything has to be fully done for insurance and admission.