THE WELL THOUGHT CONCEPT-TAIFUN 17 E AND 17 E II
IN THE EARLY EIGHTIES

THE INNOVATION What we had in mind was to build a powered glider. Its soaring and powered flight characteristics were to be superior to the competing aircraft's. Glide angle of 1:30, cruising speed 220 km/h (136 mph). An aircraft like that needs to be built of glass-reinforced plastic. Only extremely light construction would allow reaching such a high goal. So we built the fuselage in sandwich construction. That saved us 30 kg (66 lbs) in weight. The only way to make a plastic glider light enough. The plane was to be equipped with a tricycle retractable landing gear - softsprung.

To make cross-wind landings simpler. And prevent nose-overs and shock-loadings. It should also help folks converting from regular powered aircraft. Folding wings and automatic rudder connections should be a matter of course. With no more than five minutes conversion time - and one man doing it. Shorties of 5 ft 3 should find the same comfort as guys 6 ft 2 tall. With a goodly amount of electronics across the panel. And it was to be more economic than all the others on the market. Tough. A tall order - given to ourselves. And we did it. We've built this aircraft. We call it the VALENTIN TAIFUN 17 E.

TECHNIQUE
We've done it - even though it was hard. Like to get a glide 1:30 and a cruise of better than 200 km/h (124 mph) - that gives us a comfortable lead. Because these results aren't just on paper. And we've given our ship a wing span of 17 m (55,8 ft), camber changing flaps, am 90 PS Limbach power plant, and a Mühlbauer electrical variable pitch prop. The cambered flaps make for extremely short roll distances. And other good features.
Our TAIFUN has a tricycle landing gear, electrically driven. Simple to handle on the ground and nose-overs are a thing of the past. Your insurance will like that. In all modesty - the comfortable wheel suspension system is really something. Of course, we've got a well conceived optical and acoustic landing gear indicator. And it ought to be mentioned: Retractable gear is a safety factor. In a dangerous situation put her down wheels up - "Land the plane and walk away" - a well-known saying. Because you can always buy a new plane - not health and not another life.
Folding wings the TAIFUN's got, too. In barely three minutes the plane is but 3 m (10 ft) wide. With no more than 25 kp (55 lbs) to lift. Simple to handle for any one person.
And that's not just paper talk. We think that's important. Hangar space is very expensive these days - we can pack three TAIFUN's in the space one regular plane needs. We made sure that nobody can forget something, like connecting rudders and flaps when the wings are being spread out. It's automatic. Tall people can sit in comfort as well as short ones, because seats are adjustable not only backward and forward, but also up and down at the same time.
You can put your suitcase in a luggage compartment - it's not just called that way, you can really put outsized things into it.

The canopy of the TIAFUN has a fixed front segment and a sliding back part. Because a single - piece bubble would never seal properly. And, if opened, it could easily fly away, even in a light breeze. The canopy frame is carbon fibre reinforced - to give you a veritable roll bar. A good thing to have. Doing about 180 km/h (111 mph), the TAIFUN needs 13 liters (2.9 Imp gals) - and you can get it from your local petrol station, as long as you buy super. And you'll find out that you can't drive a car for so little. A regular aircraft would cost you more than twice that amount. Radio, VOR, ADF, Transponder - it's all right there in the panel. All gyros. With ample room left for extraordinary requests, such as electrical Variometer or speed command. All the controls are within easy reach mounted on the centre console, landing gear lever, prop setting lever, flaps and trim.

On the panel you'll find throttle, mixture control, carb heat and engine cowl levers. Maintenance is reduced to nothing as far as the airframe is concerned - glass fibre reinforced construction. And if you ever had to pay for a major overhaul, you know how much in savings that can be. You can leave the TAIFUN sitting in the rain - the aircraft is made of glass fibre reinforced plastic, and all metal parts are plated or corrosion resistant. And as all steering elements are fitted with ball-bearings, you can fly this plane with two fingers. Incidentally - economy means high resale value. You see - we didn't scrimp. The only way to do it, if one wants to be better. The TAIFUN 17 E - the better concept. May we invite you for a test flight?

FLYING THE TAIFUN 17 E.  You take the wings out of their supports and slide them into the fuselage. They are secured into place by means of two locks. It will take but five minutes. When checking the plane, all parts of engine and airframe are easily accessible. You slide back the canopy - existing wind won't interfere. Adjust the seat, your suitcase is stashed away in the luggage compartment. The tank holds 90 liters (19.8 Imp gal) - enough to run the engine for almost 7 hours. Or for weeks, if you plan to use the aircraft as a self launched glider. The instrument check is done, the Limbach engine is fire up. Prop setting is on "Climb", the flaps +8 degrees. Cleared for take-off - 200 m (657 ft) down the macadam you're airborne.

Climb off is astonishing - the vario indicates more than 3 m/s (about 10 fps) ascent. 20 Seconds after reaching for the landing gear mechanism the wheels are up.
You enjoy the unobstructed view around and note that the canopy is tight. Because we built it in two parts. And it's defrosting too.
An easy pull will change the prop setting to CRUISE. Flaps down - 8 degrees, and you'll notice the acceleration. The airspeed indicator will show better than 200 km/h (124 mph) shortly. Via intercom comfortable conversation is possible. The novel soft engine suspension system won't let vibrations amount too much. The noise level is low - lower than what you experienced in previous power glider rides. But should somebody maintain that you can converse at living-room level going 200 km/h - he's lying. Planes that quiet exist in the imagination of advertisement writers only.
You notice that the rudders move extremely easily in the medium speed range? That means, our care paid off. Once you exceed 160 km/h (99 mph) the increase in rudder pressure is noticeable. If you think that the rudder tuning is magnificent - thanks, that's the way it's got to be.

The first thermals come around - the engine continues in idle for a moment, you close the cowls, and then the wonderful silence of gliding is all around us. We put her in a turn, flaps at 8 degrees an 90 km/h (56 mph) and curl us into an ascent. And then, at the base, we set the flaps at - 8 degrees. Off we go. The TAIFUN shows its high speed capabilities. At 2500 m above ground (8200 ft) our altitude is high enough to take us across a distance of more than 70 km (43 miles). This way we fly until sunset.

The engine conks in. You notice that the main switch has three settings. Correct. We've given it one for soaring, which will turn off everything but radio and vario. That way you are sure to have enough power to start up the engine after a day's soaring.
Enough time left to check the TAIFUN's stall characteristics. Around 75 km/h (47 mph) shaking becomes noticeable. A bit more pull at the stick and she'll stall. The nose will go down right away, speed with pick up. Same way in a powered stall - you can hold her in an adventurous high drag configuration while doing a fast descent. You think, that's good? Right. We think even less accomplished pilots should be able to fly her.
We're preparing for a landing. You've noticed how well the controls are grouped - flaps, prop setting, and trim - right in the centre console. Throttle mixture control, tank switch, cowl setting, and the cabin heating are controlled on the panel.
For landing hold the airspeed right around 90 km/h (60 mph).
Short-field landing? Okay, flaps 30 degrees, wheels down, and activate the Schempp-Hirth speed brakes. Nose down a bit - air speed will hardly increase. You put her down easily. Both disc brakes slow her down. After 200 m (657 ft) the aircraft comes to a stop.
Rolling back, you won't notice the bumps in the grass. The landing gear absorbs them nicely.
There's only little room in the hangar - fold the wings back, and there will be enough room for the TAIFUN.

WE HAVE SENT THE TAIFUN INTO THE DESERT. In order to prove its extraordinary quality, we had to take special steps. Long before the TAIFUN was built in series, she had to pass a test, unheard of in the history of aviation. We flew her to the hottest areas of this world, like Death Valley. With ambient temperatures of 50 ºC (123 ºF). If you can use your aircraft quite normally under conditions like that, it's certainly not normal. At pressure altitudes up to 12000 ft - around 3600 m, many planes won't get their wheels off the ground. The TAIFUN flew there - overloaded as she was - after a run of 700 m (2300 ft). And she even climbed reasonably well. Now we are darn sure - "hot and high", you won't be headed towards problems.

WE HAVE SENT THE TAIFUN ABOVE EVERLASTING ICE Greenland saw three powered gliders during the history of aviation. One of them was the TAIFUN. Minus 35 ºC (-30 ºF) is pretty cold. Colder than we usually experience it in Central Europe. But we now know that these arctic temperatures won't ever give you headaches. You've got to have a pretty reliable aircraft in order to fly from Los Angeles to Hamburg - and even further on. Across some of the most hostile areas of this world. We think, the manufacturer ought to perform these tests. Not the customer. We have passed this test with flying colours, using our prototype. Others will be hard pressed to manage that even with a plane out of their production series.

Source: Flyer "Das ueberlegene Konzept-Taifun 17E" by the manufacturer Valentin Flugzeugbau GmbH from the year 1980.
The original brochure is available as PDF-Download.