Exactly ten years ago, on 12 December 2006, the JS1 flew for the first time.
A small team of three engineers and three technicians combined all their knowledge to design an aircraft that wins competitions and flies beautifully. That was the beginning of a success story. Today, 16 qualified engineers and over 110 employees work at the Jonker factory, with M+D Flugzeugbau in Germany strengthening the team in the areas of development, propulsion and certification. The JS1 is an established and integral part of the scene.
Early on, the designers Atti Jonker and Johan Bosman thought about a new development with a 15 metre wingspan, but with more performance than usual for the class. The two saw the key to achieving significantly more performance primarily in the realisation of a new fuselage. The usual wind tunnel tests were replaced by highly effective CFD analysis (computational fluid dynamics). This enables fast and efficient simulation of flows in order to calculate the forces at work and thus understand the effects on the aircraft's performance. The results achieved are extremely impressive. In addition to a significantly optimised glide ratio, uncomplicated flight behaviour (independent of the load condition), a high maximum wing loading, crash safety and cockpit ergonomics were also on the agenda.
The JS3 was not only newly developed and designed by an experienced team over many thousands of hours. A new and integrated development approach also breaks new ground in production. Every aspect, every component, every function of a large or small part, the manufacturing process, the optimum material thickness and the required mould were defined and developed together. This approach is somewhat slower during the initial phase, but ultimately saves time in production and significantly increases precision. This made it possible to significantly reduce the mass of the aircraft without having to compromise on safety. Thanks to the high level of manufacturing precision, it is now possible to interchange wings, stabilisers or fuselages from different aircraft for the first time without any further adjustments. A novelty in sailplane construction.
The development goal was clearly defined: The JS3 will be an aircraft with a performance above the usual 15 metre class, combined with maximum wing loading and the proven jet system from M+D Flugzeugbau. Last but not least, a very characteristic and dynamic design was created.
Well done Atti, Uys, Johan, and Team!
Further information and pictures at www.jonkersailplanes.de
