Photos by the author
About the Original
This school glider was designed in 1949 by Ing. Leopold Harbich. Good flying quality should accomplish secure training. To achieve this aim the airplane received slanted wings and fixed slats on the outer wing. The school glider Harbich Ha 12/49 was build in Vorarlberg/Austria by the glider group of Feldkirch, Montafon-Parthennen and Frastanz in winter 1950/51. The glider group Montafon (kaltenbrunnen-Schruns) realized the construction. The maiden flight was performed on 21st of March 1953 on the flight site Rungelin.
Technical data:
| Wingspan: | 10.00 m |
| Length: | 5.65 m |
| Height: | 2.28 m |
| Wing area: | 13.50 m� | Weight empty: | 130 kg |
| Max payload | 80 kg |
| Flight weight | 210 kg |
| Area loading | 16 kg/m� |
| Max speed: | 130 km/h | Landing speed: | 40 km/h |
| Sink rate: | 1.20 m/s |
| Angle of glide: | ~1:9 |
About the Model
The model is published by the Technical Museum Vienna with scale 1:33. The kit contains a cover sheet with the technical description, a colored sheet with the wing and the control surfaces and a sheet thick gray cardboard with the rest of the parts.
Building the Model
Since the most parts are from the gray cardboard you must be very carefully when cutting the parts. Nearly every cutting edge will be seen as cut.
The parts are numbered as they are used. The overall fit of the parts is good.
I added one modification. On the spar (part 13) I inserted supporting edges on both sides of the main body (part 1,2a, 2b). Check the fit of the wings and the wing-profile before gluing.
Let the model rest sufficiently after applying the fuselage's rear-section to the front section. This connection is the weak spot until having applied the fix strings.
The small holes for the rigging should be done before the final assembly (It
is hard to apply them on the finished model). The small rollers for the control
lines are made of small section of a wooden toothpick.
I used UHU-Hart (blue) to fix the small parts and to apply all the strings.
All other parts were glued with UHU-Alleskleber (yellow). No additional coloring
was necessary.
Final Comment
The Harbich Ha12/49 is an easy but very beautiful small model. It is a part of Austria's contribution to the dream of flying like the birds, flown half a century after the first flight of the Wright brothers.
Personal Comment
Because Feldkirch is the hometown of my parents, because I spent my first 18 years in Feldkirch, this model is a friendly reminder to my parents and to my hometown.
Summary:
| Model: | Harbich Ha 12/49 |
| Kit: | Technical Museum Vienna | availability : | I sent an availability request to the Museum, but they have not answered my request. |
Scale: | 1/33 |
| Number of Pages: | 2 |
