|
The FK-Lightplanes FK14B Polaris is a product of B&F Technik Vertriebs GmbH. By origin, production of the airframes took place in Krosno,
Poland; assembly of the airframes and the final production of the aircraft in the factory in Speyer in Germany. In 2010, the structure of
the company was changed and the tradingname was changed into FK-Lightplanes. FK-Lightplanes is a compound of two companies namely FK-Lightplanes
Poland & FK-Lightplanes Germany (B&F Technik Vertriebs GmbH). FK-Lightplanes Poland is the head office and is responsible for the sales,
marketing & production of the B&F designed FK aircraft range. FK-Lightplanes Germany (B&F Technik Vertriebs GmbH) handles product
development, main engineering and certification of the aircraft, as well as after sales and customer service. The base of the company was laid
by Otto Funk (=FK) who in 1959 designed on behalf of Heinkel in Speyer the complete metal glider Greif 1a (FK1). Otto Funk started in 1984 with
the development of the 1-seat ultralight fibreglass FK6. The break-through on this market was the introduction of the 2-seat FK9 in 1989, a
combined design of Otto and his son Peter. With this design the UL-market was entered. To build the FK9 Peter Funk and Dirk Breitkreuz founded
the company B&F Technik in 1990. The FK14 Polaris is a combined design of Otto and his son Peter. Development of this high-performance cruiser
started in 1997. Otto Funk developed the main wing structure with its special Fowler flap system in co-operation with the University of Stuttgart
using its laminar wind tunnel. The rest of the air frame was designed by Peter Funk, whereby standard parts of the FK9 Mk3 were used as far as possible.
The construction of the Polaris began in 1998 and the prototype of the FK14 was flown first in May 1999. The FK14 is constructed in a mix of aluminium and
fibreglass composite materials. The cockpit area is built of a crash-resilient tubular steel frame. At the EAA AirVenture 2007, Cirrus Design Corporation,
Duluth, Minnesota, US, launched the Cirrus SRS (or SR Sport) light sport aircraft (LSA). The SRS is based on the FK-Lightplanes FK14 Polaris. The FK14 B2
Polaris is the high-end comfort cruiser from FK-Lightplanes, and a new complete design from Peter Funk. The intension of the FK14 B2 Polaris design
was to combine short-field take-off and landing with 250km/h cruise speed. A development of the composite construction FK14 Polaris, it now has a
new wing with slotted flaps to improve low-speed performance. The finish is remarkable and the ailerons incorporate small spoilers to minimize
adverse yaw. Nosewheel and taildrager versions and a 580kg LSA version are offered with 80 or 100hp engines. |
Luchtvaart déjà vu
