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The DG-600 is a glider

Glider (sailplane)

A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...

 manufactured by Glaser-Dirks

DG Flugzeugbau

DG Flugzeugbau GmbH is a manufacturer of sailplanes based in Bruchsal near Karlsruhe, Germany. The business was founded in 1973 by Gerhard Glaser and Wilhelm Dirks as Glaser-Dirks Flugzeugbau GmbH....

 as a successor to the DG-202 and DG-400 series of gliders where carbon fiber reinforced plastics

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer

Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer or carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic , is a very strong and light fiber-reinforced polymer which contains carbon fibers. The polymer is most often epoxy, but other polymers, such as polyester, vinyl ester or nylon, are sometimes used...

 was used.

Design and development

The DG-600 fuselage is based on the fuselage of the DG-400 but with a more slender tailboom which also incorporates a tailfin ballast tank with a capacity of 7 liters. The design of the canopy and the instrument panel is practically the same as on other DG gliders.

The control surfaces incorporate flaperon

Flaperon

A flaperon is a type of aircraft control surface that combines aspects of both flaps and ailerons. In addition to controlling the roll or bank of an aircraft as do conventional ailerons, both flaperons can be lowered together to function similarly to a dedicated set of flaps...

s. The wing has a thinner airfoil and higher aspect ratio

Aspect ratio

The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...

 than previous types of DG gliders which gives higher performance but at a cost of worse slow-speed characteristics. The negative effects of this design are most pronounced on 15-meter wingspan. These characteristics caused the relative unpopularity of this glider and only 114 aircraft were produced (partially because the moulds were later destroyed in a fire). Later versions with 17 and 18 m wingspan offer better low-speed handling.

Variants

There are three different models of DG-600:

• DG-600/15 - original version with 15 m wingspan
• DG-600/17 - version with 17 m wingspan (later changed to 18 m)
• DG-600M - with Rotax
  Rotax
  BRP-Powertrain GmbH & Co KG , commonly known simply as Rotax, is an Austrian engine manufacturer. It develops and produces four-stroke and advanced two-stroke engines for Bombardier Recreational Products products as well as for motorcycles, karts,...
  
  275 engine, capable of self launching
• DG-600/18
• DG-600M
• DG-600/18M

Specifications

NOTE: The following data represent later versions of DG-600

	DG-600/15	DG-600/18
Crew	1	1
Maiden flight	14 January 1992	14 January 1992
Competition class	FAI 15 m	FAI 18 m
Wing sections	HQ35/HQ37	HQ35/HQ37
Wing span	15 m	18 m
Length	6.83 m	6.83 m
Wing surface	10.95 m2	11.81 m2
Aspect ratio	20.55	27.42
Empty mass	257 kg	262 kg
Maximum mass	525 kg	480 kg
Water ballast	180 kg	180 kg
Wing loading (max. payload)	47,9 kg/m2	40,6 kg/m2
Stall speed	64 km/h	62 km/h
Sink rate	0.56 m/s	0.49 m/s
L/D	45	50