Orfa-Flugmodelle was a tiny company that during its time produced some beautiful scale models. The name Orfa is a combination of Mr. Ortwein, the builder, and Mr. Fahding, the designer. I'm blessed to own one of these rare airframes.

Here we have the Orfa rendition of Schleicher's ASW22B in 4.90 meter span, SD7062 airfoil, all composite molded. The ASW designation is also a combination of names, the manufacturer of the ASW 22 is Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co. "AS" while the 'W' indicates German designer Gerhard Waibel. B (now designated BL and BLE) is the self-launching version of the 22 originally with a 49 hp Rotax 505A engine, today a single disc, liquid cooled MidWest AE50R that extends from the fuselage on a retractable pylon similar to the majority of self-launching sailplanes. See the final photo for an example of the real thing.

This model is electrified with a nose-mounted Plettenberg HP 220/20 geared motor, Shulze Future controller, Thunder Power Pro Power 30C 4S 5000 mAh LiPo all turning a RFM 14x7.5 wide folding prop.

The only other modification from stock was to delete the elevator servo inside the canopy area along with the associated pushrods and bellcrank. In its place a JR DS378 thin wing digital metal gear servo was placed directly inside the main body of the horizontal stab immediately behind the spar. Another blessing made possible by the advancement of technology. The interior surfaces of the stabilizer were reinforced...Continue Reading

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