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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 1475.PDF
September gth, 1948 FLIGHT GLIDERS IN the years since the war the whole status of gliding has changed, and itis now generally accepted as a valuable part of flying training as wellas a highly skilled sport. Official recognition of the value of gliding has come later in this country than in some others, particularly those with moun- tainous terrain such as Germany, Switzerland and Sweden, but increasing numbers of R.A.F. pilots are now receiving gliding experience up to an advanced standard at camps, both in Germany and at home. In addition, A.T.C. gliding continues in most parts of the country. The gliding clubs, in spite of their many difficulties, exhibit activity and enthusiasm unsur- passed id any other branch of flying. It is, therefore, appropriate that several excellent elementary and advanced instructional gliders and high- performance sailplanes should now be produced in the British Industry. Elliots of Newbury Eons ELLIOTS of Newbury produce three types of glider which together cover threestages 61 experience: the Primary Eon as an initial trainer, the Baby Eonas an intermediate training sailplane, and the Olympia Eon as a high-performance competition sailplane. The Primary Eon combines great simplicity of construc-tion with simplicity of control. The weight empty is 264 lb and the span is 34ft ain. The wing area is 172.5 sq ft. The wing loading is thus 2.7 lb/sq ft,and this gives a best gliding angle of 1 in 10 at 32.5 m.p.h. Suitable for ridge and thermal soaring, the Baby Eon is particularlymanoeuvrable. Both tailplane and mainplane are strut braced. The empty weight is 340 rb, the wing area 153 sq ft, the span 34ft 5m, and the wing loading3.6 lb/sq ft. The aircraft may be dived to 125 m.p.h. and the best gliding angle of 1 in 17 is achieved at 34 m.p.h. The minimum sinking speed is 2.78 ft/sec. The Olympia high-performance sailplane design is perhaps the most widelyknown of all, and the Eon-built Olympia is used extensively. The weight » 420 lb, the span 49.2 ft and the wing area 161^ sq ft. The wing loading is 3.9Ib/sq ft. The best gliding angle is 25 to 1 at 45 m.p.h., the minimum sinking speed 2.2 ft/sec at 39 m.p.h., and the maximum diving speed is 130 m»p.h. Atits loaded weight of 630 lb 630 lb the Olympia stalls at 32 m.p.h. Short Nimbus /"YNE of the most graceful of large, two-seater sailplanes, the gull-winged NimbusVy built by Short Bros, and Harland, Ltd., may be described as lavishly equipped. It has a landing wheel with brake, full dual controls, trimmers anddive brakes. The loaded weight, two up, is 1,200 lb, and the span is 62ft. The gross wing area is 240 sq ft and the wing loading is 5 lb/sq ft. The best glidingangle is I in 25.8 at 37.6 m.p.h., and the minimum sinking speed is 2.3 ft/sec at 38 m.p.h. The speed range is from 130 to 35 m.p.h. Slingsby Cadet, Tutor, Prefect, Gall and 21B BEST known of the range of gliders made by Slingsby Sailplanes, Ltd., at Kirby -moorside, is the Kirby Cadet, many hundreds of which have been delivered, in particular to Reserve Training Command. A secondary sailplane evolved from•the Cadet, similar in many details but having a wing of 5ft greater span and less square-cut form is the Kirby Tutor 2. Both these trainers have a wing area of170 sq ft. The Tutor's span is 43ft 3^in and weight, 340 1b. The Slingsby Prefect is the latest type of intermediate sailplane. It has above-avarage performance and strength, and contains a number of standard Cadet fittings. The best gliding angle is 1 in 22, and the sinking speed is 2.75 ft/sec.The span is 45ft. Construction is similar to the type 21B two-seater, which has been designed for dual instruction at gliding clubs in a machine with mediumperformance and a low cost price. Full dual controls, harness, instruments and spoilers are fitted to the 21B, which has a span of 54ft, wing area of 260 sq ft,and a weight of.590 lb. The best gliding angle is 1 in 21 at 42 m.p.h., and the minimum sinking speed is 2.8 ft/sec at 38 m.p.h. The stalling speed is 28 m.p.h. Probably the most efficient sailplane in the fifteen-metres span class, theSlingsby Gull IV is a post-war high-performance design. Experienced pilots have assessed the Gull IV as being 10 per cent better all round than the earlierOlympia design. The span is 49ft io^in, the weight 467 lb, the gliding angle at 40 m.p.h- is 1 in 26, and the sinking speed 2.3 ft/sec at 38 m.p.h.
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