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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1160.PDF
BRITISH AIRCRAFT 1953 Sailplanes and Gliders Olympia Eon THE Olympia was of German origin, but after the war Elliotts of Newbury, Ltd., transposed the whole design into English dimensions and standards—a major undertaking. The type has since seen consider able service in gliding clubs and is still one of the most widely used and successful high-performance sailplanes. Of wood and fabric construction, the wing is fully cantilever, and the fuselage is of plywood-covered semi- monocoque construction. The undercarriage is of wheel-and-skid type, fitted for both aero-tow and winch launching. Many a graceful .and silent aerobatic display has been given in the Olympia and several gliding records have been made in it. Its span is 49ft 2|in and length 23ft lOin. Slinattby Skylark THE new Slingsby Type 37 Skylark is a small brother to the already famous Sky, and shows great promise as a high-performance sail plane. It has a relatively small wing span which gives it a very high rate of roll, and the scissor-type airbrakes are highly effective. The angular fuselage of the first prototype is replaced on production models by an oval-section plywood-covered structure, the nose cap of which will be made of moulded Fibreglass and Marco resin. This material combines lightness with ample strength. The tailplane and fin are plywood- covered, as is almost the whole of the wing surface; laminar flow is thus maintained as far as possible over the chord of the wing. This structure itself is, unusually, made up of a detachable centre and two outer panels, all nevertheless easy to assemble. To save weight and cost no landing wheel is fitted; A.S.I., altimeter, electric turn-and-slip indicator and variometer are standard as well as provision for a barograph behind the cockpit. Span is 44ft lO^in, a.u.w. 620 lb; best gliding angle is 1 in 27.3. Slinasby Sky THE Slingsby Type 34 Sky first appeared in public at the National Gliding Championships at Camphill (Derbyshire) in July 1951, and since then has gained for itself a fine reputation. In 1952, in Spain, Mr. Philip Wills won the World Gliding Championships in a Sky. With a wing span of 18 metres (60ft) its best gliding angle is 1 in 30 and its minimum rate of sink 2 ft/sec at 42 m.p.h. At 65 m.p.h. the gliding angle is 1 in 22, which makes it particularly suitable for cross-country soaring. A skid and single wheel undercarriage with a tail skid are fitted. In each dive-brake assembly the movement of the bottom brake, which opens with the flow, assists that of the top brake, which acts in the opposite sense. The final decision as to instruments and equipment is left to the customer, the weight allowance being sufficient to cater for the most luxurious taste. Span is 59ft, length 25ft 4 in, tare weight 550 lb, and max. all-up weight 800 lb.
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