Primary glider
| Primary glider | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Schulgleiter SG-38 Zögling primary glider |
Primary gliders are a category of aircraft that enjoyed worldwide popularity during the 1920s and 1930s as people strove for simple and inexpensive ways to learn to fly.[1]
Constructed of wood, metal cables and cloth, primary gliders were very light and easy to fly. They generally had no cockpit and no instruments.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Operations
Primary gliders were generally launched by bungee cord, whereby a rubber rope was arranged in a "V" with the glider at the apex. The ends of the rope were pulled by hand to launch the glider from a slope. Primaries were also launched by auto-tow and auto-bungee tow. Ramp launching from cliffs was also attempted successfully.[1]
[edit] Modern Primaries
Modern versions of primary gliders are still built, but, while they are much like the originals in appearance, they are usually constructed with composites and safety enhancements.
[edit] Types
Examples include:
- Detroit G1 Gull
- DFS SG 38 Schulgleiter
- Elliotts Primary EoN
- Jongblood Primary
- Manuel VI Primary
- Payne I.C.1
- Reynard R.4 Primary
- Sands Replica 1929 Primary Glider
- Schweizer SGP 1-1
- Slingsby Grasshopper
- Slingsby Primary[2]
- Stamer Lippisch Zögling[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Schweizer, Paul A: Wings Like Eagles, The Story of Soaring in the United States, pages 14-22. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988. ISBN 0-87474-828-3
- ^ Description of RFD/Slingsby T3 Dagling
- ^ Description of the Zögling
|
||||||||||||||
 |
This article about aviation is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
