First appearing at the 1972 Worls Championships at Vrsac, Yugoslavia, the T-tailed 19 m. Jantar 1 (SZD 38A) was followed by the 20.5 m. Jantar 2 and 2B versions (SZD 42A), which reverted to a conventional tail, raised the wing to the shoulder position and had provision for increased water ballast. All models have airbrakes…
The Cobra 15 is a Standard Class design, which first flew in 1969. Franciszek Kepka flew one to second place at the 1970 World Championships at Marfa Texas. It incorporates the handling characteristics of the Foka 4 with a Wortmann profile and higher aspect ratio wing; 45 degree to 45 degree roll rate is less…
The prototype Pirat first flew in 1966, a multi- purpose design intended to cover the spectrum from a basic single-place ship to a cloud flying and aerobatic sailplane. It has a three piece wing with upper and lower Schemp-Hirth type airbrakes and fixed main wheel.
The SZD 50-1 first flew in 1976. The improved 50- 3 is the major production model with larger horizontal tailplane situated part of the way up the fin and enlarged rudder. It has a fixed main wheel, top and bottom surface Schempp-Hirth type airbrakes, and is stressed for erect and inverted aerobatic maneuvers. It has…
There are many primary gliders in the U.S. some in museums, some in storage, some occasionally flying. The types include the Zogling, SG 38, Mead, Rhon Ranger, Schweizer SGP 1-1, Waca, Cessna, Reynolds, Dagling and Slingsby T. 38 Grasshopper and one-offs constructed right up to the 1960’s (e.g. Jongblood). The Detroit Gull primary glider was…
The two-place T. 53 represented Slingsby’s desire both to produce a modern, relatively high- performance trainer and switch from the wooden construction of the past to more modern materials (in this case, metal). The T. 53 B features two fixed tandem wheels and a swept- forward flapless wing of constant chord (the prototype –53 A…
The SZD-59 was designed both as a contest aerobatic sailplane (+7/ -5 g) and, with wingtip extensions, as a 15 m. Standard Class sailplane. It has top and bottom surface Schempp-Hirth type airbrakes, retractable main wheel and provision for water ballast. The 15 m. tip extensions come with optional winglets. Control connections are fully automatic.
This Standard Class sailplane first flew in 1988. Wing planform is of the Discus type. It has upper surface double segment Schempp-Hirth type airbrakes for approach control and a 9 kg./ 20 lb. Fin ballast tank in addition to wing tank. An SZD-55 placed second in the Standard Class at the 1991 World Championships at…