The two-place Baby-Albatross was created by adding approximately two feet to the pod of the BA-100 Baby Albatross and providing for a second seat beneath the wing, with porthole windows on each side. The first built had the usual Bowlus control yokes while the second had conventional sticks. Those built up from BT-100 parts were…
A development of the Bowlus Super Sailplane built by the Curtiss Wright Technical Institute in Glendale, CA in 1932, the senior Albatross had a slightly extended spar and gull wing. No two were completely alike, with flaps on at least one version. The design dominated the U.S. Nationals and held many U.S. records through the…
In the 1930’s, Mitchell assisted Hawley Bowlus on the prototype BA-100 Baby Albatross and in the 1970’s was the designer of the ultralight Mitchell Wing, U-2 and P-38. The Nimbus series represents the other end of the spectrum. The Nimbus III was developed in 1956 from the earlier I and II models. He produced nine…
The paper Wing, so called because it used paper webbed ribs, first flew in 1929. Wingspan was later increased to 14.33 m. / 47.0 ft. principally by extending the ailerons. It was first U.S. built sailplane to fly for more than 1 hour. A replica of the Paper Wing belongs to the San Diego (CA)…
The HP-11 was produced in 1962 in time for the 1962 U.S. Nationals, in which Schreder placed third and made the longest flight, 754.8 km./ 469 miles; he later placed third in the Open Class at the 1963 World Championship at Junin, Argentina. The –11A, an improved version, has a retractable wheel. Some significant modifications…
The Cumulus, which first flew in 1951, incorporated a wing very similar to that of the pre-World War II Schneider Grunau Baby with a new fuselage design reminiscent of the pod and boom Bowlus Baby Albatross. It was designed with homebuilders in mind, Early models used a skid for takeoff and landing, while later models…
The two-place Baby-Albatross was created by adding approximately two feet to the pod of the BA-100 Baby Albatross and providing for a second seat beneath the wing, with porthole windows on each side. The first built had the usual Bowlus control yokes while the second had conventional sticks. Those built up from BT-100 parts were…
The Baby Albatross, which flew in 1937, was a production design for both kits and complete sailplanes. Bowlus produced kits until the oubreak of World War II in 1942, and in 1944 Laister-Kauffmann bought the rights but produced no aircraft before going out of business. The wing is reminiscent of the German Grunau Baby design,…