The Slingsby Type 45 Swallow was designed as a club sailplane of reasonable performance and price. One of the most successful of Slingsby's gliders in sales terms, over 100 had been built when production was ended by a 1968 factory fire.[1][2]
Slingsby Swallow operated by the Borders Gliding Club, from above
The Slingsby Swallow was a wooden-framed aircraft, covered in a mixture of plywood and fabric. Its high mounted, cantilever, straight-tapered and square-tipped wing had 3.3o dihedral. It was Gaboon plywood-skinned and built around a single spruce spar, with a leading-edge torsion box. Its unbalanced ailerons were fabric covered; there were no flaps but dive brakes could be extended in pairs above and below the wings. The prototype had a 12 m span wing, but all production aircraft had their performance enhanced by an extension to 13.05 m.[1]
The forward fuselage was a plywood semi-monocoque, with the perspex enclosed cockpit immediately ahead of the wing.[1] The strong curvature of the single piece canopy in front of the pilot was later reduced, in Mk.2 aircraft, by extending it forwards.[3] In both versions, access was by removal of the canopy and a surrounding fuselage fairing. The whole fuselage was flat sided, but at the rear fabric covering was used. Fixed tail surfaces were plywood skinned and control surfaces fabric covered.[1] Fin and rudder were noticeably straight edged, the unbalanced rudder extending down to the keel. The slightly tapered tailplane was mounted on top of the fuselage and placed far enough forward that the rudder hinge was behind the elevator trailing edge, so that no cutout for rudder movement was needed.[3] The Swallow used a conventional glider undercarriage, a combination of a rubber sprung skid from nose to below the wing leading edge, plus a fixed, unsprung monowheel below mid wing and a small skid at the rear.[1]
Operational history
Spanish Swallow showing off underside of wing
The Swallow flew for the first time on 11 October 1957[3] and it remained in production for 11 years.[2] About 115-120 Swallows were completed,[2][4] though two were destroyed at the factory in a fire. Part of the uncertainty lies with kits issued by Slingsby for construction abroad. The short-span first prototype was later rebuilt as the Reussner Swift. The RAF used five Swallows, known as Swallow T.X. Mk.1, in its Air Training Corps. Approximately nine Swallows were used by branches of the Royal Air Force Gliding and Soaring Association at airfields across the world,[2] and the equivalent Royal Navy association had four.[4] 25 were sold in Spain, nine in Pakistan and four in Burma. Most of the rest flew with clubs in the UK, though a few went to Commonwealth countries and the USA.
Specifications
Data fromTaylor 1966, p. 401The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II,[5] The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde[6]
A balsa wood model of the Swallow was featured in James May's Toy Stories season 1 Christmas special called "Flight Club," which aired on 23 December 2012 on BBC HD.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Slingsby T.45 Swallow.
^Shenstone, B.S.; K.G. Wilkinson (1963). The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II (in English, French, and German) (1st ed.). Zurich: Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue. pp. 34–36.
^Shenstone, B.S.; K.G. Wilkinson; Peter Brooks (1958). The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs dans Le Monde (in English, French, and German) (1st ed.). Zurich: Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue. pp. 115–120.
Bibliography
Shenstone, B.S.; K.G. Wilkinson (1963). The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II (in English, French, and German) (1st ed.). Zurich: Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue. pp. 34–36.
Shenstone, B.S.; K.G. Wilkinson; Peter Brooks (1958). The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs dans Le Monde (in English, French, and German) (1st ed.). Zurich: Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue. pp. 115–120.
Ellison, Norman (1971). British Gliders and Sailplanes. London: A & C Black Ltd. ISBN978-0-7136-1189-2.
Taylor, John W R (1966). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1966-67. London: Sampson Low, Marston &Co. Ltd.
January 17, 2023
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The Slingsby Type 45 Swallow was designed as a club sailplane of reasonable performance and price One of the most successful of Slingsby s gliders in sales terms over 100 had been built when production was ended by a 1968 factory fire 1 2 T 45 SwallowRole Intermediate sailplaneNational origin United KingdomManufacturer Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd First flight 11 October 1957Number built c 117 Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 3 Specifications 4 See also 5 In popular culture 6 References 6 1 Notes 6 2 BibliographyDesign and development Edit Slingsby Swallow operated by the Borders Gliding Club from above The Slingsby Swallow was a wooden framed aircraft covered in a mixture of plywood and fabric Its high mounted cantilever straight tapered and square tipped wing had 3 3o dihedral It was Gaboon plywood skinned and built around a single spruce spar with a leading edge torsion box Its unbalanced ailerons were fabric covered there were no flaps but dive brakes could be extended in pairs above and below the wings The prototype had a 12 m span wing but all production aircraft had their performance enhanced by an extension to 13 05 m 1 The forward fuselage was a plywood semi monocoque with the perspex enclosed cockpit immediately ahead of the wing 1 The strong curvature of the single piece canopy in front of the pilot was later reduced in Mk 2 aircraft by extending it forwards 3 In both versions access was by removal of the canopy and a surrounding fuselage fairing The whole fuselage was flat sided but at the rear fabric covering was used Fixed tail surfaces were plywood skinned and control surfaces fabric covered 1 Fin and rudder were noticeably straight edged the unbalanced rudder extending down to the keel The slightly tapered tailplane was mounted on top of the fuselage and placed far enough forward that the rudder hinge was behind the elevator trailing edge so that no cutout for rudder movement was needed 3 The Swallow used a conventional glider undercarriage a combination of a rubber sprung skid from nose to below the wing leading edge plus a fixed unsprung monowheel below mid wing and a small skid at the rear 1 Operational history Edit Spanish Swallow showing off underside of wing The Swallow flew for the first time on 11 October 1957 3 and it remained in production for 11 years 2 About 115 120 Swallows were completed 2 4 though two were destroyed at the factory in a fire Part of the uncertainty lies with kits issued by Slingsby for construction abroad The short span first prototype was later rebuilt as the Reussner Swift The RAF used five Swallows known as Swallow T X Mk 1 in its Air Training Corps Approximately nine Swallows were used by branches of the Royal Air Force Gliding and Soaring Association at airfields across the world 2 and the equivalent Royal Navy association had four 4 25 were sold in Spain nine in Pakistan and four in Burma Most of the rest flew with clubs in the UK though a few went to Commonwealth countries and the USA Specifications EditData from Taylor 1966 p 401The World s Sailplanes Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II 5 The World s Sailplanes Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt Les Planeurs du Monde 6 General characteristicsCrew 1 Length 23 ft 1 in 7 04 m Wingspan 42 ft 10 in 13 05 m Height 5 ft 2 in 1 58 m Wing area 145 9 sq ft 13 55 m2 Airfoil NACA 633 618 at root NACA 4412 mod at tip 3 Empty weight 425 lb 193 kg eqipped Max takeoff weight 701 lb 318 kg Performance Stall speed 33 kn 39 mph 62 km h Never exceed speed 123 kn 141 mph 227 km h 3 Rough air speed max 75 kn 138 9 km h 86 3 mph Aerotow speed max 75 kn 138 9 km h 86 3 mph Winch launch speed max 70 kn 129 6 km h 80 6 mph Terminal velocity with full airbrakes 118 kn 219 km h 136 mph g limits 5 2 5 at 61 kn 113 0 km h 70 2 mph Maximum glide ratio 26 1 at 43 kn 79 6 km h 49 5 mph and 628 3 lb 285 kg AUW Rate of sink 140 ft min 0 7 m s minimum at 36 kn 66 7 km h 41 4 mph and 628 3 lb 285 kg AUW Wing loading 4 8 lb sq ft 23 4 kg m2 See also EditRelated lists List of glidersIn popular culture EditA balsa wood model of the Swallow was featured in James May s Toy Stories season 1 Christmas special called Flight Club which aired on 23 December 2012 on BBC HD References Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Slingsby T 45 Swallow Notes Edit a b c d e Taylor 1966 p 401 a b c d Ellison 1971 pp 265 6 a b c d e Ellison 1971 p 214 a b List of Swallows Shenstone B S K G Wilkinson 1963 The World s Sailplanes Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II in English French and German 1st ed Zurich Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile OSTIV and Schweizer Aero Revue pp 34 36 Shenstone B S K G Wilkinson Peter Brooks 1958 The World s Sailplanes Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt Les Planeurs dans Le Monde in English French and German 1st ed Zurich Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile OSTIV and Schweizer Aero Revue pp 115 120 Bibliography Edit Shenstone B S K G Wilkinson 1963 The World s Sailplanes Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II in English French and German 1st ed Zurich Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile OSTIV and Schweizer Aero Revue pp 34 36 Shenstone B S K G Wilkinson Peter Brooks 1958 The World s Sailplanes Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt Les Planeurs dans Le Monde in English French and German 1st ed Zurich Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile OSTIV and Schweizer Aero Revue pp 115 120 Ellison Norman 1971 British Gliders and Sailplanes London A amp C Black Ltd ISBN 978 0 7136 1189 2 Taylor John W R 1966 Jane s All the World s Aircraft 1966 67 London Sampson Low Marston amp Co Ltd Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Slingsby Swallow amp oldid 1056580161, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
