Schweizer SGU 1-2

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SGU 1-2
Manufacturer Mercury Glider Club
Type designation SGU 1-2
Competition class Utility Primary
Designer Ernest Schweizer
First flight 1931
Number built 1
Crew 1
Length ft ( m)
Height ft ( m)
Wingspan ft (m)
Wing area sq. ft. (m²)
Aspect ratio
Wing profile
Empty mass lb. (kg)
Water ballast None
Maximum mass lb. (kg)
Maximum speed MPH
Maneuver speed MPH
Stall speed MPH
Minimum sink rate ft/s at MPH
Best glide ratio at MPH

The Schweizer SGU 1-2 was a United States, amateur-built, single-seat, glider that was designed by Ernest Schweizer and constructed by the Mercury Glider Club between 1930 and 1931.[1][2]

The 1-2 was the second a line of 38 glider designs that the Schweizers created and the first of over 5700 aircraft built by them.[2][3][4]

Contents

[edit] Development

The success of the Schweizer SGP 1-1 as a club glider in the summer of 1930 convinced the Schweizers and the Mercury Glider Club to build an improved glider with better performance for the following year.[2][3]

The 1-2 was flown by the Mercury Glider Club in the summer of 1931. That club later became the Hudson Valley Soaring Club and continued to operate the glider. The HVSC used the 1-2 as a training glider while they used the prototype Schweizer SGU 1-7 for soaring[1]

The club named the 1-2 "The Brick", a reference to its low performance. The sole 1-2 built did not survive and there are no examples available today.[1]

[edit] Legacy

The success of the 1-1 and the 1-2 lead the Schweizer brothers to continue on to design and build improved gliders, including a single SGU 1-3 the following year and to form the Schweizer Metal Aircraft Company.[1][2]

[edit] See also

List of gliders

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Schweizer, Paul A: Wings Like Eagles, The Story of Soaring in the United States, page 91. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988. ISBN 0-87474-828-3
  2. ^ a b c d Schweizer Aircraft Corporation (2006). Schweizer Aircraft Corporation History. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
  3. ^ a b Martin, Thomas J. (October 2005). SGP 1-1 Primary Glider. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
  4. ^ Smithsonian Institution (2004). Directory of Airplanes. Retrieved on 2008-05-03.