Slingsby Falcon III

T.4 Falcon 3
Role	Primary Training Glider
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Slingsby Sailplanes
Designer	Fred Slingsby
First flight	1935
Number built	9
Developed from	Slingsby Falcon 2

The Slingsby T.4 Falcon 3 was a two-seat training glider produced from 1935, by Fred Slingsby in Kirbymoorside, Yorkshire.

Design and development

Espin Hardwick persuaded Fred Slingsby to build a two-seat version of the Falcon. Slingsby enlarged the fuselage to accept side by side seating for pupil and instructor, and enlarged the aircraft to cope with the increased weight. The increased span wings were attached to a rectangular centre-section which was supported by six struts. To increase the field of vision the centre section had celluloid panels and the wing root fairing strips were made from a clear plastic, both of these vision aids tended to have short lives, and were usually replaced with doped fabric or plywood as appropriate.

History

After successful flight tests with only minor modifications, the Falcon 3 was put into production. Eight more were built, but didn't see as much use as trainers as they should have, due to the short-sighted prevailing opinion that trainee pilots gained more from having to master gliders with poor flying characteristics. Production halted by 1938 and most of the Falcon 3's were impressed for use by the Air Training Corps

Operators

UK

Air Training Corps

Specifications

General characteristics

Crew: Two
Length: 22 ft 1 in (6.74 m)
Wingspan: 58 ft in (17.69 m)
Wing area: 294.8 ft² (27.4 m²)
Aspect ratio: 11.1
Wing profile: Göttingen 535
Empty weight: 500 lb (227 kg)
Gross weight: 899 lb (408 kg)

Performance

References

Ellison, N.H. British Gliders and Sailplanes 1922-1970. A & C Black, 1971
Simons, M. Slingsby Sailplanes. Airlife Publishing, 1996 - ISBN 1-85310-732-8

External links

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