The Buxton Hjordis was a single-seat sailplane built by Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd. in the UK to a design by G.M Buxton. Only one was constructed and was flown by Philip Wills at competitions in Europe between 1935-7.
| Hjordis | |
|---|---|
| Role | Competition sailplane |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Slingsby Sailplanes |
| Designer | G. M. Buxton |
| First flight | 27 May 1935 |
| Number built | 1 |
Development
editThe sole Buxton Hjordis was a high-performance sailplane designed by G.M "Mungo" Buxton and built in 1935 by Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd. It was a single-seater of all-wood construction. Its straight-tapered, cantilever wing was pedestal-mounted and was without flaps or airbrakes. The fuselage was circular in cross section with the cockpit immediately in front of the wing leading edge and a wheel-less, single-skid main undercarriage. Aft, the fuselage tapered to carry a very small triangular fin, on which was mounted a much taller, wide chord rudder of rounded triangular shape and with a vertical leading edge. The horizontal tail was small and essentially all elevator apart from a leading-edge hinge.[1]
Buxton began the design of a development, the Hjordis 2 which was completed and built by Slingsby Aviation as the King Kite.[2]
Operational history
editThe Hjordis first flew on 27 June 1935. It had been designed and built for the well-known British glider pilot, Philip Wills, and he flew it at the British National Gliding Competitions at Sutton Bank in September 1935.[3] He also flew it at the International Competition held between 14-47 July 1937 at the Wasserkuppe, Germany.[4] At that time it was registered as G-GAAA. The following year it went to South Africa as ZS-23.[1]
The name
editHjordis is a character in Norse mythology, the mother of Sigurd/Siegfried.
Specifications
editData from Ellison 1971, p. 94
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 6.58 m (21 ft 7 in)
- Wingspan: 15.54 m (51 ft 0 in)
- Wing area: 11.52 m2 (124.0 sq ft)
- Aspect ratio: 21
- Airfoil: Göttingen 652 at root, RAF 32 at tip
- Empty weight: 144 kg (317 lb)
- Gross weight: 218 kg (481 lb)
Performance
- Rate of sink: 0.61 m/s (120 ft/min) minimum
- Lift-to-drag: 24
- Wing loading: 18.9 kg/m2 (3.9 lb/sq ft)
Notes
edit- ^ a b Ellison 1971, p. 94
- ^ Ellison 1971, p. 95
- ^ Flight 12 September 1935 p.297-8
- ^ Flight 15 August 1937 p.81
References
edit- Ellison, Norman (1971). British Gliders and Sailplanes. London: A & C Black Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7136-1189-2.