The Siegel MS 1 was a very light, simple, foot-launched glider designed, financed, built and flown by a Polish schoolteacher in the 1923 summer holidays. It made some short hops but was easily damaged.
| Siegel MS 1 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Foot-launched glider |
| National origin | Poland |
| Designer | Mieczysław Siegel |
| First flight | 1923 |
| Number built | 1 |
Design and development
editMieczysław Siegel, a schoolteacher from Skrynice near Lublin, designed and built his first aircraft in 1923. It was a simple, small and very light foot-launched glider. He made several brief lights, though contemporary reports do not make it clear if these were foot-launched or if the MS 1 was tethered like a kite. During these tests the fragile glider was often damaged and repaired but, late in 1923, Siegel's attention turned to its successor, the MS 2.[1][2]
The MS 1 was a wooden framed aircraft, unusually covered with a mixture of cardboard and wrapping paper. Its one piece, twin spar wing, mounted on top of the fuselage, was rectangular in plan out to a little over half span then became trapezoidal. Covered with paper stiffened with gelatin, it was wire-braced from the lower fuselage and from an inverted-V cabane strut over the fuselage. Wing warping rather than ailerons provided lateral control.[1][2]
The rectangular section fuselage tapered to the rear. Between the wings the upper and lower surface coverings were absent, opening a space which the pilot could sit, strapped to the glider on a bicycle seat, with his feet on the ground. He launched the MS 1 by running, taking the glider forward.[1][2]
The MS 1's broad chord, triangular tailplane was mounted on top of the fuselage and began not far aft of the wing trailing edge. It carried a single-piece elevator. Unusually, its long, rounded fin was under the fuselage and the trapezoidal rudder ran up to the fuselage top, just below the elevator.[1][2]
A pair of short skids, cross-braced and each mounted under the nose on a V-strut, together with the pilot's legs provided the MS 1's landing gear, assisted by the lower edge of the fin which doubled as a tailskid.[1][2]
Specifications
editData from Samolotypolskie.pl[2]
General characteristics
- Crew: One
- Length: 4 m (13 ft 1 in)
- Wingspan: 6.6 m (21 ft 8 in)
- Height: 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
- Wing area: 8 m2 (86 sq ft)
- Aspect ratio: 5.4
- Empty weight: 25 kg (55 lb)
- Gross weight: 95 kg (209 lb)