Schweizer SGS 2-25
Encyclopedia
The Schweizer SGS 2-25 is a United States
two-seat, mid-wing, two-place competition glider
built by Schweizer Aircraft
of Elmira, New York
.
The 2-25 was purpose designed to compete in the 1954 World Gliding Championships
held in Great Hucklow
, United Kingdom
and was also flown in the World Championships held in 1956. There was insufficient market demand to produce the aircraft and so only one example was completed.
Schweizer Aircraft supplied all the gliders for the US team: the sole Schweizer SGS 1-23
E was purpose built for Paul MacCready
, a Schweizer SGS 1-23
D for Paul A Schweizer
and a the SGS 2-25 to be flown by Stan Smith and Bob Kidder. The small fleet of aircraft were all sent to the UK by ship from Montreal
, bound for Liverpool
.
Schweizer constructed the 2-25 over the winter of 1953-54 and had it ready to fly in the spring of 1954.
The aircraft was of all-metal construction and was the largest glider that the company had built at that time. The 2-25 has a 60 foot (18.29 m) wingspan and a gross weight of 1450 lbs (657 kg). It has triple spoilers, with two on the top and one on the bottom of each wing.
Due to the lack of orders for the design it was never certified and the sole example was flown in the "experimental" category, registered as N91892.
, United Kingdom
held between July 20-August 4, 1954 and finished third out of a field of nine two-place sailplanes.
The competition was fraught with difficulties. While the US sent a full team to compete, including a manager/meteorologist and assistant manager, fund-raising for the team was not successful and most of the team members had to pay their own way to Great Britain to compete. The contest featured the worst weather recorded in over fifty years. The contest was held over 14 days, but only four days were flyable contest days, due to the rain and low cloud. Before the contest started, the competition pilots were flown over the routes in a light aircraft to gain familiarity. The ceiling and visibility were so poor that the four pilots on board got repeatedly lost on the flight.
The contest opened with two good flying days, followed by a week of rain. By the end of the second contest day, Kidder and Smith were in second place. The third contest day saw them complete the day's best flight. Unfortunately the flight was invalid as not enough other contestants finished the task to validate it.
While landing at the end of the third day, Kidder and Smith put the 2-25 into a small English field and it was damaged. The SGS 2-25 could not be stopped within the confines of the field and it collided with a heavy wooden fence at the edge of the field. A heavy fence crossbeam ended up on top of the 2-25's canopy as the sailplane slid under the fence. The fence itself did not break the canopy, but the canopy could not be opened, leaving the crew trapped in the glider. The pilots had to enlist the aid of a farmer to remove the fence beam and extract them from the aircraft.
Although slightly damaged, the 2-25 was eventually removed from the field and loaded on its trailer. When the towing vehicle had to stop for gasoline the 2-25's fin and rudder were damaged on a low-hanging petrol-filling station canopy over the pumps. This all guaranteed that the 2-25 would not fly in the contest again and it missed the final flyable day of the competition.
and was flown in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California
.
The 2-25 proved very useful on the project and good data were gathered from many days of wave flying, including four days where flights over 40,000 feet were made. Pressure-jump waves were studied as part of the 1955 project.
, France
and saw the SGS 2-25 flown in the two-place category, by Kemp Trager and Gene Miller. The team of Miller and Trager finished fourth in that contest, without damage to the 2-25.
. The 2-25 served there for many years under the designation of TG-1A. This was a new series of USAF designations and the 2-25 should not be confused with the Frankfort TG-1 of Second World War vintage. The Frankfort TG-1 had the same designation under an earlier military designation system. While in USAF service the 2-25 was registered as N225AF.
and is now on permanent loan to the National Museum of the United States Air Force
at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio
.
Federal Aviation Administration
records show the SGS 2-25 as "destroyed" in May 2000.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
two-seat, mid-wing, two-place competition glider
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
built by Schweizer Aircraft
Schweizer Aircraft
The Schweizer Aircraft Corporation is a manufacturer of sailplanes, agricultural aircraft and helicopters located in Horseheads, New York. It was incorporated in 1939 by three Schweizer brothers , who built their first glider in 1930...
of Elmira, New York
Elmira, New York
Elmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 29,200 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chemung County.The City of Elmira is located in...
.
The 2-25 was purpose designed to compete in the 1954 World Gliding Championships
World Gliding Championships
The World Gliding Championships is a gliding competition held every two years or so by the FAI Gliding Commission. The dates are not always exactly two years apart, often because the contests are sometimes held in the summer in the Southern Hemisphere....
held in Great Hucklow
Great Hucklow
Great Hucklow is a small village in the Derbyshire Peak District which nestles under Hucklow Edge between the villages of Tideswell and Bradwell. It has a population of about 100. The area is now mainly agricultural, but the village was formerly a centre of the Derbyshire lead mining industry...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and was also flown in the World Championships held in 1956. There was insufficient market demand to produce the aircraft and so only one example was completed.
Background
In 1954, for the first time at a World Soaring Championships, there was a class for two-place gliders. Each nation was permitted to enter two single-place gliders and one two-place.Schweizer Aircraft supplied all the gliders for the US team: the sole Schweizer SGS 1-23
Schweizer SGS 1-23
The Schweizer SGS 1-23 is a United States Open and Standard Class, single-seat, mid-wing glider built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York....
E was purpose built for Paul MacCready
Paul MacCready
Paul B. MacCready, Jr. was an American aeronautical engineer. He was the founder of AeroVironment and the designer of the human-powered aircraft that won the Kremer prize...
, a Schweizer SGS 1-23
Schweizer SGS 1-23
The Schweizer SGS 1-23 is a United States Open and Standard Class, single-seat, mid-wing glider built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York....
D for Paul A Schweizer
Schweizer brothers
Paul, William , and Ernest Schweizer were three brothers who started building gliders in 1930. In 1937, they formed the Schweizer Metal Aircraft Company. Their first commercial glider sale was an SGU 1-7 glider to Harvard University's Altosaurus Glider Club. At that time, Eliot Noyes was a...
and a the SGS 2-25 to be flown by Stan Smith and Bob Kidder. The small fleet of aircraft were all sent to the UK by ship from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, bound for Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
Development
The 2-25 was a new project, a high performance two-place sailplane. Schweizer had hoped to demonstrate the glider at the world competition and then manufacture additional copies for sale.Schweizer constructed the 2-25 over the winter of 1953-54 and had it ready to fly in the spring of 1954.
The aircraft was of all-metal construction and was the largest glider that the company had built at that time. The 2-25 has a 60 foot (18.29 m) wingspan and a gross weight of 1450 lbs (657 kg). It has triple spoilers, with two on the top and one on the bottom of each wing.
Due to the lack of orders for the design it was never certified and the sole example was flown in the "experimental" category, registered as N91892.
1954 World Championships
Stan Smith and Bob Kidder flew the SGS 2-25 in the World Soaring Championships at the Derbyshire and Lancashire Gliding Club in Great HucklowGreat Hucklow
Great Hucklow is a small village in the Derbyshire Peak District which nestles under Hucklow Edge between the villages of Tideswell and Bradwell. It has a population of about 100. The area is now mainly agricultural, but the village was formerly a centre of the Derbyshire lead mining industry...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
held between July 20-August 4, 1954 and finished third out of a field of nine two-place sailplanes.
The competition was fraught with difficulties. While the US sent a full team to compete, including a manager/meteorologist and assistant manager, fund-raising for the team was not successful and most of the team members had to pay their own way to Great Britain to compete. The contest featured the worst weather recorded in over fifty years. The contest was held over 14 days, but only four days were flyable contest days, due to the rain and low cloud. Before the contest started, the competition pilots were flown over the routes in a light aircraft to gain familiarity. The ceiling and visibility were so poor that the four pilots on board got repeatedly lost on the flight.
The contest opened with two good flying days, followed by a week of rain. By the end of the second contest day, Kidder and Smith were in second place. The third contest day saw them complete the day's best flight. Unfortunately the flight was invalid as not enough other contestants finished the task to validate it.
While landing at the end of the third day, Kidder and Smith put the 2-25 into a small English field and it was damaged. The SGS 2-25 could not be stopped within the confines of the field and it collided with a heavy wooden fence at the edge of the field. A heavy fence crossbeam ended up on top of the 2-25's canopy as the sailplane slid under the fence. The fence itself did not break the canopy, but the canopy could not be opened, leaving the crew trapped in the glider. The pilots had to enlist the aid of a farmer to remove the fence beam and extract them from the aircraft.
Although slightly damaged, the 2-25 was eventually removed from the field and loaded on its trailer. When the towing vehicle had to stop for gasoline the 2-25's fin and rudder were damaged on a low-hanging petrol-filling station canopy over the pumps. This all guaranteed that the 2-25 would not fly in the contest again and it missed the final flyable day of the competition.
1955 The Jetstream Project
The SGS 2-25 was repaired at Schweizer Aircraft and put to work as part of the Jetstream Project. This was a joint USAF Cambridge Research Center and UCLA Department of Meteorology research project to gain a better understanding of Lee wavesLee waves
In meteorology, lee waves are atmospheric standing waves. The most common form is mountain waves, which are atmospheric internal gravity waves...
and was flown in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
The 2-25 proved very useful on the project and good data were gathered from many days of wave flying, including four days where flights over 40,000 feet were made. Pressure-jump waves were studied as part of the 1955 project.
1956 World Championships
The 1956 Worlds were held in Saint-YanSaint-Yan
Saint-Yan is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France.-Geography:The Arconce forms part of the commune's southern border and the Loire part of its western border.-External links:* at Quid* at MapQuest...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and saw the SGS 2-25 flown in the two-place category, by Kemp Trager and Gene Miller. The team of Miller and Trager finished fourth in that contest, without damage to the 2-25.
USAF use
The 2-25 was later sold to George Arents Jr, who, after flying it for some years, donated it to the gliding program at the United States Air Force AcademyUnited States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
. The 2-25 served there for many years under the designation of TG-1A. This was a new series of USAF designations and the 2-25 should not be confused with the Frankfort TG-1 of Second World War vintage. The Frankfort TG-1 had the same designation under an earlier military designation system. While in USAF service the 2-25 was registered as N225AF.
Museum
The 2-25 was donated to the National Soaring MuseumNational Soaring Museum
The National Soaring Museum is an aviation museum whose stated aim is to preserve the history of motorless flight. It is located on top of Harris Hill near Elmira, New York, USA.The NSM is the Soaring Society of America's official repository...
and is now on permanent loan to the National Museum of the United States Air Force
National Museum of the United States Air Force
The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...
at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
.
Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
records show the SGS 2-25 as "destroyed" in May 2000.