Slingsby Aviation
Encyclopedia
Slingsby Aviation is a British aircraft company based in Kirkbymoorside
, North Yorkshire, England. The Slingsby business was founded on the building and design of gliders
and sailplanes. From the early 1930s to about 1970 it built over 50% of all British club gliders and had success at national and international level competitions. It then produced some powered aircraft, notably the composite built Firefly trainer
, before becoming a producer of specialised composite materials and components.
, an RAF
pilot in World War I. In 1920 he bought a partnership in a woodworking and furniture factory in Queen Street, Scarborough. In 1930 Slingsby was one of the founders of the Scarborough Gliding Club. After repairing some of the club's gliders, Slingsby's business built its first aircraft, a German designed RRG Falke which flew in 1931. By late 1933 Slingsby was advertising training gliders for sale. In 1934, encouraged by a local landowner, the business moved to Kirkbymoorside, some 30 miles from Scarborough, operating as Slingsby, Russell & Brown Ltd. As demand for gliders built up, a new factory was needed and built in Welburn, just outside Kirkbymoorside. This opened in July 1939, when Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd was founded. The best selling Slingsby glider in the pre-World War II period was the Primary
.
During the war Slingsby built parts for other company's aircraft as well as their own military glider
, the Slingsby Hengist
, though the latter did not see action. Towards the end of the war and afterwards the company produced large numbers of training gliders for the ATC
. After the war Slingsby continued to make increasingly refined gliders for civilian use in clubs and competitions. Their greatest success was with the Sky
at the 1952 World Gliding Championships
, which finished in first, third and fourth place. The later Slingsby Skylark
series was their post war best seller. Slingsby began to move toward glass reinforced plastic (GRP) and metal construction methods, but the company, trading as Slingsby Aircraft Ltd since 1967, went into liquidation in July 1969 following a disastrous fire in the previous November.
After this Slingsby became part of the Vickers Group in November 1969, initially as Vickers-Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd, then reverting to the old name of Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd, and original design declined, though they built versions of other aircraft, both powered and unpowered. Slingsby’s last glider, which was also their last original design, was the GRP Slingsby T.65
Vega. This ceased production in 1982, by which time high performance sailplane design had moved away from the UK. During the upheavals in the British aerospace and marine sector the company became Slingsby Engineering, part of the public/private holding company British Underwater Engineering (UBE). In July 1982 Slingsby Aviation was set up by, and as part, of Slingsby Engineering. Slingsby Aviation passed from UBE to ML holdings in 1993, then to Cobham plc
in December 1995. Slingsby's last aircraft was the T-67 Firefly, a two seater military training aircraft, originally a Reneé Fournier design but structurally reworked by Slingsby into a wholly composite machine. At this time Slingsby Aviation employed around 130 people on its 12,220 square metre (131,000 square feet) site. The company had its own airfield at Kirkbymoorside with a 750 metre reinforced grass runway. Slingsby Aviation’s SAH 2200 hovercraft
has operated in such varied regions as the Arctic Circle and Africa. Two are seen in the James Bond
movie, Die Another Day
.
On 10 August 2006 the name of the company was changed to Slingsby Advanced Composites. Since then the company was owned by three individuals and was no longer a part of Cobham plc. On 8 January 2010 the UK company Marshall Aerospace
bought Slingsby Advanced Composites Ltd which currently trades as Marshall Slingsby Advanced Composites.
The company now designs and manufactures composite
structures, ranging from large marine structures, such as submarine
rudder
s, to lightweight helmets for helmet mounted display systems, mainly for the aerospace and defence industries.
Kirkbymoorside
Kirkbymoorside is a small market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England which lies approximately 25 miles north of York midway between Pickering and Helmsley, and has a population of approximately 3,000.-History:...
, North Yorkshire, England. The Slingsby business was founded on the building and design of gliders
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...
and sailplanes. From the early 1930s to about 1970 it built over 50% of all British club gliders and had success at national and international level competitions. It then produced some powered aircraft, notably the composite built Firefly trainer
Slingsby T-67 Firefly
The Slingsby T67 Firefly, originally produced as the Fournier RF-6, is a two-seat aerobatic training aircraft, built by Slingsby Aviation in Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire, England...
, before becoming a producer of specialised composite materials and components.
History
The business was founded in Scarborough by Frederick Nicholas SlingsbyFred Slingsby
Frederick 'Fred' Nicholas Slingsby MM was the founder of Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd .Slingsby joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1914 as a gunner/observer. On one sortie the pilot was killed. Slingsby climbed out of his gun position and into the pilot's cockpit and regained control of the aircraft...
, an RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
pilot in World War I. In 1920 he bought a partnership in a woodworking and furniture factory in Queen Street, Scarborough. In 1930 Slingsby was one of the founders of the Scarborough Gliding Club. After repairing some of the club's gliders, Slingsby's business built its first aircraft, a German designed RRG Falke which flew in 1931. By late 1933 Slingsby was advertising training gliders for sale. In 1934, encouraged by a local landowner, the business moved to Kirkbymoorside, some 30 miles from Scarborough, operating as Slingsby, Russell & Brown Ltd. As demand for gliders built up, a new factory was needed and built in Welburn, just outside Kirkbymoorside. This opened in July 1939, when Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd was founded. The best selling Slingsby glider in the pre-World War II period was the Primary
Slingsby Primary
-See also:-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...
.
During the war Slingsby built parts for other company's aircraft as well as their own military glider
Military glider
Military gliders have been used by the military of various countries for carrying troops and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g...
, the Slingsby Hengist
Slingsby Hengist
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bishop, Chris. The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II: The Comprehensive Guide to Over 1,500 Weapons Systems, Including Tanks, Small Arms, Warplanes, Artillery, Ships and Submarines. New York: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2002. ISBN...
, though the latter did not see action. Towards the end of the war and afterwards the company produced large numbers of training gliders for the ATC
Air Training Corps
The Air Training Corps , commonly known as the Air Cadets, is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary youth group which is part of the Air Cadet Organisation and the Royal Air Force . It is supported by the Ministry of Defence, with a regular RAF Officer, currently Air...
. After the war Slingsby continued to make increasingly refined gliders for civilian use in clubs and competitions. Their greatest success was with the Sky
Slingsby Sky
The Slingsby Type 34 Sky is a high performance single seat competition sailplane built in the United Kingdom. It was successful in major events, particularly in the World Gliding Championships of 1952.-Design and development:...
at the 1952 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....
, which finished in first, third and fourth place. The later Slingsby Skylark
Slingsby Skylark
|-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* accessed 21 Nov 2008...
series was their post war best seller. Slingsby began to move toward glass reinforced plastic (GRP) and metal construction methods, but the company, trading as Slingsby Aircraft Ltd since 1967, went into liquidation in July 1969 following a disastrous fire in the previous November.
After this Slingsby became part of the Vickers Group in November 1969, initially as Vickers-Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd, then reverting to the old name of Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd, and original design declined, though they built versions of other aircraft, both powered and unpowered. Slingsby’s last glider, which was also their last original design, was the GRP Slingsby T.65
Slingsby T.65
|-References:*Andrew Coates, Janes World Sailplanes and Motorgliders, ISBN 0 354 01119 7*Michael Hardy, Gliders and Sailplanes of the World, ISBN 0 7110 1152 4*Martin Simons, Slingsby Sailplanes, ISBN 1 85310 732 8-External links:*...
Vega. This ceased production in 1982, by which time high performance sailplane design had moved away from the UK. During the upheavals in the British aerospace and marine sector the company became Slingsby Engineering, part of the public/private holding company British Underwater Engineering (UBE). In July 1982 Slingsby Aviation was set up by, and as part, of Slingsby Engineering. Slingsby Aviation passed from UBE to ML holdings in 1993, then to Cobham plc
Cobham plc
Cobham plc is a British manufacturing company based in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index...
in December 1995. Slingsby's last aircraft was the T-67 Firefly, a two seater military training aircraft, originally a Reneé Fournier design but structurally reworked by Slingsby into a wholly composite machine. At this time Slingsby Aviation employed around 130 people on its 12,220 square metre (131,000 square feet) site. The company had its own airfield at Kirkbymoorside with a 750 metre reinforced grass runway. Slingsby Aviation’s SAH 2200 hovercraft
SAH 2200 hovercraft
The Slingsby SAH 2200 hovercraft is a small military hovercraft produced by Slingsby Amphibious Hovercraft Company of Kirkbymoorside, England, and used by the Finland Frontier Guard.- Configuration :...
has operated in such varied regions as the Arctic Circle and Africa. Two are seen in the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
movie, Die Another Day
Die Another Day
Die Another Day is the 20th spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and last film to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond; it is also the last Bond film of the original timeline with the series being rebooted with Casino Royale...
.
Marshall Aerospace
The Marshall companies have been internationally associated with aerospace engineering for nearly a century. The company employs over 1,800 people and is based on an site with of covered hangar space...
bought Slingsby Advanced Composites Ltd which currently trades as Marshall Slingsby Advanced Composites.
The company now designs and manufactures composite
Composite material
Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...
structures, ranging from large marine structures, such as submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
s, to lightweight helmets for helmet mounted display systems, mainly for the aerospace and defence industries.
Aircraft
- Baynes BatBaynes Bat|-See also:-References:* *...
– experimental glider 1943 - Buxton Hjordis
- CAMCO IIA – not completed
- Slingsby T.1 Falcon 1 – single seat sport glider 1931
- Slingsby T.2 Falcon 2
- Slingsby T.3 Primary (Dagling)
- Slingsby T.4 Falcon 3
- Slingsby T.5 Grunau Baby
- Slingsby T.6 Kirby Kite
- Slingsby T.7 Kirby CadetSlingsby T.7 Kirby Cadet-External links:*...
(Cadet TX.1) - Slingsby T.8 Kirby Tutor (Cadet TX.2)
- Slingsby T.9 King Kite
- Slingsby T.12 Kirby Gull 1Slingsby T.12 Kirby Gull 1|-See also:-Bibliography:* Simons, Martin. “Slingsby Sailplanes”. Shrewsbury, Airlife. 1996. ISBN 1 85310 732 8...
- Slingsby T.13 Petrel
- Slingsby T.14 Gull 2
- Slingsby T.15 Gull 3
- Slingsby T.17 – military transport glider project to meet Air Ministry Specification 10/40, not built.
- Slingsby T.18 Hengist – military glider 1942
- Slingsby T.19 (target glider)
- Slingsby T.20Slingsby T.20-See also:-References:* Taylor, J. H. ed. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation, p. 29. London: Studio Editions, 1989. ISBN 0 7106 0017 8* Simons, Martin. Slingsby Sailplanes. Shrewsbury: Airlife, 1996. ISBN 1 85310 732 8...
- Slingsby T.21Slingsby T.21|-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...
(Sedbergh TX.1) - Slingsby T.23 Kite 1A
- Slingsby T.24 Falcon 4
- Slingsby T.25 Gull 4
- Slingsby T.26 Kite 2
- Slingsby T.29A/B Motor Tutor
- Slingsby T.30 Prefect
- Slingsby T.31 Tandem Tutor (Cadet TX.3)
- Slingsby T.34 Sky
- Slingsby T.35 Austral
- Slingsby T.37 Skylark
- Slingsby T.38 Grasshopper TX.1
- Slingsby T.41 Skylark 2Slingsby T.41 Skylark 2-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...
- Slingsby T.42 Eagle
- Slingsby T.43 Skylark 3
- Slingsby T.45 Swallow
- Slingsby T.46 (a.k.a. T.21C)
- Slingsby T.49 Capstan
- Slingsby T.50 Skylark 4
- Slingsby T.51 Dart
- Slingsby T.53Slingsby T.53-See also:...
- Slingbsy T.56 S.E.5A replica Currie WotCurrie Wot-References:* Severne, J. . Silvered Wings - The Memoirs of Air Vice-Marshall Sir John Severne. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1844155590...
based - Slingsby T.57 Sopwith Camel replica
- Slingsby T.58 Rumpler C.IV replica
- Slingsby HP-14C – redesign of Schreder HP-14
- Slingsby T.59 Kestrel
- Slingsby T.61 Falke (Venture T.1/T.2)
- Slingsby T.65 Vega
- Slingsby T.66 Nipper Mk 3
- Slingsby T.67 Firefly