Schweizer SGS 1-36 Sprite

Schweizer Aircraft · United States · first flew 1979 · glider

The Schweizer SGS 1-36 Sprite is a single-seat, mid-wing glider built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York. It is an all-metal aircraft with a monocoque fuselage and a wing skinned in aluminium sheet.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × none, embedded-mounted
F — Fuselage	All-metal monocoque fuselage with a single main wheel
T — Tail	T-tail

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Mid-set wing of 14 m span with divebrakes top and bottom near the trailing edge
T-tail with a fixed section carrying separate horizontal stabiliser and elevator halves
All-metal monocoque fuselage with a single main wheel

Look for a slim all-metal glider with a mid-set wing and a T-tail, with fabric-covered elevator and rudder.

Specifications

The Schweizer SGS 1-36 Sprite has a length of 6.274 m (21 ft).
It has a wingspan of 14.072 m (46 ft).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Schweizer conceived it as a higher-performance replacement for the SGS 1-26 one-design glider, whose production ended in 1979. The prototype first flew in August 1979 and the type was certified on 15 October 1980.

Variants

Two versions were built, differing only in the position of the main wheel: one with a forward main wheel, sprung tailwheel and no nose skid, the other with an aft main wheel, unsprung tailwheel and aluminium nose skid.

Where you'll see it

Production totalled 43 aircraft by 1982, when it ended. It was Schweizer's last glider model and the only one given an official marketing name. Independent testing in 1982 measured a glide ratio of 31:1.

Related aircraft

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