Slingsby T.25 Gull 4
Slingsby · United Kingdom · first flew 1947 · glider
The Slingsby T.25 Gull 4 is a British single-seat glider designed and built by Slingsby. It was built as a 15 m high-performance sailplane for the Olympic Games.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × none, embedded-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 7.25 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Wing mounted on a narrowed pylon faired into the cockpit canopy
- Rectangular wing centre section with tapering outer sections from about one third span
- Large DFS-style airbrakes opening from the top and bottom wing surfaces
It has a wooden semi-monocoque fuselage, a pylon-mounted cantilever wing of 15 m span and a plywood-skinned integral fin.
Specifications
- The Slingsby T.25 Gull 4 has a length of 7.25 m (24 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 15 m (49 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 193 km/h (120 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It first flew in late 1947. Because the licence for the Olympia was held by another company, Slingsby designed his own version with very similar features.
Variants
Four were built. A replacement for the Kite 2 was proposed as the T.32 Gull 4B but did not reach the hardware stage.
Where you'll see it
Two Gull 4s flown by Philip Wills and Christopher Nicholson competed at the 1948 International gliding championships at Samedan, where Nicholson was killed. Wills later set a British 100 km triangle speed record of 47 km/h in the type. A measured glide ratio of 24.2:1 compared favourably with the Olympia.
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