Slingsby Type 42 Eagle

Slingsby Sailplanes · United Kingdom · first flew 1954 · glider

The Slingsby Type 42 Eagle was a two-seat training glider designed in England from 1952. It had a wooden structure and a wing span of nearly 18 m.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	1 × none, embedded-mounted
F — Fuselage	8.5 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Large two-seat glider with two separate canopies, the rear one hinged at its rear and forming part of the wing leading edge
Wing of nearly 18 m span with a rectangular centre section and tapering outer panels
Single mainwheel with a nose skid and a low-set tailplane

The Eagle is a large two-seat glider with a wing sitting atop the fuselage and two canopies in tandem. It has a single mainwheel with a nose skid and a low-set tailplane.

Specifications

The Slingsby Type 42 Eagle has a length of 8.5 m (28 ft).
It has a wingspan of 17.8 m (58 ft).
Its maximum speed is 237 km/h (147 mph).
Typical crew: 2.

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

History

After the British Gliding Association launched a competition for a two-seat trainer, Slingsby looked at a two-seat version of its Type 34 Sky, then started from scratch with the new NACA laminar flow sections.

Variants

The Eagle 1 prototype had a forward-swept wing with root cut-outs and performed poorly. The Eagle 2 had a simplified wing, and the Eagle 3 production version had a 17.7 m wing with the cockpits moved forward, fifteen being built. The Regal Eagle was an Eagle 3 fitted with a 20 m wing.

Where you'll see it

The Eagle 2 won the two-seater class at the 1956 World Gliding Championships at Saint-Yan, coming second overall. In total 17 were built.

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