Sracth building SLingsby Eagle 4

[alibodin]

As I recently have purchased the Slingsby planes by M Simons, the model had to be Slingsby. Would like it big, but do not want too much hassle in the build so no splicing balsa or spars, no struts as these are fiddly to get right in the building and to rig on a cold slope. Oh and sab sided fuz is easy to build and do a good job. So to maximise span go for 3 piece wings. So the choice narrows down to the Skylark 1 or the Eagle series. Well as I am currently building a 1/5 scale Skylark now, the field is narrowed down to do an own design Eagle.

There are 4 Eagles numbered 1, 2, 3 and yes you guessed it 4. The first 3 are T42 and the last also known as the Regal is a T55. Well the T55 has an extended centre section to give a wingspan of 65.6 feet (20 metres in modern). So now to decide the scale. Both 1:5 and 1:4 though tempting would be too big and need splicing on the spars and sheeting. So who says scale must be whole number, not me anyway so how about 1:5.82? That will do nicely as it gives a tip length of; yes you guessed it 48” .

Thus the critical dimensions of the model will be, span 136” (3.4m), Centre panel 20” tips 48” with a fuz 58” long. The wing area of 1133 sq ins (just under 8 sq ft) and a target weight of 120oz should give a wing loading of around 15oz / sq ft.

Next stage is to draw a plan and think how to build it.

[Ian Noble]

Hello, I thought you might be interested to know that my father was a part of the syndicate that owned the T55 before it was destroyed by fire at the Doncaster gliding club in the mid 70's. If you would like any information about the glider, let me know and I'll see what I can come up with.

Regards,
Ian

[alibodin]

If you have any info that would be great. That one is mentioned in the SLingsby Gliders book I have. A colour pic would be cool as I could then model it as the original.

Thanks

Alistair

[Ian Noble]

Hi Alistair,
I'll give my father a call this weekend and get him to scan some photos of it. I'll find out what other information he's got on it too. I'll let you know as soon as I find anything out.

Regards,
Ian

[alibodin]

That would be good,

many thanks

Alistair

[David Williams]

Dear Alistair and Ian. Have just found your conversation while searching for histories of Slingsby Eagles. My syndicate partner and I own two Slingsby Eagle 3s. Am very interested in any info and pictures that you have access to concerning the ''Regal Eagle'' The T55. I have been researching the histories for some time now, pictures of this aircraft are very rare. I have pictures of other Eagles also I can direct you to our website for these aircraft. If it helps, our aircraft can be made available to study for your project.
Regards.
David.

[Raglan]

I thought you might be interested in one technique for starting your plan drawing phase. It does involve making a photograph of the existing three view, so read no further if you have any problem with this (techinical) breech of copyright ! I use Kodak 35 mm Techinical Pan B & W film and a standard 50 mm lens with camera on a tripod to make a high contrast negative of the three view. But, as all we are trying to achieve here is a slide capable of being projected onto a wall, any film should do the trick.
Once you have a nice sharp negative, that has been developed at your local photo lab, cut it to fit a plastic slide mount available at any good photo store, bung it in your uncle Harry's old slide projector and Bobs' your uncle ... or Harry as the case may be. The only problem with this is to find a room that is long enough to permit the degree of enlargement you need for 1/4 scale or larger, and drawing up your plan at night or in darkness helps you to see the projected image easily.
This method means its relatively simple to obtain the exact scale you are wanting to build at by holding up a tape measure to the projected image, and moving the slide projector accordingly. I find that a black all surface instant dry felt pen works best with my 1.2 meter aluminium straight edge for tracing the image onto a fairly heavy grade of white plan paper, usually available from plan copying shops. Once they know you will certainly be back for a couple of final copies they are usually happy to cut you a length off their roll for you for a few bucks.
You can then draw up individual views, explanation notes, etc on lunch paper and majic tape these onto the main plan. They will not snag when the completed plan is put through the copying machine later, and allow you the freedom of positioning with ease. Of course this method is really advantageous if you wish to save you plan and lend it out for others to use, once they see your wonderful creation on the slopes, ... for free of course.