What is the Super Glider (1930)?

[VinceC]

It's all to do with the cameras position and angle of the fuselage, for example on one of the images the right wing looks longer than the left wing. It's al smoke and mirrors and not an alien re-imagining. I have spent years looking at old photos for my drawings and the strangest of things crop up.

As an example, if you had a photo of a full side view of a fuselage taken by a camera looking at the middle of the fuselage, you would think that a tracing of the fuselage outline would be absolutely spot on, but from the cameras point of view, the distance from the lens to the centre fuselage is shorter than the distance from the lens to the nose and tail and so to represent the image in a flat photo the image is foreshortened towards the extremities.

Even worse, if the fuselage is not standing vertically and most aren't when they lean on a wing, you will get a complete distortion of the side view

Never believe a photo, it's fake news

[BrianF]

Thanks for taking the time to research it Vince, I have a good appreciation of how hard it is to work backwards from an old low resolution image or sketch. I like modern sailplanes to look at, but find the "golden era" the most interesting to read about.

While I'm laid up, I'm looking at all the old footage I can find and online museum exhibits. The screenshot in the video that led me to re-evaluate what I thought, shows that all of vertical fin and rudder assembly are mounted wholly above the horizontal stabiliser. Also the rudder hinge line is well forward of the elevator hinge line. These layouts are pretty much opposite to every other sailplane of the era that I've looked at.

This is how I got the estimate of the span. Certainly not definitive, too many variables.

[Paul_Williams]

I had also thought this might be a Dart Cambridge or even Cloudcraft Phantom.

The fin/rudder of the mystery glider seem to be twice as tall as these candidates. Of course this is a future easily changed on wooden sailplane.
However, look at the fuselage underside, which from the wing aft definitely curves upwards towards the tailplane in a way the Cambridge doesn't.
The fuselage at the tailplane is also much shallower.

Ellison doesn't provide much information about the second Dart Cambridge, other than to say it was slightly lighter with larger ailerons. This suggests it was very similar to the first one built and so I think we can (probably) rule that out as a candidate.

What did catch my eye, is the unusual wing structure and I have seen something like that before but memory fails me. I have a feeling it might have related to either the Hunt sailplane (not in Ellison) or the Steadman 2 seater. I'm still looking though my files.

Paul

[BrianF]

I think I have it.
I started going through online copies of old "The Sailplane and Glider" magazines.
What was obvious was a very close connection between what happened in Germany with gliding and reports in the magazine.

Quite a large span

It flew at the 11th Rhoen competition and crashed. May not have flown again.

MEININGEN-1930-WEIHE-Segelflugzeug-Meiningen.jpg (39.03 KiB) Viewed 1235 times

That unusual tail arrangement.

An article in Popular Science Sep 1930, showing that distinctive wing construction.

So does anyone have more information on the Benz Meinigen/Meiningen?

[BrianF]

Ok, this invalid internet sleuth has found more.
From the 1937 US Aviation Works bibliography, I found a reference to 1930 Flugsport mentioning the Meiningen.
A German company has digitised it and it can be viewed on line.
There is a technical article about the sailplane with images in it. I have extracted that section, made a pdf from it and have a translation. If anyone is interested.

Here is a 3-view, put so many hours into finding it, might need to build a model now, ....... Jilles?!!!!

[VinceC]

Well done Brian, how about putting a piece together for Cliff to include on the Documents pages

[Paul_Williams]

Well done Brian - a new one on me and definitely not the glider I was trying to remember.
Yes I would interested in a copy of the translated article please - how nice to see something new. Great bit of research.
Paul

[BrianF]

Well done Brian, how about putting a piece together for Cliff to include on the Documents pages

I will Vince.
Regards
Brian

[Max Wright]

Great work, Brian.

AA Elephant.PNG (13.81 KiB) Viewed 1210 times

Even at ¼ scale, it will be a cracker!

[Cliff Evans]

Detective work here is first class. Well done to all involved.