Background
Schweizer Aircraft had produced the SGS 2-8 and SGS 2-12 training gliders for the US military as well as producing many aircraft parts under subcontract for the war effort. As theDevelopment
With production of the SGS 2-8 and SGS 2-12 military training gliders complete in 1944, Schweizer Aircraft did studies of a series of utility and sailplane designs, trying to determine what would best suit the post-war market. Design studies conducted in this period included: *Single-place SGU 1-16 utility glider *Single-place SGS 1-17 sailplane *Two-place SGS 2-18 sailplane None of these designs proceeded to the stage of constructing a prototype. Schweizer Aircraft decided to concentrate on two designs, both based on the utility glider layout of the1-19
The 1-19 first flew in 1944 and was quickly ordered by Schweizer's 15 US dealers in large numbers for use as a trainer. Fifty were completed. Construction of the constant chord 1-19 wing was of wood and fabric. It utilized a two spar, double strutted design. The fuselage and tail were made from welded tube covered with aircraft fabric. The 1-19 was originally produced with an open cockpit, but in service most were modified with the addition of canopies. The 1-19 is very light, with an empty weight of just , but it is complex to assemble and disassemble as this requires use of many small pins.1-20
Designer Ernest Schweizer quickly identified a need for a version of the 1-19 with better performance and designed a new set of wings for it. The new aircraft, with an additional seven feet of span, was designated the SGU 1-20. The additional wingspan brought the glide ratio up to 18.5:1 from the 1-19's 16:1. A single factory-built 1-20 was completed, NX-91840. Two additional 1-20's were created by private owners who converted their 1-19 by replacing their stock wings with the longer wing. The wings were made available as kits and a number of 1-19s were converted to 1-20s.Motorized 1-19
In 1946 the company experimented with a motorglider conversion of the 1-19. This was attempted because the company had acquired a used Andover engine that produced 12 horsepower (9 kW) at 4000 rpm. A 1-19 was modified by bolting the engine in pusher configuration over the wing/fuselage junction. The installation was completed with a home-made propeller.Schweizer, Paul A: ''Wings Like Eagles, The Story of Soaring in the United States'', page 120. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988. The resulting aircraft displayed disappointing performance. The combination of the low-performance 1-19 and the low-power engine left the aircraft unable to climb out of ground effect. It had a ceiling of ten feet. During one flight Schweizer test pilot Frank Hurtt was able to find a thermal at ten feet and climbed the aircraft up to . Other than one flight where the aircraft was auto-towed with the engine running at full throttle, this was the only time that the altitude achieved exceeded ten feet. After complaints were received from the airport manager, the 1-19 was converted back to a glider and the project terminated. The company finally produced a successful motorglider with the Schweizer SGM 2-37, which was first flown in 1982 and of which 12 examples were produced.Certification
The 1-19 received type certificate G-17 on 19 June 1946. The type certificate is currently held by K & L Soaring ofVariants
;SGU 1-19 :The basic factory produced model was designated as the SGU 1-19. ;SGU 1-19A :SGU 1-19s assembled from factory kits were accepted as certified aircraft and were designated as SGU 1-19A. They were otherwise identical to the 1-19. ;SGM 1-19 :The factory converted one SGU 1-19 to a self-launchingCompetitions & Records
Distance flying in the 1-19 is challenging, given its 16:1 glide ratio and red-line speed limit of just 75 mph (122 km/h). Jim Hard flew an SGU 1-19 190 miles (308 km) to qualify for a Gold distance and Diamond goal flight. The prototype 1-20 was soared 138 miles (222 km) by Paul A. Schweizer in 1947.In service
In May 2008 there were still 25 SGU 1-19s registered in the USA along with one 1-19A and three 1-20s, the factory prototype (serial number 1), and two converted 1-19s.Aircraft on display
*Specifications (1-19)
See also
References
External links