The Schweizer SGS 1-21 is a United States single-seat, mid-wing,
Open Class glider
Glider may refer to:
Aircraft and transport Aircraft
* Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight
** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...
built by
Schweizer Aircraft of
Elmira, New York.
[Schweizer, Paul A: ''Wings Like Eagles, The Story of Soaring in the United States'', pages 99-111. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988. ]
The 1-21 was a clean-sheet design intended to fill the role of high performance competition sailplane. It was designed by
Ernest Schweizer and first announced in the September–October 1946 issue of the
Soaring Society of America
The Soaring Society of America (SSA) was founded at the instigation of Warren E. Eaton to promote the sport of soaring in the USA and internationally. The first meeting was held in New York City in the McGraw–Hill Building on February 20, 193 ...
's ''Soaring'' magazine.
Design and development
Following World War II soaring in the United States was dominated by surplus two-place gliders that had been used as trainers by the military, such as the
TG-1,
TG-2 and
TG-3.
By the end of the war there were only about 400 gliders in the US. Of these only about a dozen were high performance competition sailplanes and half of these were pre-war designs. Schweizer Aircraft realized that if the US was to progress in the sport of
soaring
Soaring may refer to:
* Gliding, in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes
* Lift (soaring), a meteorological phenomenon used as an energy source by some aircraft and birds
* ''Soaring'' (magazine), a magazine produced ...
, that domestic mass-produced, high performance sailplanes would be needed.
The 1-21 was designed to be the high performance sailplane of choice in the post war era. While design had been completed in the summer of 1946, Schweizer had not built a prototype, hoping to get sufficient orders to make it worthwhile.
Two orders were received as a result of the publicity in ''Soaring''. One was from Dick Comey and the other from David Stacy, both members of the Harvard Glider Club. The company decided that these two orders were sufficient to proceed with production. The 1-21's price was set at
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
$2750.
The 1-21 was of all-metal construction and incorporated some innovative features, including:
*Water ballast (266 lbs, 121 kg) in two wing tanks
*High aspect ratio wing of 15.75
*Two spoilers on the top of each wing and one underneath
The 1-21 design was never certified and both aircraft are experimental aircraft in the "racing, exhibition" class.
The SGS 1-21 was intended to be produced in much larger numbers than the two examples that were completed. A combination of factors prevented this, despite its initial successes. The aircraft was introduced just as the forecast post-war aviation boom failed to materialize. The 1-21's introductory price of
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
$2750 was too high for the market.
The Schweizers felt that there was good demand for an aircraft in the performance range of the 1-21, but at a lower cost. As a result, the 1-21 was redesigned and simplified. The resulting aircraft was of equal performance and could be sold for
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
$2000. This new aircraft was designated the
Schweizer SGS 1-23 and went on to become a great success with 93 examples having been produced. The 1-23 remained in production until 1967.
Operational history
The first 1-21 flew in early 1947 and was delivered to Dick Comey who flew it in the US Nationals that year, winning the competition.
The second 1-21 was donated to the Soaring Society of America by David Stacy in the summer of 1957. Stacy's request was that the 1-21 be auctioned off to raise funds to hire a new executive secretary for the association. The aircraft went to the highest bidder, Robert Lee Moore of
Richland, Washington
Richland () is a city in Benton County, Washington, United States. It is located in southeastern Washington at the confluence of the Yakima and the Columbia Rivers. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 60,560. Along with the nearby c ...
.
[Schweizer, Paul A: ''Wings Like Eagles, The Story of Soaring in the United States'', page 160. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988. ]
Dick Comey used the first 1-21 to enter the 1947 US Nationals. The event was a gruelling 17-day competition, with 14 contest days declared. All tasks were "open" with most pilots choosing "free distance" flights to gain the most points. These resulted in long end-of-day retrieve drives to get the sailplanes, resulting in late-night returns to base and early departures the next day again. Comey used the performance advantage of the 1-21, his own persistence, plus his dedicated crew of Bill Frutchy and Schweizer Aircraft employee Don Quigley, who was crewing on his vacation time, to win the lengthy contest.
Comey was subsequently hired by the SSA as their new general manager and did not compete in the 1948 Nationals. The aircraft was flown in the 1957 Nationals by Stan Smith, who won the competition.
Smith also used the aircraft to compete in the
World Gliding Championships
The World Gliding Championships (WGC) is a gliding competition held every two years or so by the FAI Gliding Commission. The dates are not always exactly two years apart, often because the contests are sometimes held in the summer in the Southern ...
in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, Spain in 1952.
The first 1-21 was also used by Comey in 1947 to set the US national distance record of .
The second 1-21 was flown by Robert Lee Moore in the US Nationals on several occasions, as well as completing his Diamond badge in the aircraft.
In May 2008 both 1-21s were privately owned and still being flown:
*Serial number 1 – N91856
*Serial number 2 – N91861
Specifications
See also
References
External links
Photo of SGS 1-21 N91861, serial number 2
{{Schweizer aircraft
1940s United States sailplanes
Schweizer aircraft
Mid-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1947