The Schweizer SGS 1-34 is a United States Standard Class, single-seat, high-wing glider built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York.Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine'', page 32. Soaring Society of America, November 1983. USPS 499-920 The 1-34 was designed over a number of years in the mid-1960s and first flew in 1969. By the time the 1-34 was introduced it was no longer competitive in the Standard Class, but has proven very successful as a club aircraft, being a great "step-up" sailplane for post-solo students and accomplished pilots.Schweizer, Paul A: ''Wings Like Eagles, The Story of Soaring in the United States'', page 241. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988.

Design and development

The 1-34 was designed over several years to spread out the development costs. At the time the design work on the aircraft was started the Standard Class was new and described a very simple aircraft with

terminal velocity Terminal velocity is the maximum velocity (speed) attainable by an object as it falls through a fluid ( air is the most common example). It occurs when the sum of the drag force (''Fd'') and the buoyancy is equal to the downward force of grav ...

dive brakes, fixed landing gear and no water ballast. By the time the 1-34 had flown in 1969 the Standard Class rules had changed to allow essentially unrestricted sailplanes with a 15-metre (49.2 feet) wingspan. The SGS 1-34 is of all metal

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

semi-

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

construction. All surfaces are aluminum covered, with the exception of the rudder which is covered in aircraft fabric. The 1-34 has air brakes capable of limiting the

in a vertical dive to the maximum safe speed as specified in the original Standard Class rules. Developing and testing these proved expensive and time-consuming and this also extended the aircraft's development time. The 1-34 was the first Schweizer design to depart from using a NACA airfoil. The 1-34 has no wing washout and instead uses a Wortmann FX 61-163 airfoil at the

wing root The wing root is the part of the wing on a fixed-wing aircraft or winged-spaceship that is closest to the fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, o ...

, transitioning to a Wortmann FX 61-126 airfoil at the

wing tip A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...

. The tip airfoil stalls at a higher angle of attack, ensuring that the wing root stalls first. The one company concession to the changing Standard Class rules was the development of a retractable landing gear version of the 1-34, designated as the SGS 1-34R. The 1-34 also features in-flight adjustable rudder pedals and a two-way adjustable seat to accommodate pilots of different heights. The 1-34 was flown in Standard Class competitions, but was out-performed by the new

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

European gliders, such as the Glasflügel H-201 Standard Libelle. During the protracted development process, Schweizer Aircraft was aware that the 1-34 would be overtaken by the changes in class rules and also by the performance of the newer European fiberglass sailplanes, but continued development of the SGS 1-34 anyway. The company identified that there was demand from private owners and especially clubs and commercial operations for a simple, rugged single seat glider with greater performance than the 1-26. In service the 1-34 has proven to be a popular club aircraft and ideal for the completion of badge flights. If a greater number of 1-34s had been built, Schweizer indicated that it would have become another one-design class, similar to the 1-26. The 1-34 type certificate is currently held by K & L Soaring of

Cayuta, New York Cayuta is a city in Schuyler County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 508. The City of Cayuta occupies the southeastern corner of the county and is northeast of Elmira. It is part of the Elmira Metropolitan Sta ...

. K & L Soaring now provides all parts and support for the Schweizer line of sailplanes.

Operational history

At least two 1-34s have been highly modified. Bob Park's 1-34R, registered N17974, was damaged when a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

passed through

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and resulted in a hangar collapse. The 1-34R was rebuilt with a

V-tail The V-tail or ''Vee-tail'' (sometimes called a butterfly tail or Rudlicki's V-tailGudmundsson S. (2013). "General Aviation Aircraft Design: Applied Methods and Procedures" (Reprint). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 489. , 9780123973290) of an aircraft ...

and ballast tanks mounted in the wings that hold 230 lbs (105 kg) of water. The aircraft was subsequently registered in the

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

''Racing – Exhibition'' category.Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine'', page 63. Soaring Society of America, November 1983. USPS 499-920 A modified SGS 1-34 airframe with tricycle landing gear and powered by a Lycoming TIO-360 piston engine was used as the basis for the pilotless

Martin Marietta Model 845 The Martin Marietta Model 845 was a remotely piloted aircraft developed in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s for use as a communications relay in the Vietnam War. Design and development Two prototypes were built as part of the ...

prototype, an entry in the early 1970s USAF Compass Dwell endurance

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...

program. In May 2008 there were still 63 1-34s and six 1-34Rs registered in the USA and 5 SGS 1-34s in Canada. The

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

designation for the SGS 1-34 is TG-6.

Variants

;1-34 :The original fixed landing gear 1-34 model was certified under type certificate G3EA on 16 October 1969. ;1-34R :The retractable gear 1-34R was added to type certificate G3EA on 15 June 1971. ;Park 1-34R Modified :After a hangar collapsed on Bob Park's 1-34R and destroyed the aft part of the aircraft he rebuilt it in the ''Experimental – Racing/Exhibition'' category with a

and of water ballast. The new tail allowed of lead nose ballast to be removed. The aircraft flew three diamond goal and gold distance flights in August 1983.

Aircraft on display

US Southwest Soaring Museum The US Southwest Soaring Museum is an aviation museum, located at 918 E US Route 66, in Moriarty, New Mexico, United States that focuses on the history of gliding in the western United States. The museum is an affiliate member of the Soaring Socie ...

Specifications

References

External links

Soaring Society of Boulder - 1-34 data and photos

SGS 1-34 Flight, Erection and Inspection Manual
{{US glider aircraft 1960s United States sailplanes Schweizer aircraft Glider aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1969