The Short Nimbus was a British two-seat glider trainer designed in 1947 by members of the

Short Brothers Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...

design office, who had recently formed the

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

Gliding Club. The company supported this venture by providing drawing-office and workshop facilities free of charge, assigning to the Nimbus one of its constructor's numbers (S.1312). The glider was registered with the

British Gliding Association The British Gliding Association (BGA) is the governing body for gliding in the United Kingdom. Gliding in the United Kingdom operates through 80 gliding clubs (both civilian and service) which have 2,310 gliders and 9,462 full flying members (i ...

and given the serial number ''BGA470''. The Nimbus was the last aircraft to be designed, built and flown from the Rochester works.

Design

The Nimbus was a wooden, two-seater, gull-wing, low-wing glider trainer. The two pilots were housed in a tandem cockpit with a perspex hood. The tailplane was attached to the fuselage immediately forward of the single tail fin. The landing gear comprised a single, central, partly recessed landing-wheel below the rear pilot and a tail-skid below the fin.

History

Although great interest was shown wherever the Nimbus was flown, only one provisional order was received, making it unviable as a commercial proposition. It took part in the SBAC's second air show in 1947 at RadlettBritish Film Institute material available
/ref> and was placed second in the 1947

's two-seater design category. After many years of service for various gliding clubs, including taking part in many competitions, it was acquired in 1985 as an exhibit by the

Ulster Folk and Transport Museum The Ulster Folk Museum and the Ulster Transport Museum are situated in Cultra, Northern Ireland, about east of the city of Belfast. The Folk Museum endeavours to illustrate the way of life and traditions of the people in Northern Ireland, past ...

Cultra Cultra ( - ) is an affluent residential neighbourhood near Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is part of Greater Belfast. It is in the Ards and North Down Borough Council area. Cultra is home to the Royal North of Ireland Yacht ...

, Holywood, nr. Belfast, finally going on display in 1989 after restoration.

Operators

; * Rochester Gliding Club * Shorts Gliding Club, Belfast

Specifications

References

Sources