The Volmer VJ-23 Swingwing is an American

high-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing co ...

, single-seat, foot launched

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 ...

that was designed by Irv Culver and built by Volmer Jensen and supplied as plans by his company

Volmer Aircraft Volmer may refer to: People * Arvo Volmer Arvo Volmer (born November 4, 1962 in Tallinn) is an Estonian conductor. Volmer was principal conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2001. From 2004 to 2013 he was Chief Cond ...

for amateur construction. Kits were also available from DSK Aircraft.Rogers, Bennett: ''1974 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine'', page 100. Soaring Society of America, August 1974. USPS 499-920

Design and development

The prototype VJ-23 was completed late in 1971 and in an era when foot-launched aircraft were

Rogallo Francis Melvin Rogallo (January 27, 1912 – September 1, 2009) was an American aeronautical engineer inventor born in Sanger, California, U.S. Together with his wife, he is credited with the invention of the Rogallo wing, or "flexible w ...

-style

hang glider Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame cover ...

s, the VJ-23 was described as more of a foot-launched sailplane, with three axis controls. Jensen and Culver collaborated on the design from a concern about the safety of weight shift hang gliders as well as their structural integrity. The aircraft is predominantly made from

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

and covered in doped Ceconite. The wing

leading edge The leading edge of an airfoil surface such as a wing is its foremost edge and is therefore the part which first meets the oncoming air.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, ...

is made from poplar plywood and supported by nose ribs made from marine-grade plywood. The wing

spar SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...

cap strips and tail ribs are fashioned from spruce. The tailboom is an

aluminium 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. I ...

tube. Its wing is cantilevered and tapered from

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 ...

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 VJ-23 lands and takes off on foot, but the aircraft is equipped with small wheels to allow it to be pulled up a hill. The aircraft's rigid wing structure requires that it be transported in a trailer, rather than rolled up and carried on a roof rack like a hang glider. To make construction easier and quicker the design was developed into the aluminium tube, strut-braced Volmer VJ-24 SunFun. Both the glider and powered VJ-24E version proved popular and a large number were built.

Operational history

One VJ-23E was flown across the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

Variants

;VJ-23 :Glider version ;VJ-23E :Powered version with a pusher configuration McCulloch 101MC engine mounted on a pylon above the wing and a Culver-designed propeller.

Aircraft on display

EAA AirVenture Museum The EAA Aviation Museum, formerly the EAA AirVenture Museum (or Air Adventure Museum), is a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is lo ...

Specifications (VJ-23E)

References

External links

Photo of the VJ-23
{{Volmer Jensen aircraft 1970s United States sailplanes Homebuilt aircraft Sailplanes designed for foot-launching High-wing aircraft VJ-23 Aircraft first flown in 1971