The Slingsby T.38 Grasshopper is a British

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

training

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

Slingsby Sailplanes Slingsby Aviation was a British aircraft manufacturer based in Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, England. The company was founded to design and build gliders and sailplanes. From the early 1930s to around 1970 it built over 50% of all British c ...

for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

.Hardy 1982, p. 115.

Development

The design is based on the pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

German SG 38 Schulgleiter, modified to use the wing design of the

Slingsby T.7 Kirby Cadet The Slingsby T.7 Kirby Cadet is a British training Glider (sailplane), glider designed and built by Slingsby Aviation, Slingsby that first flew in 1935 and saw service with the Royal Air Force for use by the Air Training Corps as the Cadet TX.1 ...

glider. The design was cheap to manufacture and was designed to be stored dismantled. The type was used by

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...

Squadrons between 1952 and the late 1980s. The RAF designated the glider the Grasshopper TX.1, and the first order was for 65 aircraft, which were delivered in 1952 and 1953. It was later followed by two further orders for an additional 50 aircraft; the final delivery was made in 1963. Launch is achieved through the use of a V-shaped bungee or elastic rope pulled by a team of helpers. The glider can also be mounted on a pivoting tripod pointed into wind for the demonstration of controls. The Grasshopper is virtually identical to the EoN Eton.

Operators

; *

Specifications (Grasshopper TX.1)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Hardy, Michael. ''Gliders & Sailplanes of the World''. London: Ian Allan, 1982. . {{Slingsby aircraft 1950s British military trainer aircraft Glider aircraft

Grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...