Black and white photograph. Tray truck with wooden crates on top. Smaller crate on ground in foreground. 'Barretts' in TLH corner on building. Inscriptions: On back - '208', 'B226,50,12', 'Cohn Bros, Nos. 1 & 3'. 'Royal Historical Society of Victoria, Bendigo Branch' (circular rubber blue stamp), 'Received 14 Sep.1950' (rectangular rubber purple stamp), 'Butlers (Australia) Pty Ltd, 18-24 Allen Street, Pyrmont, Sydney' (oval rubber red stamp), ''MP 208', T R&L corners. Number plate on truck 'GND 399' (possibly CND 399), various markings on crates 'BLL, 1431, Melbourne' and weights and sizestopic, objects, machine, 2000.525.01, 2000.526.01, 2000.527.01, 2000.529.01, 2000.530-., 01, 2000.531.01

Photograph - black and white. Portrait of a young man in a WW1 uniform. Written on back, 'Trooper L.F. W.Smith, taken May 1915'. Information found. Service Number : 519 in the name of Lionel Francis Watson Smith, killed in action 5th Aug.1916, aged 29. His Unit : 2nd Australian Light Horse Machine Gun Squadron. Son of Harry and Adelaide Louisa Australia Smith of Wellington, NSW.The Crown Studio's Sydney.person, individual, ww1 soldier., trooper lionel f.w.smith. elma wells.

Black and white photograph of a section of the interior of the Handschin and Ronus factory in Switzerland (the parent company of Hanro), depicting a woman working at a machine that is winding a large number of bobbins from large skeins of yarn that are fitted onto frames above the bobbinsorganization, business, hanro, clothing manufacturing, hanro , handschin and ronus

Black and white photograph of the interior of a large factory. There a rows of machines running down each side of the building and a large number of men working on the machines. The factory is not operating, the men are assembling the machines. Written on the back is ' New Factory of William Cotters ? Loughborough ?organization, business, hanro, hanro factory

Hand operated Bellows vacuum cleaner. Previously #27 The “Baby Daisy” Vacuum Cleaner is constructed from timber, steel and leather bellows. It has a carry handle fixed to the top. The base is approx. 500mm x 250mm. The height is approx 400mm. On one side is a bracket for a handle (missing) used to operate the bellows. The device is mounted on a foot plate that is split. On one side of the bellows is a circular metal detachable hatch, fixed by wing-nuts. This has a central hole for a tube (missing). Attached internally to this hatch is a cloth dust collection bag. The metal hatch has the following moulded words arranged in a circular fashion. 'DAISY Vacuum Cleaner). There are two brass plates fixed to the side of the cleaner above the hatch. These plates are stamped with 'Rd. No. 518080 and Rd. No. 530353' Gold printed Labels on the side say the following. BABY DAISER Vacuum Cleaner. Registered England. No. 518080/7 No. 530353/08 Trade Mark No.294851 /07 Designs France No. 25469/08 Germany No. 330219 / 08 Further Patents applied for. In the centre of the label is a picture of a Daisy Flower. With the words Iles Patent. This is surrounded by a ribbon with the words. 'The Daisy Registered Trade Mark'. On one side near the base of the cleaner the number '7749' is stamped into the metal.fBaby Daisydomestic equipment, cleaning, vacuum cleaner

Photocopy of horse operating puddling machine on barren denuded landscape with wooden cottages in background. Captioned 'Horse Puddling Machine-1861' [779] number unknown relationship. Unknown donor.bendigo, gold mining, puddling

A Mechanical Cheque Writing Machine. A Brand label on the machine includes 'The PROTECTORGRAPH CHECKWRITER' manufactured by TODD PROTECTROGRAPH Co. , Rochester , N.Y., USA. There is a RED Number included with the figures 657908.. It is approximately 45cm long and 12 cm high made of cast metal? It has a handle that rotates a set of rollers to apply ink to 'checks' as they progress through the machine In a cardboard Box with the words 'Les Gillies Collection' written on itTODD PROTECTORGRAPH Co. Rochester. NY, USAcommerce, office equipment

Colour photograph in a black frame . Camoflague material surrounds the picture. Depicted is a Huey - with two gunners hanging out of the doors with M60 maching guns. On the nose of the helicopter is the US Army and RAN Badge (called EMU). UH-1H Helicopter tail number 309. 135th Assult Helicopter Company used by U.S. Army aviation & RAN personnel in Vietnam. 1967-1971helicopter - huey, m 60 machine gun 7.62, uh-1h helicopter, gunner, 135th us army & ran, emu

Model wheeled armoured vehicle with TSO turret with twin machine guns. Troop carrier. Olive drab on orange plinth.White US Army stars front and sides/White number 10 on side. US Army 1ZC 12868cadillac-gage, v100, 'commando' recon vehicle

Early example without the gun shield on machine gun. Pair of large top hatch doors open out to reveal mortar. APCis coloured olive green.Yellow circle with number 11machine gun, model, m106, apc

A blie coloured cover with the number 13 written on a white label and stuck on the top left hand side. There are two punch holes down the left hand side. The is a hand written number 3 on the bottom right had side.australia - armed forces - service manuals, m 60 machine gun 7.62

Hand shears - also called blade shears - were used to shear sheep prior to the introduction of machine shears and are still used today where no power machinery is available. Hand shears consist of two blades with a hinge at the end furthest from the point. The cutting edges pass each other as the shearer squeezes them together and shears the wool close to the animal's skin. In 1892 Jack Howe an Australian shearer sheared 321 sheep in one day using hand shears. This record has never been broken. This pair was made by Burgon and Ball in Sheffield under patent number 294. Filed in 1865, this brand of shears has been in constant production since then, although this pair was probably made in the 1930s.Spring double handled hand shears for shearing sheep."HIND'S PATENT DOUBLE HOLLOW GROUND BURGON AND BALL PATENT NO. 294 (inside a shield with a crown on top) MADE IN ENGLAND"churchill island, hand shear, burgon and ball, shearing

Made and imported by Swedish company, Husqvarna, this machine was used to mince larger pieces of meat. The grinder was clamped securely to a table, and meat was then fed into the machine through the funnel at the top. The wooden crank handle was turned, moving the spiral grinding mechanism, and pushing the meat through the sieve-like fitting at the end. While hand mincers were ubiquitous in the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century kitchens, and was responsible for reducing food waste and promoting frugal ideals, the Husqvarna brand sold over 12 million worldwide.Hand operated mincing machine, larger than usual, with multi small holed attachment in place. Tin plating worn off top edge of bell. Plan wooden handle. Stamped with name, number, etc.HUSQVARNA 10 one side; also on attachment holder. RELIANCE/MADE IN SWEDEN + five pointed star on other side. "H" stamped on crank inside.husqvarna, mincer, hand, kitchen tool

The ES52 Kookaburra is a two seat high wing glider – sailplane of wooden construction designed by Harry Schneider and built Edmund Schneider Pty Ltd. It was first flown on 26 June 1954 and became the glider of choice for training new pilots of many gliding clubs around Australia in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Several found there way to New Zealand. Further two kits were sent to Brazil and at least one of these was finished and flow successfully. The ES52 performed well with a glide ratio of about 22:1 and had soaring and cross-country capabilities. A notable feature of the ES52 design was the staggered side-by-side seating arrangement of the cockpit. This made for good in flight communication between instructor and trainee. Overall, thirty six were built by Edmund Schneider Pty Ltd. A longer wing version (the ES52B) was also introduced that had a better glide ratio (around 25:1). Five examples of this version were built. In Germany a modified ES52 was built incorporating a metal tube fuselage frame and with the addition of a engine driven propeller mounted on top of the wing which enabled the glider to be self launching. This museum collection item consists of the fuselage, tailplane, elevators, fin, rudder from the Mark I, ES 52 Kookaburra, formerly registered as VH-GFF and last owned by the Barcaldine and District Airsports Club of Queensland. The glider was in a damaged condition when it was acquired by the Museum. A decision was made by the Museum to repair the glider for display rather than endeavouring to restore it to an airworthy condition. The reconstruction of the wings is being undertaken by using parts of damaged ES 52 Kookaburra wings (as it happened from later ES 52 Marks). The Log Book for VH-GFF reveals operational life with a succession of gliding clubs around Australia. This exhibit will be of interest to gliding enthusiasts wishing to inspect the popular two seat club trainer of a by-gone era.This is a wood and fabric covered aircraft that is being rebuilt from the components of several aircraft as a non-flying exhibit.Fuselage marked with Edmund Schneider Pty Ltd Serial Number 9 and comes from the glider previously registered as VH-GFF.australian gliding, glider, sailplane, edmund schneider, es 52, kookaburra, barcaldine and district airsports club, victorian motorless flight group, alice springs gliding club, raaf richmond, raaf williamtown, gayndah gliding club, blackwater gliding club, southern downs aero and soaring club, charleville gliding club

Prior to World War II an international competition was held for design of a standard sailplane for use in Olympic competition in 1940 in Finland. The design chosen was the “Meise” from DFS in Germany and its designer Hans Jacob. The 1940 Olympics were cancelled due to the outbreak of war and post war international gliding competition has been organized as World Championships, not as an Olympic event. After the war the Meise was manufactured by firms in Europe and a few were built by amateurs from plans. In 1945, a United Kingdom firm, Chilton Aircraft Limited, revised the plans for the DFS Meise Olympia keeping its aerodynamic shape and prepared new technical drawings for the production of the Chilton Olympia. It engaged Elliotts of Newbury (a firm with aircraft production experience during the war) to built a set of wings for its prototype. The wings were made by Elliotts but it apparently refused to let Chiltons have the jigs required to build more wings. The matter was resolved by Chiltons transferring its production rights and equipment to Elliotts. Elliotts produced several batches of Olympias (the “EON Olympia”) – probably about 150 in total from 1947 including Marks 1, 2 and 3 versions (featuring some structural changes and design improvements). The Australian Gliding Museum’s Olympia is a Mark 2 (actually 2B according to the logbook) which can be distinguished by the built in main wheel and blown Perspex canopy. It was designated as serial number EON/O/34 by Elliotts. It was damaged badly at Bristol, UK, in 1949. The wreckage was acquired by a Melbourne based syndicate including Dave Darbyshire, and imported into Australia. Additional damage occurred in shipping due to the need to shorten the wings to fit them into a crate. The syndicate rebuilt the glider and re-launched it in 1956 (registration number VH-GHR). It was flown by the syndicate and several gliding clubs in Victoria and South Australia until about 1972. A potentially airworthy example of a now rare sailplane of historical importanceSingle seat wooden sailplane, partly restored.australian gliding, glider, sailplane, dfs, hans jacob, meise, olympics, eon olympia, chilton aircraft, elliotts of newbury, dave darbyshire, great eastern gliding club, barossa valley gliding club, murray bridge gliding club

This Dunstable Kestrel glider (which originally was finished in silver paint) was built in 1939 by Ric New and members of the Lake Pinjar Soaring Club. It first flew on 26 December 1939 at Lake Pinjar. The first extensive flight was on 7 January 1940 when Ric New managed to stay aloft for 30 minutes and reach a height of 3000 metres. Unfortunately the Kestrel was badly damaged the same day when another club member Jim Brabazon stalled and spun in. The Kestrel was repaired by June 1940 and flown extensively at Lake Pinjar in 1940 and 1941 until Government authorities intervened and ploughed up Lake Pinjar as a wartime measure to prevent it being used as a landing field by the enemy [Allan Ash, Gliding in Australia, pp 92 – 94]. The Lake Pinjar Soaring club was reformed as the Perth Gliding Club after the end of the war and was joined by Ric New with his Kestrel [Allan Ash, Gliding in Australia, p 103]. The glider was held in storage at the Gliding Club of Western Australia prior to transfer to the Australia Gliding Museum. The Deed of Gift indicates that it was formerly owned by Wally Williams, also from Western Australia. The aircraft is in poor condition and has some non-original elements. It is one of three that currently exist. Nevertheless it is considered to be an important exhibit for relating the history of gliding in Western Australia.Aircraft of wood structure skinned with plywood and fabric – off-white colour scheme – crazed flaking paint on fuselage – nose of fuselage has been modified by addition of streamlining – damage includes impact holes to plywood, especially on starboard side – wings have been stripped of fabric covering and some ribs are missing – tailplane and rudder are in reasonable condition although, like wings, have been stripped of fabric. Overall, while the main elements of this aircraft are present, there are a number of missing fittings and will require extensive works to restore to a static display standard.australian gliding, glider, sailplane, dunstable, kestrel, bill manuel, ric new, lake pinjar soaring club, lake pinjar, gliding club of western australia

The Schneider ES50 Club was built in 1953 and is the only one of its type. It was designed by Schneider to comply with specifications laid down by the Gliding Federation of Australia for a basic two seat training glider*. It was first flown on 10 May 1953 and delivered to the Renmark Gliding Club. The log book shows that it later passed to other gliding clubs, namely Millicent Gliding Club, Corangamite Soaring Club, Sydney Technical College Gliding Club. Overall, as at September 1967, the glider had logged over 5000 flights and a total airtime of 388 hours. The Museum volunteers have partly refurbished the ES50 to static display standard. [*Plans were also prepared for a single seat version which never eventuated] This glider is one of Edmund Schneider Pty Ltd earliest Australian designs. However, it was a later Schneider design, the ES 52 Kookaburra, which was accepted by many Australian gliding clubs for filling their need for a basic two seat training glider in the 1950s and 1960s. This is a two seat high wing aircraft of mainly wood and fabric construction. The cockpit area of the fuselage is fabric over tubular steel framing. Given serial number 3 by manufacturer and registered as VH-GHPaustralian gliding, glider, sailplane, schneider, es50, renmark gliding club, millicent gliding club, corangamite soaring club, sydney technical college gliding club

The EP-1 "Spruce Goose" sailplane was designed and built by Ted Pascoe in 1955 as a smaller than average single seat sailplane that could be operated by two or three people. At times it was launched by auto-towing by Ted Pascoe and his wife without the aid of a third person at the wing tip. The glider exhibited good soaring capability and was used for some cross country flights. For instance, in 1956 Ted Pascoe succeeded in a 36 mile goal flight during which he attained a maximum height of 4500 feet. It was flown at the Mt Gambier Gliding Club from 1956 until about 1961. The Log Book shows that it was flown at Everard in 1961 and at Everard, Waikerie, Gawler and Keith in 1962. There is a gap in flying record for this aircraft from 1962 until 1967. From 1967 to 1972 it was flown regularly at various places in South Australia including Whitwarta, Stonefield, Renmark, and Gawler. For many years it was owned and flown by Mervyn Gill of the Balaklava Gliding Club.The EP-1 glider is an example of a successful Australian home built design from the 1950s. It was one of a small number of notable locally designed gliders of less than the usual 15 metre wing span from the 1950s and 1960s.Small, light weight, sailplane of wooden construction with fabric covering on wings (strutted), elevator and rudder. Instruments have been removed and control column is not in place. Serial Number GFA/HB/24 australian gliding, glider, sailplane, spruce goose, ep 1, ted pascoe, mt gambier gliding club, mervyn gill, balaklava gliding club

This aircraft is one of 9 single seat ES 59 advanced club sailplanes manufactured by Edmund Schneider Pty Ltd in the 1960s. It was first flown in August 1963 and delivered to the Darling Downs Soaring Club at Toowoomba Queensland. At that Club it had 2603 flights and recorded a total airtime of 1475 hours. In addition to many local circuits and soaring and cross country flying, it was used at gliding competitions, including Nationals at Benalla in December 1964, State Championships at Oakey in April 1965, at Warwick in April 1966, and at (Inverell?) in March 1967. On at least 15 occasions flight times in excess of 5 hours duration were achieved. On 5 October 1970, the glider had a new life when it was relocated to Wollongong in New South Wales. It recorded 1927 flights with a total airtime of 1179 hours at the club between October 1970 and June 1988. Competition appearances included the State Championships held at Forbes in January 1972. Places away from Wollongong where the glider was launched include Cootamundra, Wagga, Temora, Marulon, Narromine, Leeton, Nowra, Goulburn, Horsham, Greenthorpe. On 15 June 1988 it was transferred to Ron Geake who transported it to Warrego in Northern Territory (flown once at Alice Springs), and then to Gympie in Queensland where it was flown about 20 times by the end of 1995. It was also flown on a small number of occasions at Forbes in New South Wales in 1996 and 1997. During 1998 and 1999 the glider was sparsely used (9 flights) at locations that have not been recorded. From May 1999 until transfer to the Australian Gliding Museum in May 2011 it apparently was not flown. Aggregate airtime hours for the glider stand at 2702 hours 53 minutes. It has been launched 4569 times. A good example of a Schneider ES59 sailplane from the 1960s. This type is of note because it was the first Australian designed and built sailplane to be used in a world gliding competition (Jack Iggulden in Argentina in 1963). This Schneider ES59 Arrow is a single seat wooden sailplane with one piece wing. The instruments are not present except for altimeter. Fin and rudder are of swept back design. Colour scheme is white with lemon yellow fuselage underbelly. The aircraft came to the museum on an open trailer that had been designed to carry the one piece wing. Plate in cockpit with details of manufacturer states; manufactured by E. Schneider Ltd, Adelaide SA; Type ES 59; Serial Number 62; Date August 1963.australian gliding, glider, sailplane, schneider, es59, arrow, darling downs soaring club, wollongong gliding club, ron geake

This aircraft, the first glider built by Schneiders after they immigrated to Australia, was test flown on 3 January 1953 by Dave Darbyshire and Owen Lewis. It is the only machine of its type. It is essentially a Grunau Baby 2B with a Perspex enclosed cockpit, wing airbrakes and a landing wheel. However, the wing design came from an existing Grunau 3 type that was being built in Germany. The glider has given extensive service for a number of owners – including the Gliding Club of Victoria, Sunraysia Gliding Club, Millicent Gliding Club, Max Bugler of Morwell and Garth Hudson of Brighton in Victoria. Prior to being donated to the Australian Gliding Museum in January 2001 the glider had logged over 2200 hours flying time from over 9000 flights. The glider is an improved Grunau Baby design that Edmund Schneider built after coming to Australia.Single seat glider of wood and fabric construction, with steel wing struts. Currently painted crème with yellow details. Underside of fuselage is painted orange.australian gliding, grunau, grunau baby, schneider, gliding club of victoria, sunraysia gliding club, millicent gliding club, darbyshire, lewis, bugler, hudson

The Bocian is a versatile training sailplane that first flew in 1952. The type has been modified in several respects over the course of production by SZD (tailplane and rudder in particular). About 600 have been built; many for export to 27 countries (including Australia). The aerobatic capability and fine performance (best glide ratio of 26) has enabled the Bocian to be used to train competition pilots as well as those of lesser experience. Many world gliding records were set in the 1950s and 1960s in Bocian gliders. The Museum’s example is a type D test flown in Poland on 3 and 4 April 1963. It was imported into Australia in September 1963 by Austerserve Pty Ltd. The first owner was the Alice Springs Gliding Club and the glider had name “Cumulus” painted on the side of the fuselage (since removed). The glider had recorded 726 hours 46 minutes flying time from 2138 launches as at July 1967 when it was transferred to the Darwin Gliding Club. It appears that the glider was damaged in June 1968. The substantial repairs to the fuselage, both wings and tailplane and other minor repairs were completed on 13 October 1968. The glider continued flying with the Darwin Gliding Club until August 1969 at which time the service to that club amounted to 59 hours 7 minutes flying time from 348 flights. Between August 1969 and August 1976 no flights are recorded in the logbook. It is understood that on its last flight at Bachelor, south of Darwin in the Northern Territory (August 1969) it was severely damaged when it crashed after spinning while being auto-tow launched (although this is not expressly mentioned in the logbook). Reg Hancock purchased the damaged glider and rebuilt the port wing and restored it to airworthy condition (September 1976). It was then transferred to Colac, Victoria, and used by the Colac Gliding Group at the Yeo airfield until February 1981, adding another 153 hours from 403 flights to the glider’s record. After airworthy inspection in September 1982 the glider was used by the Geelong Gliding Club until 1983 (logbook details not held). The 20 year survey was then due and the glider fell out of service. In the course of the most recent restoration attempt it was discovered that the glue used in construction had deteriorated and that it was no longer feasible to bring it back to an airworthy condition. Subject to restoration, this exhibit may be representative of the 1950s - 1960s Bocian two seat sailplane typeThis exhibit is a large two seat glider /sailplane of wood and fabric construction. All components are present with the exception of instruments. However, at the time that the aircraft was transferred to the Museum it had been taken apart for major restoration work. As received it is stripped of the top coats of paint and a number of components (including, amongst others, tip fairings, nose cone and cockpit elements) that were removed for facilitating the repair process. The glider, serial number 803, was registered as VH-GNLaustralian gliding, glider, sailplane, bocian, cumulus, alice springs gliding club, darwin gliding club, colac gliding group, geelong gliding club, hancock

The Morelli M-100S 15 metre Italian sailplane first flew in 1960 and over 220 were built in Italy and France. The design was a development of the M100 incorporating changes to fit the international rules for “Standard” class competition gliders: thus the designation “S”. The name applied to the M-100 gliders built in France was “Mesange” This example has undergone major restoration to display condition by Museum volunteers. In the main the airframe is made up of the glider serial number 69 formerly registered in Australia as VH-GUD. The restoration incorporated parts of another wrecked M100 (serial number 71). VH-GUD was previously owned by Darling Downs Soaring Club (from 28 October 1967) and Beaudesert Gliding Club (from 30 October 1971). It was test flown in Australia on 28 October 1967 and logged 1533 hours 41 minutes from 2731 launches until it crashed and was wrecked on 11 February 1978. When completely restored to display standard this exhibit will be a representative example of the Morelli M100 sailplane type Single seat sailplane of wooden construction with plywood and aircraft fabric covering.Serial Number 69australian gliding, glider, sailplane, morelli, m-100s, mesange, aeromere and avionautica rio, darling downs soaring club, beaudesert gliding club

The Vogt LO150 is a sailplane first produced in 1954. Designed in Germany by Alfred Vogt, the LO150 is of wood construction. It has a two piece wing of 15 metre (49 feet) span and a fuselage of monocoque design. The first of the type to be imported into Australia arrived in late 1955. In January 1956 this aircraft type was used to create a world speed record of just under 75 km/h for speed around a 300 km triangle and went on to win the Australian National Gliding Championships. The Museum’s LO150 (VH-GUC) – serial number EB71 was imported from Germany in 1971 by the late Frank Erdmann and an ownership syndicate formed. Following Erdmann it has had a number of owners. Much of its usage was at Bacchus Marsh and Horsham with excusions elsewhere for competition. This Vogt LO150 was last flown on 3 January 1988. Overall, since arriving in Australia, it has flown 315 hours from 273 launches, which is a commendable average performance of over an hour per flight. VH-GUC was donated to the Museum by Warren Mayfield in 2002. Substantial glue deterioration was discovered in one wing and, as a result, a decision has been made not to restore the glider to an airworthy condition. In due course the glider will be repainted and further prepared for display. This exhibit is an example of the Vogt LO150 semi-aerobatic competition sailplane.Single seat competition sailplane of wood construction.Builder's serial number EB71australian gliding, glider, sailplane, vogt, lo-150, erdmann, mayfield, geelong gliding club

This ES Ka6 sailplane (VH-GRW, serial number 55) was built under licence from Alexander Schleicher in 1962 by Edmund Schneider Limited. It was one of 12 Ka6s, with minor variations from the Schleicher product, built by Schneiders in Australia. It was test flown at Parafield Aerodrome, Adelaide, on 8th September 1962. By way of background, the Schleicher KA 6 series of sailplanes were designed by Rudolf Kaiser in Germany. They were quite successful in the Standard Class in the late 1950s and 1960s. Over 1400 were produced. The first owner of VH-GRW was the Victorian Motorless Flight Group which, at the time, was based at Berwick Airfield on the outskirts of Melbourne. On 22 April 1972, the ownership passed to a syndicate of members from the VMFG. It again changed ownership in July 1974. The new owners were another syndicate based at Campbelltown in New South Wales. The glider went to a Tasmania syndicate in June 1976 and finally to the Soaring Club of Tasmania. In total VH-GRW recorded 3369 hours air time from 4952 launches. It was used very little after 1996. This exhibit is an example of the Scheicher Ka6 sailplane type that were built by Edmund Schneider in Australia.Plywood, spruce and fabric covered high wing single seat sailplane. The airframe has been restored to the point of repainting. Currently the fuselage, rudder and the wings aft of the main spar are coated with pink dope. The tailplane retains the white gloss finish of the glider prior to the restoration work. The cockpit to be refitted (with instruments etc). Serial number 55. The manufacture details are displayed on a metal plate fixed to the main bulkhead. australian gliding, glider, sailplane, schneider, schleicher, ka6, rhonsegler, victorian motorless flight group, soaring club of tasmania

The Schleicher K7 is a high wing tandem two-seat sailplane designed in the late 1950s by Rudolf Kaiser for the Alexander Schleicher company in Germany. The fuselage is built using steel tube framing covered with fabric. The swept-forward cantilever wing is of wood and fabric construction with a single spar and a plywood covered leading edge “D” box for strength. The wing is equipped with Schempp-Hirth airbrakes. The K7 first flew in 1959. It is a versatile design that can be used for both basic and more advanced training of pilots. Over 500 were built. VH-GNX was manufactured in Germany and imported into Australia by Edmund Schneider Limited. It was test flown by them at Parafield Aerodrome, Adelaide, South Australia in March 1964. The original owner of VH-GNX was the Adelaide Soaring Club and it was maintained by Edmund Schneider Limited until May 1971. It appears that about this time it was transferred to the Gold Coast Soaring Club. In July 1974, after it had flown for an aggregate 3075 hours from 13919 flights, it was purchased by the Bundaberg Soaring Club. About 10 years later, it was acquired by the Bendigo Gliding Club. At that stage it had recorded over 4600 hours flying time from 21546 launches. When it was retired from service by the Bendigo Gliding Club in June 2006 due to age related defects the hours flown had reached 7259 from 31820 flights. It appears that the airframe has had a relatively trouble free life with only minor damage from storage / ground handling incidents, a heavy landing (January 1987) and a bird strike (January 2002). It was donated to the Museum in April 2007.This exhibit is an example of the Schleicher K7 two seat sailplane type.Two seat high wing glider sailplane finished in white with red detailing.Serial Number 7134, registered as VH-GNX. The registration appears on each side of the Fin / Rudder in red letteringaustralian gliding, glider, sailplane, schleicher, k7, schneider, adelaide soaring club, gold coast soaring club, bundaberg soaring club, bendigo gliding club

The Phoebus is a fibreglass composite sailplane that was designed by H. Nagele, R. Linder and R. Eppler in the early 1960s for competition flying. It is a derivative from the Akaflieg Stuttart Phonix which was the first sailplane to be built of fibreglass. The first Phoebus, a Standard Class design with a 15 metre wingspan, flew in 1964. The Phoebus C is the open class version of the type that was introduced in 1967. It has a 17 metre wing span, retractable wheel and tail brake parachute. Several hundred Phoebus sailplanes (all versions) were made by the manufacturer Bolkow at Ottobrun in Germany before production ended in 1970. The Museum’s Phoebus C, serial number 866, was built in 1969. It was donated to the Museum by Ian Cohn in 2008. Early fibreglass design that was manufactured in numbers. The Phoebus is a modern looking single seat glass fibre sailplane with a ‘T’ tailplane. It is finished in white with light red detailing including thin red stripe on wings and some red striping on fuselage sides from nose to underneath wings.Serial number 866 on plate affixed inside cockpit – registration VH-GSW which has been painted on the sides of the fuselage rear of the wings. A Freistaat Bayern crest has been applied to each side of the vertical stabilizer. australian gliding, glider, sailplane, bolkow, phoebus, cohn, nagele, linder, eppler

The 1982 Ford V6 engine, built at the Ford Essex Engine Plant at Windsor in Ontario Canada, was released by Ford for installation in a number of car and light truck models manufactured in Canada, United States, Mexico and Venezula. Production probably exceeded 7 million items. The Australian Gliding Museum’s exhibit was an engine converted for aircraft use that was bought for the Gliding Federation of Australia “Auto-Tug” program from Javelin Aircraft Company in Wichita in USA. “Auto-Tug” was an experimental program sponsored by the Gliding Federation of Australia to equip a glider – sailplane Piper Pawnee PA-25-150 tug with a water-cooled engine to alleviate the costs of running and maintaining the Lycoming engines fitted to Pawnee tugs in Australia. The program began in 1988 and was aimed at obtaining limited certification for converting dedicated glider – sailplane tow planes. The engine equipped with modified intake manifolds produced 198 hp for flight with the same propeller RPM for take-off as the original Lycoming 0-540 engine. However, fuel consumption was halved as the water cooling of the Ford engine enabled quicker descents with throttle closed following the release of the sailplane. Based on the results of GFA’s program, CASA concluded that engine was quite suitable for an aircraft installation and rated it more reliable than the equivalent Lycoming and Continental aircraft engine. The use of the 1982 Ford V6 engine type for Pawnee tug conversions was discontinued when the General Motors LS1 5.7 litre V8 became available. It is understood that a small number of conversions have been done using the LS1 engine. This brief history is based on information obtained from Mike Burns and David Sharples who were involved in the Auto-Tug program from 1988 to 1992. Technical information relating to the 1982 Ford V6 automotive engine is contained in a paper by D.L. Armstrong and G.F. Stirrat of the Engine Engineering Office at Ford. Indicative of technological experimentation in the sport of glidingFord auto engine mounted on mobile standaustralian gliding, glider, sailplane, auto-tug, pawnee, tug, auto, engine, motor, ford, gliding federation of australia, burns, sharples.

The T35 Austral was developed by Slingsby Aviation from the Slingsby T31 with the wing span increased and a larger rudder to improve performance. This was done in response to an order from an Australian gliding club. The Museum’s glider was built from a Slingsby kit imported from the UK in 1952 and assembled by the Waikerie Gliding Club. The glider came on the Australian register as VH-GFX in May 1956. It was later transferred to the Renmark Gliding Club. In 1968 it was acquired by the RAAF Gliding Club at Laverton, Victoria. The existing log book records for the Museum’s T35 Austral are incomplete. Nevertheless the information at hand shows that it was launched over 17000 times and spent about 2400 hours in the air. It would appear that the glider has not been used for many years, the last flight recorded by the RAAF Gliding Club for this aircraft being in September 1971. As far as is known VH-GFX is the only example of the type to be built. The Slingsby T35 is a modified Tandem Tutor two seat glider that had extensive service at a number of Australian gliding clubs over a period of approximately 15 years from the mid 1950s. The Slingsby T35 is an open cockpit, tandem, two-seater glider with high, pylon mounted two piece wing supported by double, wire braced, steel tube struts. australian gliding, glider, sailplane, slingsby, waikerie gliding club, renmark gliding club, raaf gliding club

The Skylark 4, the final in the Slingsby Skylark series, dates from 1961. The design heralded a trend towards the use of plastics in the construction of gliders. Slingsby incorporated GRP (glass reinforced plastic) panels to achieve a streamlined fuselage nose and cockpit area while retaining the more traditional wood techniques for the rest of the aircraft. Another notable feature was the smooth wing surface that was obtained using a Gaboon ply skin across the ribs. Best glide performance of 1:33 was found to be comparable with the early full GRP glider designs. The Museum’s example (VH-GTB – C/N 1382) was built in 1963 and originally owned by Chuck Bentson of the UK. It was brought to Australia in 1967 by Jeremy Picket-Heaps and flown at various places including Benalla, Cooma and Gundaroo. In 1970 the glider was transferred to the New England Soaring Club. Many flights were made from Armidale and Bellata in Northern New South Wales. On one occasion, the glider was kept aloft for 8 hours 45 minutes and on another the pilot took it around a 500 kilometre triangle in nearly 8 hours. In 1980 it was sold to Ralph (“Feathers”) Crompton and was flown extensively in South Australia until 1988. The final owner before the glider was given to the Museum in 2004 was Ross Dutton of Melbourne. The last recorded flight occurred in 1992. The glider at that point had logged over 2000 hours flying time from about 2000 launches. The airframe is currently being restored to flying condition. Technically this aircraft represents the state of the art at the stage that sailplane design was changing from traditional wood construction to composites (GRP) The Slingsby Skylark 4 is high wing single seat sailplane of mainly wooden construction with plywood and fabric covering. However, the cockpit and forward part of the fuselage consists of glass reinforced plastic which was innovative at the time that the type was designed. The cockpit provides for a semi reclining position for the pilot protected with a full Perspex canopy. The wings are made up of a centre section with constant chord and tapered wing tips. The aircraft has a conventional arrangement for the tail stabiliser / control surfaces. The sailplane bears construction number 1382 and is registered in Australia as VH-GTBaustralian gliding, glider, sailplane, skylark, slingsby, bentson, picket-heaps, crompton, new england soaring club, dutton

The Laister-Kauffman 10A (LK10A) is a 2 seat a military training glider developed from a successful Jack Laister single seat glider called Yankee Doodle that first flew in 1938 and was exhibited at the Paris Air Show of 1939. The two seater variation was ordered in 1941 by the US Army for training glider pilots of troop carrying gliders. The military designation was XTG-4. The LK 10A glider was a simpler, more robust design than Yankee Doodle. A longer canopy enclosed both seating positions. The top of the fuselage formed a straight ridge from the top of the canopy to the point where the fin – rudder connected. Also, the design was simplified by adopting straight spar wings of 15.2 metres in place of gull wings of 14.170 metres. During the war years 156 LK10As were produced before the contracts to supply the US Army were terminated. Many of these were later sold as surplus. The Museum’s exhibit (serial number 122) was built in 1943. It was imported into Australia in the 1950s by Ric New, a member of the Gliding Club of Western Australia. Ric New modified the glider by “flat topping” the fuselage and making other aerodynamic changes. This kind of modification of the LK10A was a well tried strategy in United States for extracting better performance from the glider. It is understood that the reduction in weight and cleaner aerodynamics from the changes could increase the glide ratio from 1:24 to something like 1:30. The LK10A was located at the Gliding Club of Western Australia for many years. Records reveal that it was kept airworthy until about 1975. The LK10A is an important acquisition in that it allows one to compare the state of two seat glider design in United States and the United Kingdom in the immediate post war period. It is interesting to note that at that time a number of clubs in Australia who acquired a two seat glider for training chose the United Kingdom open cockpit high strutted wing offerings from Slingsby (e.g. T31) instead of more innovative military surplus gliders from America. Modified LK10A glider consisting of tubular steel fuselage with a combination of fabric and metal covering, fabric covered wooden wings and other flying surfaces.australian gliding, glider, sailplane, laister, kauffman, ric new, gliding club of western australia, lk10a, yankee doodle, xtg-4