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 “Northrop” is an American copy of the “Zogling” which was designed in Germany in the 1920s as a training glider. Apparently, the Northrop primary glider takes its name from a Marvin Northrop of Minneapolis who imported a Zogling from Germany and from that glider had plans drawn and published in a magazine called Modern Mechanics in 1930. The Australia Gliding Museum’s Northrop was built over the period of 1970 to 1974. The project was conceived by a pioneer of Australian gliding, Ken Davies, about 1969, as a hobby project and to experience afresh gliding flight of the early years. By that time, few primary gliders, which performed a fundamental role for gliding clubs in the 1930s and 1940s, remained in Australia. Ken began construction and was helped to finish the project by two old time Gliding Club of Victoria members, Dave Darbyshire and Rudi Feil. The glider was test flown on 8 March 1975 at Benalla. The glider was stored at the Gliding Club of Victoria and flown on special occasions in the 1980s. Later it was damaged at the 1996 vintage glider rally at Ararat as a result of a heavy landing. Storage was then provided for the glider by the Victorian Motorless Flight Group at Bacchus Marsh until it was returned to Dave Darbyshire for restoration in 1998. Fully restored, the glider was donated by Iris Davies and Dave Darbyshire to the Australian Gliding Museum in April 2001. This exhibit is the type of machine that formed the basis of the sport of gliding from 1929 to about 1945. The glider consists of an open (uncovered) wooden framed fuselage (painted blue) with a brown vinyl covered seat, fabric covered wooden framed wings of constant chord (painted silver) with provision for attachment of semi-circular cane wing skids, and fabric covered wooden framed tailplane, elevators and rudder (painted silver). When assembled the airframe is wire braced.australian gliding, glider, northrop, zogling, davies, darbyshire, feil, gliding club of victoria, victorian motorless flight group

This Grunau Baby 2B glider, often referred to as the “Blue Grunau”, was built by Australian Sailplanes in 1946 and acquired by a syndicate consisting of Norm Hyde, Rob Dowling, Leo Dowling, Dick Duckworth and Ted Desmond of the Gliding Club of Victoria. Piloted by syndicate members and other GCV members the glider performed well in soaring and cross country flights at the various sites used by the GCV in 1947, 1948 and 1949. The glider went to Sydney for a while and then returned to be operated by another syndicate at the GCV. Pat Burke and Bob McAliece bought the glider in the 1950s and then sold it to Keith, Jack and Bruce Hearn of Melbourne. In 1957 the Blue Grunau moved to Western Australia and was added to the Glider Register as VH-GLC. Thereafter the glider had a series of owners. The glider has come to the Australian Gliding Museum via the RAAFA (WA) Division. The flying record of the Blue Grunau has been logged for the period of 28 December 1957 to 17 September 1975: Time in air – 559 hours 37 minutes from 1513 flights. Single seat glider /sailplane of wooden construction with plywood and fabric covering.australian gliding, glider, sailplane, grunau, blue grunau, australian sailplanes, hyde, dowling, duckworth, desmond, burke, hearn, gliding club of victoria, gliding club of western australia, narrogin gliding club

ES 56 Nymph Following the successful introduction of the ES 52 Kookaburra two-seater in mid-1954, Edmund Schneider Ltd designed a higher performance single seat sailplane of similar construction and with similar handling qualities. It was designated the ES 56 and became known as the ES56 “Nymph”. The ES56 Nymph was a success in that it delivered the anticipated performance and was found to have satisfactory flying characteristics. However, only the prototype (“Nymph -I”) and three production examples (“Nymph-II”) were built. Schneiders made some changes to the design before building the production version. The wing chord at the tip on the prototype measured 650 mm. This was reduced to 500 mm for subsequent builds. The explanation is that provision was made in the original design for the possible lengthening of the tapered wing to 13 metres. However, apparently it was decided to retain the 11.900 metre span which allowed the tip chord to be reduced slightly. Other changes included the installation of scissor type air brakes in the wing instead of simple hinged flap spoilers and the addition of a landing wheel behind the skid on the fuselage. On one of the Nymph-II a dorsal was added on top of the fuselage forward of the vertical fin when repairs were made rectifying damage incurred as a result of an accident at Benalla on 31 March 1963. Even before these ES56 gliders were finished, Edmund Schneider Ltd decided to offer a less expensive single seat design to cater in particular for newly solo pilots, the ES57 Kingfisher. With the Kingfisher, Schneiders reverted to a traditional airfoil (Gott 549) for the wing instead of the laminar flow section that was chosen for the Nymph in the pursuit of performance. As such, the Kingfisher was more appropriately characterised as a single seat version of the Kookaburra in comparison to the Nymph. Schneiders continued for a time to offer the ES56 Nymph as a high-performance sailplane. However, its place in the market was soon overtaken by imported designs with superior performance, such as the Schleicher KA6, which Schneiders also imported and built under license. Nymph-I was test flown in December 1955 and entered by Harry Schneider into the gliding championships held at Waikerie from 5th to 16th of that month. Harry finished 12th in the individual placing out of a field of approximately 24. The capabilities of the Nymph were further demonstrated by Harry Schneider in January 1956 with a Gold C flight of 193 miles from Gawler in South Australia to Walpeup in Victoria. Nymph-I was acquired by the Port Pirie Gliding Club in South Australia. It has been saved and restored and is a regular feature at vintage glider rallies in Victoria and New South Wales. See Museum Newsletter No 35 Winter Edition 2017 pages 3 -6, for that story. The Nymph-II production models were delivered by Edmund Schneider Ltd in October 1956 to the Gliding Club of Victoria, the Victorian Motorless Flight Group and the Royal Australian Navy Gliding Association. The VMFG flew its Nymph in the First National Gliding Championships at Tocumwal, NSW, in December 1956 and all three were flown at the Second National Gliding Championships at Benalla in 29th December 1958 to 8th January 1959, delivering competitive performances based on handicap. Nymph-I Serial Number 17 Original owner – Port Pirie Gliding Club, S.A. Registered VH-GHG on 20 August 1957 Re-registered VH-GHA on 11 October 2016 Currently Raywood, Victoria Believed airworthy Nymph-II Serial Number 20 Original owner – R.A.N. Gliding Association Registered VH-GDX on 20 May 1957 Currently Locksley, Victoria. In storage Nymph-II Serial Number 21 Original owner – Gliding Club of Victoria Registered VH-GHU on 27 August 1957 Currently Bendick Murrell, N.S.W. In storage Nymph-II Serial Number 22 Original owner – Victorian Motorless Flight Group Registered VH-GFE on 5 March 1957 Currently Bacchus Marsh, Victoria Under restoration for display. The Museum’s exhibit is the ES56, serial number 22, registered as VH-GFE. The glider was flown by the VMFG in Victoria until approximately September 1968. GFA records show that it was transferred to Queensland in 1968, and it passed through several owners until the mid-1970s. Information received indicates that it was flown by the Leichardt Soaring Club at Mount Isa in the (late?) 1960s. The history from then is not presently known except to say that it has been kept in dry storage for many years. It is not known when the glider was last flown. What is Significant? The Schneider ES 56 Nymph single seat sailplane, serial number 22, designed and built in 1955-1956, by Edmund Schneider Ltd in Adelaide. It was delivered to its original owner, the Victorian Motorless Flight Group, in October 1956, and registered as VH-GFE on 5 March 1957. How it is Significant? The ES56 Nymph is of historical, aesthetic, scientific and research, and social significance to the Australian gliding community. Why it is Significant? The ES56 is of historical significance as it was designed and built by Edmund and Harry Schneider. The Schneiders immigrated to Australia after the end of the second world war bringing with them considerable expertise in relation to glider design and construction. Over the following decades they maintained a close association with the Gliding Federation of Australia and the gliding clubs and through their glider production made a major contribution to the sport. The ES56 is part of that story. The ES56 in its design and construction exhibits the glider construction technology of the time, which principally consisted of lightweight wooden framework skinned with ply and doped fabric. It exbibits design innovation, notably the use of a laminar flow wing profile in pursuit of better glide performance. Also, considerable attention was given to simplifying the structure in order to keeping cost and the weight low. The ES56 played a useful role at gliding clubs where it was operated, especially the late 1950s and early 1960s and is remembered well by pilots who flew her. The glider is in the course of restoration and provides an insight into the skills and workmanship that were involved in design, building and maintenance of these wooden aircraft. It is of aesthetic and scientific and research significance. Glider airframe of a traditional wood and fabric covered constructionNoneglider, sailplane, edmund schneider, harry schneider, es56, nymph, es57, kingfisher, victorian motorless flight group, gliding club of victoria, ran gliding association, port pirie gliding club, leichardt soaring club.

The Golden Eagle is an original design by Geoff Richardson. Geoff commenced gliding in the early days of the sport circa 1933 in Melbourne, flying at Coode Island and Mt Frazer. In 1934, he began construction of a secondary type glider but scrapped it upon realizing that a better design was needed. He conducted further research and came up with a sailplane of similar size and general arrangement to the Grunau Baby but with a “Gull” wing using a Gottingen 535 wing section (the same as for the Grunau Baby). Geoff did all the technical calculations himself and even made up and tested a Casein glue for the construction. Geoff competed construction of his new sailplane (which he called the “Golden Eagle”) in 1937 and it was test flown at Laverton at the western edge of Melbourne in September 1937. On the same day, at Laverton, the Gliding Club of Victoria flew its new Grunau Baby 2 sailplane which it had imported as a finished machine from Edmund Schneider in Germany. The Golden Eagle was found to fly well, having a similar performance to the Grunau Baby. In the 1950s, the Golden Eagle was modified by rebuilding the front of the fuselage to enclose the cockpit with a Perspex canopy. A landing wheel was incorporated behind the skid. Spoilers were added to the wings and a trim tab to the elevators. The Golden Eagle has been flown with the VMFG (Victorian Motorless Flight Group) for most of its long life. When donated to the Australian Gliding Museum in 2016 by Alan Patching it was probably the oldest, continuously airworthy glider in the world. Having regard to the historical significance of the Golden Eagle, the Museum has decided to not to fly it anymore to avoid risk of loss or damage. The exhibit is of great significance for Australian gliding history – the Golden Eagle is a flyable 1930s aircraft in excellent condition that was designed and built by an Australian gliding pioneer. Single seat wood and fabric sailplane finished with white wings, tailplane and rudder and yellow fuselage Registration letters “FC” on fuselage nose port side, Australian flag, Vintage Gliders Australia and VMFG decals on rudder, “Golden Eagle” lettering in red on each side of the fuselage below the canopy, Aboriginal flag decal on port side of fuselage below the canopy. australian gliding, glider, sailplane, golden eagle, richardson, patching, vmfg, victorian motorless flight group

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

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 Pilatus B4 is an all metal intermediate sailplane meeting Standard Class rules that was designed in 1966 by Ingo Herbst, Manfred Küppers and Rudolf Reinke. It did not immediately go into production. In 1972 Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland acquired a licence to build the aircraft and began production. The PCII and PCIIA versions were semi-aerobatic. The PC11AF released in 1975 was rated as fully aerobatic. By 1980, when Pilatus sold the rights to manufacture of the aircraft to Nippi Aircraft of Japan, 322 of the Pilatus B4 had been produced. Nippi Aircraft built a further 13 and also one two seat version. The Pilatus B4 proved popular in Australia with 26 appearing on the Australian register. The Museum’s example is a basic semi-aerobatic type (Serial Number 092) that was built in 1974. It is registered as VH-GID on 8 July 1974 by H.G. Sutton of Mandura, Western Australia and flown out of the Narrogin Gliding Club in Western Australia until September 1986 when it was sold to the Albury – Corowa Gliding Club, New South Wales. In 1999 it was acquired by Michael Green and moved to Townsville, Queensland. The aircraft changed ownership again in 2004 and fell out of use for nearly 4 years. By then it had recorded 4377 hours in the air from 4304 flights. It returned to service briefly in January 2008 (5 flights totalling about 5 hours). It was donated to the Museum by David Millward of the Geelong Gliding Club, Victoria, on 10 April 2017. The aircraft is representative of a popular imported 1970s intermediate single seat sailplane design of aluminium alloy construction.Single seat sailplane of metal alloy constructionWhite colour scheme with yellow fuselage underside highlighted by blue stripe – “Pilatus B4” in black lettering on starboard side of cockpit – black anti-glare paint on the fuselage nose – Registration “GID” on the underside of port wing.australian gliding, glider, sailplane, pilatus b4, sutton, narrogin, albury, corowa, green, townsville, millward, geelong

The Slingsby T31 is a two seat training glider that came available in 1951. It is, in effect, a two seat version of the single seat Kirby Tutor. The T31 was marketed by Slingsby Sailplanes both as complete aircraft and kits of parts for assembly. The Australian Gliding Museum’s example (currently registered as VH-GDB) is one of five of this type to grace Australian skies. Three including GDB were assembled in Australia from kits supplied by Slingsby’s in England, the other two were delivered as completed airframes. To date only four remain of which two are airworthy. This aircraft began flying in at Caversham in Western Australia (the then home of the Gliding Club of Western Australia) in July 1956. It was badly damaged in a crash in June 1958. The wreckage was sent to Schneiders in Adelaide for repair. However, the Club decided against having the repairs done, opting instead to buy a new ES52 Kookaburra. After a couple of years, the wreck was purchased by a member of the Waikerie Gliding Club whereupon the glider was rebuilt with some modifications, including a more rounded and better streamlined fuselage nose. It returned to the air in October 1961 at Clare in South Australia. The ownership of VH-GDB passed through a number of clubs, including at Dubbo in New South Wales, Wimmera in Victoria and Pioneer Valley at Mackay in Queensland. Eventually, it came into the hands of Bill Riley of Tocumwal in New South Wales who held it in storage for many years. Riley donated the aircraft to the Museum. It has been restored to airworthiness and is flown at vintage glider rallies and on Museum open days. This exhibit is an excellent example of a Slingsby T31 Tandem Tutor, a type of glider that was used by a number of clubs in the 1950s and 1960s for dual training of pilots to the solo capability.The Slingsby T31b Tandem Tutor is an open cockpit, tandem, two-seater glider with high, pylon mounted two piece wing supported by double, wire braced, steel tube struts. The glider is fitted with a main wheel, rubber-block sprung, wooden nose skid and steel leaf sprung, brass shod tailskid. The basic controls of aileron, rudder and elevator are not supplemented with pitch trim. Wing lift spoilers and both aerotow and winch releases are fitted. The instrument panels in both cockpits are fitted with an airspeed indicator, cosim variometer and altimeter. This red and silver painted wood and fabric covered aircraft is in excellent condition having been restored to full airworthy status by the Australian Gliding Museum. SLINGSBY – T31b (nose – both sides) DB Australian Gliding Museum (rudder – both sides) It has been given Serial Number GFA/HB/12 and is registered as VH-GDBaustralian gliding, glider, sailplane, slingsby, tandem tutor, t31, gliding club of western australia, waikerie gliding club, wimmera soaring club, pioneer valley soaring club

The “Coogee” is an intermediate single seat sailplane designed and built by Tom Proctor in 1940. Only one was built. It was first flown at Stuart Hill near Bendigo Victoria in January 1941 and was maintained in flying condition until 1967. The aircraft was flown extensively by the Victorian Motorless Flight Group (now the Melbourne Gliding Club) and Geelong Gliding Club and several subsequent owners. This exhibit is a "one off" Australian designed and built glider similar in some respects to the Hutter H17. Its usage is relevant to the history of gliding in Victoria in the post war years. Also the aircraft provides an insight into gliding technology in Australia in the 1940s. Wood and fabric single seat glider sailplane with strutted wings and strutted tailplane – features metal framed perspex canopy, central fuselage skid and wheel, small tail skid, instruments include airspeed, turn and bank indicator; variometer and altimeter. Metal parts include struts and fairing covering wing joint. All surfaces are pink doped – awaiting painting.australian gliding, glider, sailplane, coogee, tom proctor, victorian motorless flight group, geelong gliding club

The Geelong Glider Club was formed in June 1929 at a meeting held at the Belmont Common hangar of Percy Pratt. The club built a Zogling (Primary Glider) based on plans obtained from Germany and flew it off nearby hills at Lovely Banks and other places in the Geelong region. The checked rudder design (without logo and markings) is evident in a picture of a Geelong Glider Club Zogling flying at Tower Hill near Warrambool, Victoria, at Easter 1931 and this lends support to the conclusion that the rudder was part of the Club’s first glider. The logo and markings appear to be a more recent elaboration to the design. Exhibit is a historical link to the earliest gliding activities of the Geelong Glider Club.Fabric covered wooden framed primary glider rudder with metal levers decorated with silver and dark red checkered design. The item has a cat logo on one side and markings on the other of places where the Geelong Gliding Club flew in its early years.On port side – Cat logo. On starboard side – Geelong Glider Club; and place names including Geelong Aerodrome, Batesford, Ceres, Lovely Banks, Tower Hill, Koroit, Mount Moriac; and years, 1929-1933 australian gliding, glider, zogling, primary glider, rudder, geelong gliding club, lovely banks, tower hill. koroit

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 Schreder HP 14T is a variant of an all metal single seat sailplane designed by Richard Schreder of USA in the 1960s. The HP14T featured a ‘T’ tail in place of ‘V’ tail of the HP14V. The design was marketed to home builders in kit form. The Museum’s Schreder HP14T (VH-GIB) first flew on 31 August 1974. It has recorded 280 hours in the air from 239 launches to 28 January 1989, the date of its last flight. It is understood that VH-GIB was partly constructed in North America and completed in South Australia by C.G.M. Coxon. Ownership passed to the Georgeson Syndicate of Rockhamption, Queensland and later to Warren Mayfield of Victoria. Warren Mayfield donated the glider to the Museum in April 2002. All metal single seat glider sailplaneRegistration lettering on rudder and fuselage sidesaustralian gliding, glider, sailplane, schreder, coxon, georgeson, mayfield, slingsby, bache, waikerie gliding club

The Schweizer SGS 2-12 or TG-3A as officially certificated is a glider that was designed in 1941-1942 and produced in United States of America from 1942 for training of military glider pilots. It is understood that over 100 TG-As were supplied to the USA military and at the end of the war many were sold off as surplus. Fred Hoinville imported the Museum’s TG-3A into Australia in August 1950. It is understood that it had been built in 1948 and given construction number G15. On arrival in Australia it was assembled at Bankstown aerodrome and delivered by aero-tow behind a DH Tiger Moth to Camden where Hoinville’s club, the Hinkler Soaring Club, was based. Hoinville’s TG-3A performed well at the Hinkler club in 1950-1951. Several altitude records (including a solo flight to 8000 feet by Grace Roberts – a national women’s record) were set and many soaring flight made over Camden. However, it was badly damaged in a crash landing on 15 April 1951. The glider was repaired after the crash at Camden. It is likely that modifications were made to the cockpit canopy at this time. There were three configuration tried at various times: the original dual cockpit canopy as was standard for TG3As; an unusual dual bubble canopy set up; and a single canopy over the forward seating position (in effect converting the glider to a single seater). When the glider was flown by Hoinville at the 1958 Australian Gliding Championships at Benalla, Victoria in January 1959 (refer The Age Newspaper, January 10, 1959 p.21) it had a single canopy. Records show that the glider was entered on the Australian register as VH-GDI on 6 May 1957. And the Logbook commencing in 1959 shows that ownership passed to the Port Augusta Gliding Club in South Australia on 16 August 1959. Inspections were carried out at that club and airworthiness certificates renewed in 1965. The logbook record indicates that VH-GDI had 1191 flights with an aggregate time in the air of 197 hours at the Wilmington Road Airstrip used by the Port Augusta Club. The glider was transferred to the Cooma Gliding Club, New South Wales. Flying at Cooma began in November 1966 and continued until August 1969: the glider was in the air a further 108 hours from 1067 flights. The last recorded technical inspection of the glider was conducted on 28 September 1968. The glider then passed on to Bill Riley on 20 March 1980 who stored the glider until March 2004 when it was collected by the Australian Gliding Museum. It is not clear whether the current poor state of the airframe is due to accident damage or the conditions under which it has been stored over many years or a combination of factors. Although in poor condition, this exhibit is the sole example of a TG3A ex-US military aircraft in Australia. Further the connection with the story of well-known power and glider pilot Fred Hoinville adds to its historical significance. Tubular metal framed fuselage (without covering and fittings), wooden rudder (no covering) and in damaged condition, wooden fuselage component (formers for fuselage top), Parts of control mechanism, Wooden stringers, Wooden wings without fabric covering and in damaged condition, Ailerons, Tailplane /Elevator without fabric covering, Perspex bubble canopies.australian gliding, glider, sailplane, schweizer, tg 3a, hoinville, roberts, hinkler soaring club, port augusta gliding club, cooma gliding club, riley

The Ka 2, a tandem two seat training sailplane of 15 metre wing span, was designed by Rudolf Kaiser for Schleicher in 1953. It was a versatile craft due to its good cross country soaring capability. With the Ka 2B, the design was improved in 1955 by lengthening the wing span to 16 metres and increasing the dihedral and tip washout. The fuselage was lengthened slightly as well. Schleicher built 42 Ka2s from 1953 to 1955 and 75 Ka 2Bs from 1955 to 1957. In addition Schleicher supplied kits for construction of the sailplane by independent builders. The Australian Gliding Museum’s example is the single Ka 2b built in Australia from plans and is designated as GFA-HB-47. The club concerned was the Illawarra Soaring Club of Sydney. The glider registered as VH-GHO and first flew in October 1960. However, within a short time it was badly damaged and needed major repairs which took over a year to complete. After lengthy service at Illawarra Soaring Club it was transferred to the Stirling Gliding Club in Western Australia in August 1976. Again it suffered damage in a landing accident in 1978. The damaged glider was put into storage at Northam where it remained for approximately 11 years. It was acquired by Mike Valentine in 1989 and brought back to flying condition at Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. The last entry in the log book is dated January 1997 at which time it had accumulated 1170 hours from 2446 flights. The last owner prior to transfer to the Australian Gliding Museum was John Ashford of the Geelong Gliding Club. The Museum's Ka 2B sailplane is a potentially airworthy example of this German 1950s sailplane type. It is a rarity in Australia as the only Ka 2b appearing on the Australian register.Tandem two seat sailplane of wood and fabric construction finished in cream and red colour schemeRegistration VH-GHO (with "HO" letters painted on the fin / rudder) Serial number - GFA HB 47 australian gliding, glider, sailplane, schleicher, kaiser, ka 2, illawarra soaring club, stirling gliding club, valentine, ashford

The ES49 glider / sailplane was designed by Edmund Schneider in Germany before he migrated to Australia in the early 1950s. In Germany the ES49 was put into limited production by the Schleicher factory from 1951 to 1953 (8 produced). In Australia the ES49 is commonly referred to as the “Wallaby”; two were built by the Adelaide Soaring Club with assistance from Edmund Schneider Ltd and one independently from plans by Eric Hader and members of the Cooma Gliding Club. The Museum’s ES49 – serial number GFA-HB-36 - was built at Gawler from 1955 to 1958 and registered as VH-GLL on 15 January 1959. It was the second of the ES49s built by the Adelaide Soaring Club. Originally it had a rather distinctive appearance due to the use of a sleek P51 Mustang canopy to enclose the forward seating position of the cockpit. The glider, together with its sister VH-GDK, was used at the Gliding Federation of Australia National Gliding Schools at Gawler. In 1964 the glider was transferred to the Newcastle Gliding Club, Newcastle, in New South Wales and then in 1966 it went to the Albury and District Gliding Club, Albury, New South Wales. The Snowy Mountains Gliding Club, Khancoban, New South Wales acquired the glider in 1968 where it remained until 1974. In 1974 the glider transferred into private hands at Wodonga, Victoria, for two years and then to interests at Albury until 1985. At that stage the glider was acquired by a private owner at Bathurst, New South Wales, who undertook a restoration that included, amongst other work, the fitting of a more conventional cockpit canopy. The glider was at Warkworth, New South Wales in 1992 and became to be owned by Eric Oates who preserved it until he donated it to the Australian Gliding Museum. According to the logbook for VH-GLL held by the Museum, the glider was last flown in November 1990 and at that time had logged 2758 hours and 57 minutes from 15775 launches. The fuselage is currently under restoration at the Museum’s Dave Darbyshire workshop. The ES49 – VH-GLL – is an example of the state of wood and fabric dual place sailplane design in the late 1940s. The glider served the Adelaide Soaring Club and subsequent owners well as a training and general purpose sailplane over many years. It is a rare example of the type (one of 4 existing in the world). Tandem two seat high wing strut braced glider-sailplane finished in silver grey colour scheme.australian fliding, glider, sailplane, schneider, es 49, wallaby, oats, adelaide soaring club, hader, cooma gliding club, newcastle gliding club, albury & district gliding club, snowy mountains gliding club

The auto tow launching mechanism was designed by Ray Jamieson of Cobram in the north of Victoria. The prototype was built the for the Corowa Gliding Club where it was used for some years. After Ray’s brother, Bert Jamieson, had witnessed the machine in use at Corowa, at Bert’s request, Ray built second one (the Museum’s exhibit) for use at Bacchus Marsh airfield. Bert lived in Melbourne at the time and was a member of the Victorian Motorless Flight Group (VMFG) which used Bacchus Marsh airfield. This occurred in the 1970s. The method of operation was to have the auto tow mechanism mounted in the back of a utility motor vehicle. The launching cable was attached to the glider. With the Volkswagen engine of the mechanism running, the tow vehicle would then drive along the runway to commence the launch. The mechanism would automatically apply brake pressure to the cable drum as the vehicle proceeded freely letting out the cable and then smoothly towing the glider into the air. When the launching cable reached a certain angle, the pilot would release the cable from the glider at which point the winching mechanism would automatically retrieve the cable in preparation for the next launch. This allowed quicker restarts and the flexibility of easily changing runways to suit the wind conditions. It made gliding a simple and cost-effective operation. Ray Jamieson and his son often used the prototype which they named “George” at Corowa in this way. With the exception of several demonstration launches, the Museum’s example of this type of device was not used by the VMFG at Bacchus Marsh due to rulings by the Department of Civil Aviation encouraging the use of aero tow launching at their site. As far as is known this is the only device of its type in the world and is indicative of the ingenuity found amongst the Australian gliding fraternity.Single drum and motorized drive mechanism mounted on a mobile steel frame.australian gliding, glider, sailplane, auto towing, launching, jamieson, corowa gliding club, victorian motorless flight group, vmfg

The Schreder HP 14V is an all metal single seat sailplane designed by Richard Schreder in America. The design is an evolution of Schreder’s metal sailplane designs that date from the late 1950s. Schreder won the United States National Soaring Championship in 1966 in the prototype HP 14. He marketed the glider in kit form in the 1960s and 1970s and allowed Slingsby in the UK to further develop the design for production. Schreder HP14 V, registered as VH-GGB, was built in South Australia by Harry Bache of the Waikerie Gliding Club in the 1970s. Martin Simons, an authority on vintage sailplanes (including Slingsby types), refers to this airframe as “built entirely from scratch”. After Bache, this Schreder HP14V passed on to E.G. Moore and N.L. Lovell at Ararat in Western Victoria, then Graeme Rickert of the Canberra Gliding Club and finally, to Greg O’Sullivan of the Geelong Gliding Club. The glider was first flown on 20 December 1975. It appears to have been flown regularly over its life to 2015 and the cumulative use being 1386 hours flown from 702 launches. The log book does not disclose details of flights except as aggregates of flights and times. Details of notable flights by Bache and Moore et al are not available. However, reports from Rickert and O’Sullivan indicate that a good number of cross-country flights of 300km or longer were achieved in this aircraft. A well-engineered metal sailplane from the 1970s with good soaring performance which was designed for amateur construction. All metal single seat glider sailplane with a distinctive V-tail, finished in a white and blue colour schemeRegistration letters 'GGB' on sides of fuselageaustralian gliding, glider, sailplane, schreder, slingsby, bache, waikerie gliding club, moore, lovell, rickert, o’sullivan, canberra gliding club, geelong gliding club.