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

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 “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

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 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

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.

MOBA2 is a 15 metre sailplane designed by Gary Sunderland, who was an aeronautical engineer working for the Department of Civil Aviation (Australia) and a member of the Victorian Motorless Flight Group (VMFG). The design gave effect to ideas that he developed circa 1970 for an aircraft that he could build himself. He entered a 13 metre wingspan version of his MOBA design (MOBA2B) in an Australian Gliding sailplane design competition that was announced in 1970. The competition called for sailplane designs with a maximum wingspan of 13 metres that could be built by amateurs in a small workshop with limited tools and facilities. In 1973, Gary’s MOBA was judged by the competition panel as equal best with the other outstanding submission, which were chosen from a field of 19 entrants. However, after gathering further information and deliberation by the competition panel neither of the two outstanding designs were chosen as the winner. Notwithstanding the outcome, in 1974 Gary proceeded built his glider to the original 15 metre design. The wing was equipped with camber changing flaps that were permitted under special standard class rules for the 1974 world championships. Changes were made along the way in the light of construction experience and the completed glider was given the designation MOBA2C. The glider first flew on 12 December 1979. It was never flown in standard class competition as by the time the glider was built the special 1974 rules were revoked and wing flaps were no longer permitted in that class. However, Gary flew MOBA2C in the Australian national gliding competitions held at Benalla in the summer of 1979 / 1980 competing in the open class. After adjustment to the aileron gearing during initial trials MOBA2C was found to fly well and in competition produced performances believed to be better than contemporary standard class sailplanes but not as good as the open class machines. The glider was later modified in a number of respects including amongst other things the installation of spoilers located just forward of the wing flaps and by increasing the chord marginally at the wing root. With these changes the glider type was given the designation MOBA2D. The last recorded flights occurred in February 1996 at which time MOBA2 had flown an aggregate of 401 hours and 59 minutes during its 297 launches. Its operational life was brought to an end due to expansion of the foam in the wings causing distortion of the wing surface.The MOBA2 is a notable home built 1970s sailplane design that featured a number of innovative elements including composite construction without the need for expensive jigs, nose cone canopy and asymmetrical placement of control column.Composite single seat glider / sailplane finished in bright yellowRegistration "GVI" on fuselage; Kangaroo, Australian Flag and VMFG decals on vertical stabiliseraustralian gliding, glider, sailplane, moba2b, moba2c, sunderland, moba2d, victorian motorless flight group, vmfg

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

The Altair was built between January 1956 and November 1958 with first flight on 20 December 1958. After a few flights the cockpit was lengthened and the glider flown by Cliff Gurr and Ron Adair to complete their FAI Gold C badges. Cliff set an unofficial Australian record for an out and return flight (between Gawler and Renmark) of 230 miles (368 km) in 1961. The glider was flown by only Ron and Cliff until Mervyn Waghorn joined Ron to fly it in the National Championships at Waikerie in 1967. For a period of time the glider was left in the care of some members of the Geelong Gliding Club. Doug Vanstan of the Geelong Gliding Club fitted a new canopy and rebuilt the aileron bellcranks to improve their operation. Subsequently the Altair was flown in competitions and at vintage rallies until the mid 1980s. On 31 March 1987 Alan Patching of the Victorian Motorless Flight Group purchased the glider from Ron for the sum of one shilling and named the owners as himself, Doug Vanstan and Ian Patching. It has been stored at Bacchus Marsh airfield since then. The glider is the only 18 metre wing span machine to have been designed and built in Australia.The Altair glider is a single place 18 metre span cantilever wing glider constructed from spruce and aircraft plywood. The laminar flow wing is completely covered in plywood with a ply balsa sandwich for the leading edge and the airbrakes are unique being located in the trailing edge of the wings. All these features were done in an effort to retain laminar flow over the wing and achieve a high performance. The wings, empennage and top of the fuselage are painted white with the rest of the fuselage red. The word ‘Altair’ appears on both sides at the top of the fin.australian gliding, glider, sailplane, adair, gurr, waghorn, vanstan, rees, patching, altair, adelaide soaring club, gawler, geelong gliding club, vmfg, zechner