Schweizer Sailplanes

The Schweizer SGU 1-19 and Schweizer SGU 1-20 are a family of United States single-seat, high-wing, strut-braced, utility gliders built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York.

 

The 1-19 was a 1944 development of the pre-war SGU 1-7 and bears a strong resemblance to the earlier craft. It was designed for single place training and soaring flights.

 

The 1-20 was an improved version of the 1-19 with a wingspan of 43 feet (13 m) replacing the 36-foot (11 m) wing on the 1-19.

 

The 1-19 first flew in 1944 and was quickly ordered by Schweizer's 15 US dealers in large numbers for use as a trainer. Fifty were completed.

 

Construction of the constant chord 1-19 wing was of wood and fabric. It utilized a two spar, double strutted design. The fuselage and tail were made from welded tube covered with aircraft fabric. The 1-19 was originally produced with an open cockpit, but in service most were modified with the addition of canopies. The 1-19 is very light, with an empty weight of just 320 lb (150 kg), but it is complex to assemble and disassemble as this requires use of many small pins.

 

General characteristics

 

Crew: One

Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.97 m)

Wing area: 170 ft2 (15.79 m2)

Aspect ratio: 7.9

Wing profile: NACA 43012A

Empty weight: 320 lb (145 kg)

Gross weight: 550 lb (250 kg)

 

Performance

 

Maximum speed: 75 mph (120 km/h)

Maximum glide ratio: 16 at 42 mph (67 km/h)

Rate of sink: 210 ft/min (1.07 m/s)