View Full Version : Am I seeing things - a jet powered glider!!??
Around 1300(A) I could swear it went over my house near the Parham gliding site. Am I hallucinating? How inefficient can that propulsion system be for a glider?
treadigraph
31st Aug 2014, 12:58
Seems there are several self launching sailplanes powered by small turbines available now including a version of the Schempp-Hirth Ventus.
Actually, I think the Fouga Magister had its genesis in a jet powered glider in the 1950s.
Simplythebeast
31st Aug 2014, 13:26
The U2 looks very much like a jet powered glider.
Agaricus bisporus
31st Aug 2014, 14:07
Lightweight, compact, no prop. How is that inefficient when space and weight are at a premium?
DaveReidUK
31st Aug 2014, 14:23
I could swear it went over my house near the Parham gliding siteProbably this:
http://www.wingsandwheels.com/images/018a.jpg
G-HPJT Glasflügel (HpH) 304SJ Shark, a common sight at Parham, may even be based there.
Looks right, DR - strange I have nevert heard it before - a very distinctive noise.
Dan Winterland
31st Aug 2014, 16:02
Caproni made a jet powered motor glider in the 70s, the C21J. It had an engine in the fuselage and had fantastic performance with a ceiling well in excess of 40,000ft!
http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/images/stories/IAD/Nov-Dec-2008/sailplane/caproni-r1.jpg
Trouble is the ceiling round here is 4500' and possibly soon to be lower.
treadigraph
31st Aug 2014, 20:11
Fouga's jet glider
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py1tnKofH5c