Ex-RAF Gliders in SW Soaring Museum
 

Just visited the Southwest Soaring Museum in their new hanger at Moriarty, NM just south of I-40. Amongst a fascinating collection of gliders & motor-gliders from 1928 to present, they have two ex-RAF Slingsby machines: a T.21B, WB941, and a T.31, XE785. The latter has the following still on its tail:
SSK/R1416 St ATHAN TITANINE

I'm sure the Museum would love hear from anyone who flew either aircraft or has photos of them in service. And, of course, if you're in the area, stop in for a great view of gliding from it's beginnings (they have early German & US designs as well as British) to contemporary.

Are these gliders airworthy? If not, it's a pity - someone had our club T21 at over 7000 feet last Sunday and it's a waste to keep them locked indoors.

There's a guy named Richard Cawsey who has a website www.rcawsey.fsnet.co.uk which includes the Slingsby gliders production lists.

He was able to give me a lot of information on the service record of our T21, so he can probably help with the SW ones. Try emailing him direct.

He's got WB941 listed as at the SW museum but nothing on XE 785 so he'd probably like to know (+ any pictures)

As far as I know, the St Athan stencil means that the glider went through the reconditioning workshop at St Athan at some stage. "Titanine" was a type of fabric dope. The number may be a colour code (does anyone know?). Our T21 has the same stencils (with different numbers) on all the different coloured sections.

Would you believe it, I did my first solo flight in XE785 on 1.7.57 at No.662 GS at RAF Edzell!

I shall try to contact the new owners.

I checked with Richard Cawsey and apparently the SSK/R1416 stencil is a component number. SSK = Slingsby Sailplanes Kirkbymoorside R = rudder & 1234 is the part number. An FF1234 would be the fuselage, an A1234 an aileron etc.

You live and learn

Wonderful thing the military mind

JW,
Thought there'd be someone on PPrune who'd have a connection with either craft.

Mig,
I may be a "sparky" but even I know what Titanine is. Only included the details as someone might even have worked on her. (Thanks for the Assembly details, Sedburgh).

I only had a brief visit unfortunately. I was taken in by a friend of mine who's done a great job of rebuilding an L2M and is currently in the middle of a Bucker Jungmann rebuild so when he finishes that... I know the intent is to keep as many as possible flying from the adjacent field at Moriarty which is a hot-bed of glider activity and they have several members who are gradually working through the various aircraft.

Anyone else have any encounters with either one?

[Edited to correct Bucker type]

I did my first ever solo in a Slingsby T31 Cadet TX.3 'XA302' ... which they have kindly put in the RAF Museum for posterity :ok:

I took my first ever passenger up in Sedburgh VX275 which is now in the store for the RAF museum at Stafford.- I do hope they can find a slot for her at Cosford.

It is reckoned that more people had their first flying lessons in a T21 than any other aircraft type in the country!

But maybe the T31 came close:)

If you're ever in the Dallas area, don't forget to visit the Silent Wings museum in Terrell (KTRL)

Oh scratch that...

If you're ever in the Lubbock area, don't forget to visit the Silent Wings museum in Lubbock (KLBB)

I 'broke' VX275 in an accident at Halton, but being a presentation aircraft it was re-built.

An awful lot of the T21 T31 fleet were rebuilt from Cat 4/5 condition a number of times. So I doubt if you were the first one to try and kill VX275 or Mrs Hepple as we called her - The aircarft was presented by a Mrs F D Hepple. I can never remember using the presentation name of Venture.

We called her Mrs Hepple not just because it was presented by her; often after launch the wheel would rattle on its axle as it spun down, and Honey Monster would claim it was Mrs Hepple talking to you!