57-486: Two aircraft built by Short Brothers have been named Sherpa : Short SB.4 Sherpa , a jet-powered experimental wing research aircraft, first flight 1953 Short C-23 Sherpa , military version of the Short 330 and 360 turboprop powered transport aircraft, introduced 1985 Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
114-594: A kite as they worked towards achieving powered flight. They returned to glider testing in 1911 by removing the motor from one of their later designs. In the inter-war years, recreational gliding flourished in Germany under the auspices of Rhön-Rossitten . In the United States, the Schweizer brothers of Elmira, New York, manufactured sport sailplanes to meet the new demand. Sailplanes continued to evolve in
171-435: A car or boat rather than being capable of free flight. These are known as rotor kites . However rotary-winged gliders, 'gyrogliders', were investigated that could descend like an autogyro , using the lift from rotors to reduce the vertical speed. These were evaluated as a method of dropping people or equipment from other aircraft. A paper plane, paper aeroplane (UK), paper airplane (US), paper glider, paper dart or dart
228-516: A glider. The Space Shuttle and its Soviet equivalent, the Buran shuttle , were by far the fastest ever aircraft. Recent examples of rocket glider include the privately funded SpaceShipOne which is intended for sub-orbital flight and the XCOR EZ-Rocket which is being used to test engines. Most unpowered rotary-wing aircraft are kites rather than gliders, i.e. they are usually towed behind
285-409: A motor mounted on a wheeled frame rather than the pilot's back. There can be confusion between gliders, hang gliders, and paragliders . Paragliders and hang gliders are both foot-launched glider aircraft and in both cases the pilot is suspended ("hangs") below the lift surface. "Hang glider" is the term for those where the airframe contains rigid structures, whereas the primary structure of paragliders
342-572: A new experimental aircraft to incorporate the latest advances and explore its behaviour, thus it constructed the Short SB.1 glider. This aircraft was designed to be as inexpensive as possible and thus featured extensive wooden construction alongside its innovative wing. After only a few months of flight, the SB.1 suffered damage in a heavy landing at RAF Aldergrove on 17 October 1951. Shorts' chief test pilot, Tom Brooke Smith, objected to further flights of
399-559: A patent US Patent 3131894 on the Parafoil which had sectioned cells in an aerofoil shape; an open leading edge and a closed trailing edge, inflated by passage through the air – the ram-air design. The 'Sail Wing' was developed further for recovery of NASA space capsules by David Barish. Testing was done by using ridge lift . After tests on Hunter Mountain , New York in September 1965, he went on to promote " slope soaring " as
456-517: A potential escape method at Oflag IV-C near the end of the war in 1944. Foot-launched aircraft had been flown by Lilienthal and at the meetings at Wasserkuppe in the 1920s. However the innovation that led to modern hang gliders was in 1951 when Francis Rogallo and Gertrude Rogallo applied for a patent for a fully flexible wing with a stiffening structure. The American space agency NASA began testing in various flexible and semi-rigid configurations of this Rogallo wing in 1957 in order to use it as
513-401: A precipitous running or jumping, as opposed to a smooth motion. Scholars are uncertain as to its original derivation, with possible connections to "slide", and "light" having been advanced. Early pre-modern accounts of flight are in most cases difficult to verify and it is unclear whether each craft was a glider, kite or parachute and to what degree they were truly controllable. Often the event
570-544: A recovery system for the Gemini space capsules . Charles Richards and Paul Bikle developed the concept producing a wing that was simple to build which was capable of slow flight and as gentle landing. Between 1960 and 1962 Barry Hill Palmer used this concept to make foot-launched hang gliders, followed in 1963 by Mike Burns who built a kite-hang glider called Skiplane . In 1963, John W. Dickenson began commercial production. January 10, 1963 American Domina Jalbert filed
627-869: A set of (feathery) wings, and both blamed their crash on the lack of a tail. Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi is alleged to have flown a glider with eagle-like wings over the Bosphorus strait from the Galata Tower to Üsküdar district in Istanbul around 1630–1632. The first heavier-than-air (i.e. non-balloon) man-carrying aircraft that were based on published scientific principles were Sir George Cayley 's series of gliders which achieved brief wing-borne hops from around 1849. Thereafter gliders were built by pioneers such as Jean Marie Le Bris , John J. Montgomery , Otto Lilienthal , Percy Pilcher , Octave Chanute and Augustus Moore Herring to develop aviation . Lilienthal
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#1732790100712684-466: A small anti-balance tab, the fulcrum of which could be moved by means of an electric actuator. It was expected that the rotary wing tip controls would prove greatly superior to the flap type at transonic speeds and provide greater manoeuvrability at high altitudes. In terms of its construction, the Sherpa was primarily composed of light alloys and featured a monocoque arrangement. Wing sweep-back on
741-412: A summer activity for ski resorts (apparently without great success). NASA originated the term "paraglider" in the early 1960s, and ‘paragliding’ was first used in the early 1970s to describe foot-launching of gliding parachutes. Although their use is mainly recreational, unmanned paragliders have also been built for military applications e.g. Atair Insect . The main application today of glider aircraft
798-709: Is a toy aircraft (usually a glider) made out of paper or paperboard; the practice of constructing paper planes is sometimes referred to as aerogami (Japanese: kamihikōki), after origami, the Japanese art of paper folding. Model glider aircraft are flying or non-flying models of existing or imaginary gliders, often scaled-down versions of full size planes, using lightweight materials such as polystyrene , balsa wood , foam and fibreglass . Designs range from simple glider aircraft, to accurate scale models , some of which can be very large. Larger outdoor models are usually radio-controlled gliders that are piloted remotely from
855-608: Is done by individual designers and home builders. Unlike a sailplane, a hang glider is capable of being carried, foot launched and landed solely by the use of the pilot's legs. In a hang glider the shape of the wing is determined by a structure, and it is this that distinguishes them from the other main type of foot-launched aircraft, paragliders , technically Class 3. Some hang gliders have engines, and are known as powered hang gliders . Due to their commonality of parts, construction and design, they are usually considered by aviation authorities to be hang gliders, even though they may use
912-638: Is only recorded a long time after it allegedly took place. A 17th-century account reports an attempt at flight by the 9th-century poet Abbas Ibn Firnas near Córdoba, Spain which ended in heavy back injuries. The monk Eilmer of Malmesbury is reported by William of Malmesbury ( c. 1080 – c. 1143 ), a fellow monk and historian, to have flown off the roof of his Abbey in Malmesbury , England, sometime between 1000 and 1010 AD, gliding about 200 metres (220 yd) before crashing and breaking his legs. According to these reports, both used
969-563: Is sport and recreation. Gliders were developed from the 1920s for recreational purposes. As pilots began to understand how to use rising air, gliders were developed with a high lift-to-drag ratio . These allowed longer glides to the next source of ' lift ', and so increase their chances of flying long distances. This gave rise to the popular sport known as gliding although the term can also be used to refer to merely descending flight. Such gliders designed for soaring are sometimes called sailplanes. Gliders were mainly built of wood and metal but
1026-714: Is supple, consisting mainly of woven material. Military gliders were used mainly during the Second World War for carrying troops and heavy equipment (see Glider infantry ) to a combat zone, including the British Airspeed Horsa , Russian Polikarpov BDP S-1 , American Waco CG-3 , Japanese Kokusai Ku-8 , and German Junkers Ju 322 . These aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g. C-47 Dakota , or by bombers that had been relegated to secondary activities, e.g. Short Stirling . Once released from
1083-413: Is the basis for most recreational flights and competitions, though aerobatics and 'spot landing competitions' also occur. Launching is often done by jogging down a slope, but winch launches behind a towing vehicle are also used. A Paramotor is a paraglider wing powered by a motor attached to the back of the pilot, and is also known as a powered paraglider . A variation of this is the paraplane , which has
1140-742: The Bell X-1 in 1946 up to the North American X-15 spent more time flying unpowered than under power. In the 1960s research was also done on unpowered lifting bodies and on the X-20 Dyna-Soar project, but although the X20 was cancelled, this research eventually led to the Space Shuttle. NASA 's Space Shuttle first flew on April 12, 1981. The Shuttle re-entered at Mach 25 at the end of each spaceflight , landing entirely as
1197-574: The Horten flying wings , the scaled glider version of the Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 jet powered flying wing. Lifting bodies were also developed using unpowered prototypes. Although the idea can be dated to Vincent Justus Burnelli in 1921, interest was nearly non-existent until it appeared to be a solution for returning spacecraft. Traditional space capsules have little directional control while conventionally winged craft cannot handle
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#17327901007121254-487: The air sports of gliding , hang gliding and paragliding . However some spacecraft have been designed to descend as gliders and in the past military gliders have been used in warfare. Some simple and familiar types of glider are toys such as paper planes and balsa wood gliders. Glider is the agent noun form of the verb to glide . It derives from Middle English gliden , which in turn derived from Old English glīdan . The oldest meaning of glide may have denoted
1311-447: The torsion box well back in the wing so that the air loads, acting in the region of the quarter- chord line, have a considerable moment arm about it. The torsional instability and tip stalling characteristics of conventional swept wings were recognised at the time, together with their tendency to aileron-reversal and flutter at high speed; the aero-isoclinic wing was designed to specifically prevent these undesirable effects. In
1368-491: The transonic range, but the attained test results did not fully validate his hopes. Aviation author Bill Gunston notes that, despite the Sherpa having attaining its design goals, the concept was considered to be "not fully realised in practice" and the project was eventually wound up without a direct continuation. Shorts did prepare multiple proposals, such as the retrofitting of the Supermarine Swift fighter with
1425-491: The 1930s, and sport gliding has become the main application of gliders. As their performance improved, gliders began to be used to fly cross-country and now regularly fly hundreds or even over a thousand of kilometers in a day, if the weather is suitable. Military gliders were developed by during World War II by a number of countries for landing troops,. A glider – the Colditz Cock – was even built secretly by POWs as
1482-794: The Bristol College of Advanced Technology, before being preserved and put on display at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum . The origins of the Short SB.4 Sherpa can be traced back to the 1920s and the activities of Professor Geoffrey T.R. Hill , who was pivotal in the design of the Westland-Hill Pterodactyl , a pioneering tailless experimental aircraft. Even prior to the First World War , Shorts had been involved in tailless aircraft research, but interest in
1539-544: The FAI based on a maximum weight. They are light enough to be transported easily, and can be flown without licensing in some countries. Ultralight gliders have performance similar to hang gliders , but offer some additional crash safety as the pilot can be strapped in an upright seat within a deformable structure. Landing is usually on one or two wheels which distinguishes these craft from hang gliders. Several commercial ultralight gliders have come and gone, but most current development
1596-810: The Korean War, transport aircraft had also become larger and more efficient so that even light tanks could be dropped by parachute, causing gliders to fall out of favor. Even after the development of powered aircraft, gliders have been built for research, where the lack of powerplant reduces complexity and construction costs and speeds development, particularly where new and poorly understood aerodynamic ideas are being tested that might require significant airframe changes. Examples have included delta wings, flying wings, lifting bodies and other unconventional lifting surfaces where existing theories were not sufficiently developed to estimate full scale characteristics. Unpowered flying wings built for aerodynamic research include
1653-536: The Sherpa was finally grounded. Following this, it was transported to the Bristol College of Advanced Technology, where the airframe was used as a "laboratory specimen". Its fuselage was on display at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum , near Bungay , Suffolk , until 17 July 2008, after which it was moved to the Lisburn site of the Ulster Aviation Society . The sole SB.4 is on display at
1710-417: The Sherpa, the wing, which was used without a tailplane , was fitted with rotating tips comprising approximately one-fifth of the total wing area. Unlike pure wingtip ailerons, these surfaces were a bit more like "wingtip elevons ", as they were rotated together (to act as elevators ) or in opposition (when they acted as ailerons ). They were hinged at about 30% chord and each carried, on the trailing edge,
1767-619: The Ulster Aviation Collection, Long Kesh Airfield, near Belfast Data from Shorts Aircraft since 1900. General characteristics Performance Related development Glider (aircraft) A glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Most gliders do not have an engine, although motor-gliders have small engines for extending their flight when necessary by sustaining
Short Sherpa - Misplaced Pages Continue
1824-488: The aero-isoclinic wing, but these were not pursued. The Sherpa itself was subsequently donated to the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield , where it continued to fly up until 1958. At this point, engine issues forced the aircraft to be grounded until replacement powerplants could be organised. During 1960, further engines were made available, thus flying of the Sherpa resumed until 1964, when, with its engine life expired,
1881-465: The aircraft's centre of gravity; electrical power was supplied by a ram air turbine by the engines. Blackburn , who produced the Palas under licence, hoping to market these engines as a new product line, supplied the powerplants for the Sherpa programme. On 4 October 1953, the Sherpa performed its maiden flight , piloted by Shorts' Chief Test Pilot , Tom Brooke-Smith . Brooke-Smith had also piloted
1938-400: The altitude (normally a sailplane relies on rising air to maintain altitude) with some being powerful enough to take off by self-launch . There are a wide variety of types differing in the construction of their wings, aerodynamic efficiency, location of the pilot, controls and intended purpose. Most exploit meteorological phenomena to maintain or gain height. Gliders are principally used for
1995-491: The characteristics of the wing for such aircraft to be produced in the future. While such a wing had been flown on the earlier Short SB.1 , an unpowered glider , it was deemed valuable to use a powered aircraft instead. The design of the Sherpa is largely based upon that of the SB.1, to the extent that it incorporated numerous elements of this aircraft. The Sherpa performed its maiden flight on 4 October 1953, after which it spent several years performing experimental flights and
2052-399: The company's aeronautical engineers , David Keith-Lucas , was keen to eliminate the parasitic drag normally incurred by the presence of a conventional tail and fuselage, and thus was a keen proponent of the tailless approach. He also observed that directional stability was a critical issue without the application of traditional fins and rudders ; it was identified that the outermost parts of
2109-534: The earlier experimental glider aircraft, the Short SB.1 , upon which the Sherpa was based. Although he sustained injuries in the crash landing of the SB.1, Brooke-Smith had quickly recovered and was able to undertake the test programme of the redesignated SB.4 (registered as G-14-1 ) throughout 1953–1954. (Incidentally, the Sherpa was named following the conquest of Mount Everest but derived its name specifically from its company designation " S hort & H arland E xperimental R esearch P rototype A ircraft. ) During
2166-402: The engine for the entire flight. Some flexible wing powered aircraft, Ultralight trikes , have a wheeled undercarriage, and so are not hang gliders. A paraglider is a free-flying, foot-launched aircraft. The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a fabric wing. Unlike a hang glider whose wings have frames, the form of a paraglider wing is formed by the pressure of air entering vents or cells in
2223-460: The field reached new heights in the years immediately following the Second World War . During the late 1940s, the company worked on multiple proposals for tailless aircraft in response to specifications issued by the Air Ministry , including Specification X.30/46 and Specification B.35/46 , which sought a military assault glider and strategic bomber respectively. In particular, one of
2280-492: The front of the wing. This is known as a ram-air wing (similar to the smaller parachute design). The paraglider's light and simple design allows them to be packed and carried in large backpacks, and make them one of the simplest and economical modes of flight. Competition level wings can achieve glide ratios up to 1:10 and fly around speeds of 45 km/h (28 mph). Like sailplanes and hang gliders, paragliders use rising air (thermals or ridge lift) to gain height. This process
2337-451: The ground with a transmitter . These can remain airborne for extended periods by using the lift produced by slopes and thermals . These can be winched into wind by a line attached to a hook under the fuselage with a ring, so that the line will drop when the model is overhead. Other methods of launching include towing aloft using a model powered aircraft, catapult-launching using an elastic bungee cord and hand-launching. When hand-launching
Short Sherpa - Misplaced Pages Continue
2394-480: The initial series of flying trials of the Sherpa, performed largely by Brooke-Smith, the aircraft had reportedly proved to be quite satisfactory; its docile handling characteristics led to be being described as being 'one of the most graceful aircraft now flying'. The aircraft was typically flown within a restricted flight envelope, during which it reportedly achieved a "flat-out" speed of 170 mph (270 km/h) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m), which made it amongst
2451-409: The leading edge was just over 42° to facilitate low-speed research. The Sherpa was provisioned with a conventional tricycle undercarriage . Two diminutive engines ( Turbomeca Palas ) were buried in the upper fuselage with a NACA flush inlet on the top of the fuselage and toed-out exhausts located at the wing roots. Fuel was housed within the fuselage in two 250 gallon tanks, which were balanced around
2508-474: The majority now have composite materials using glass, carbon fibre and aramid fibers. To minimise drag , these types have a fuselage and long narrow wings, i.e. a high aspect ratio . In the beginning, there were huge differences in the appearance of early-sailplanes. As technology and materials developed, the aspiration for the perfect balance between lift/drag, climbing ratio and gliding speed, made engineers from various producers create similar designs across
2565-491: The majority now land on wheels, often retractable. Some gliders, known as motor gliders , are designed for unpowered flight, but can deploy piston , rotary , jet or electric engines . Gliders are classified by the FAI for competitions into glider competition classes mainly on the basis of span and flaps. A class of ultralight sailplanes, including some known as microlift gliders and some as 'airchairs', has been defined by
2622-406: The newer "discus" style of wing-tip hand-launching has largely supplanted the earlier "javelin" type of launch. A glide bomb is a bomb with aerodynamic surfaces to allow a gliding flightpath rather than a ballistic one. This allows the bomber aircraft to stand off from the target and launch the bomb from a safe distance. Most types have a remote control system which enables the aircraft to direct
2679-402: The occasional aerial display. After gathering sufficient data for Shorts' purposes, the company decided that it did not show sufficient potential as to continue its research into the aero-isoclinic wing. The sole Sherpa was donated to the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield during the late 1950s and flown for numerous years. It was eventually grounded and used as a static laboratory specimen at
2736-418: The slowest jet-powered aircraft to have ever flown. Data from these flights was typically captured by an onboard flight data recorder and analysed post-flight to build up a model of how a similar full-sized wing would behave under various conditions, including various altitudes and speeds. Keith-Lucas had aimed to validated the wing as a low weight solution that behaved well across various speeds, including
2793-537: The stresses of re-entry, whereas a lifting body combines the benefits of both. The lifting bodies use the fuselage itself to generate lift without employing the usual thin and flat wing so as to minimize the drag and structure of a wing for very high supersonic or hypersonic flight as might be experienced during the re-entry of a spacecraft . Examples of type are the Northrop HL-10 and Martin-Marietta X-24 . The NASA Paresev Rogallo flexible wing glider
2850-482: The title Short Sherpa . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Short_Sherpa&oldid=875278876 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Short SB.4 Sherpa The Short SB.4 Sherpa
2907-403: The tow near the target, they landed as close to the target as possible. Advantages over paratroopers were that heavy equipment could be landed and that the troops were quickly assembled rather than being dispersed over a drop zone. The gliders were treated as disposable leading to construction from common and inexpensive materials such as wood, though a few were retrieved and re-used. By the time of
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#17327901007122964-428: The unpowered glider. Accordingly, it was decided that the fuselage, which had been heavily damaged, would be replaced by a modified design that incorporated a pair of Turbomeca Palas turbojet engines. The Short SB.4 Sherpa was an experimental aircraft, featuring an unusual aero-isoclinic wing . This radical wing configuration was designed to maintain a constant angle of incidence regardless of flexing, by placing
3021-431: The wing could be rotated and repositioned to function as elevons for stability and control purposes. New wing designs that presented a low aspect ratio, such as the delta wing , had been observed to reduce the onset of these issues; Keith-Lucas and Hill, jointly developed what became known as the aero-isoclinic wing . Having become sufficiently confident in the merits of the aero-isoclinic wing , Shorts opted to produce
3078-451: The world. Both single-seat and two-seat gliders are available. Initially training was done by short 'hops' in primary gliders which are very basic aircraft with no cockpit and minimal instruments. Since shortly after World War II training has always been done in two-seat dual control gliders, but high performance two-seaters are also used to share the workload and the enjoyment of long flights. Originally skids were used for landing, but
3135-477: Was an experimental aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Short Brothers . Only a single example was ever produced. The Sherpa was developed during the 1950s for the purpose of testing a novel wing design, referred to as an aero-isoclinic wing . It was believed that this wing design could possess favourable qualities for producing tailless aircraft , and that the Sherpa would validate
3192-637: Was built to investigate alternative methods of recovering spacecraft. Although this application was abandoned, publicity inspired hobbyists to adapt the flexible wing airfoil for modern hang gliders. Rocket-powered aircraft consume their fuel quickly and so most must land unpowered unless there is another power source. The first rocket plane was the Lippisch Ente , and later examples include the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-powered interceptor. The American series of research aircraft starting with
3249-423: Was the first to make repeated successful flights (eventually totaling over 2,000) and was the first to use rising air to prolong his flight. Using a Montgomery tandem-wing glider, Daniel Maloney was the first to demonstrate high-altitude controlled flight using a balloon-launched glider launched from 4,000 feet in 1905. The Wright Brothers developed a series of three manned gliders after preliminary tests with
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