By the nineteenth century, people fascinated with the idea of flying were experimenting with gliders (aircraft with no motors; also called sailplanes). After World War I, gliding became a sport in the United States and in Germany. Shown below are some gliders which were displayed in various museums.
1902 Wright Brothers Glider
This replica aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
1930 Waco Primary Glider
According to the Waco promotion:
“You can learn to fly in a WACO Glider. It’s easier than driving an automobile and lots more fun. It’s great sport more thrills in a minute than any other. Even old-time pilots get a thrill out of it.”
This aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
1935 Schleicher Rhonbussard Glider
This aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
1935 Franklin PS-2
This aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
1939 Slingsby T.13 Petrel Glider
This aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
1939 Slingsby T6 Kite I Glider
This aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
Horten Ho IV
This is a German flying wing glider which was made in 1940. This aircraft is on display in the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California.
Bowlus BA-100 (Baby Albatross)
The kit-built Baby Albatross was one of the most popular sailplanes of the pre-World War II era. It was designed by Hawley Bowlus and introduced in 1938. The Baby Albatross was intended to be an inexpensive glider: it sold for $750 ready-to-fly or for $385 as a kit. A total of 156 kits were delivered.
Construction of the Baby Albatross includes wings and tail surfaces of wood covered in aircraft fabric. The tailboom is a metal tub and the cockpit is made from molded plywood.
There are about 12 of these aircraft still on the Federal Aviation Administration civil aircraft register. This aircraft was on display in the Port Townsend Aero Museum in Port Townsend, Washington.
1942 Laister-Kauffman LK-10A
Over 150 of these sailplanes were delivered to the U.S. Army as two-place training gliders. The airplane has fully-cantilevered wood wings and tails, with a steel tub fuselage, all covered in fabric. Following World War II, it became popular for racing.
This sailplane was designed by Jack Laister based on his 1938 single-seat Yankee Doodle design. When the Army Air Corps expressed interest in it, they asked for him to arrange for its manufacture. With businessman John Kauffman, he found the Laister-Kauffman Corporation in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Army Air Corps has intended to use the TG-4A to train pilots for cargo gliders, but it was discovered that the flight characteristics were very different than those of the cargo gliders and thus experience gained on the TG-4A was not particularly relevant. By the end of the war, all of the aircraft had been withdrawn from service.
This aircraft was on display in the Port Townsend Aero Museum in Port Townsend, Washington.
1942 Laister-Kauffmann TG-4A
Prior to World War II, Laister-Kauffman built sport gliders. The TG-4A is a training glider built to the Army’s requirements. This aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
Schleicher Ka6E Glider
Designed in Germany by Alexander Schleicher, a total of 394 were produced. Schleicher is considered one of the pioneers of sailplane design. He originally worked in a furniture factory, and after he won a major prize in a gliding completion, he founded his own company in 1926. With the outbreak of World War II, civilian aircraft production in Germany stopped and did not resume until 1951.
This aircraft was on display in the Port Townsend Aero Museum in Port Townsend, Washington.
Schweizer SGS 2-32
The Schweizer SGS 2-32 is an American two-seat, mid-wing glider built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York. It was first flown in 1962. A total of 87 of these aircraft were built.
This aircraft was on display in the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.
CG-4A Hadrian
This glider was first produced in 1943. It was the workhorse of the American Glider Force and used in every airborne invasion of World War II. According to the Museum display:
“Designed to carry pilot and co-pilot plus a huge cargo of 75mm Howitzer, 15 fully-army troops or quarter ton jeep. An ingenious hinged design opened the nose for cargo. Upon landing, the jeep was used to raise the nose, extend the ramps and seconds later the jeep was deployed.”
Once the glider had crash landed into battle, pilot and co-pilot became part of the infantry.
This aircraft was on display in the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.
1942 Schweizer TG-3A Glider
This aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
1943 Moswey III Glider
This glider was built by the Moswey Segelflugzeug Werke in Horgen, Switzerland. This aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
1944 Spalinger S-18 III Glider
This glider was built by the Segelflugzeugbau Lemp in Wynau, Switzerland. This aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
1948 Bowlus BA-100 Baby Albatross
This aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
1951 Heini Ditmar Condor IV
This aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
1963 Oberlerchner MG-23 SL Glider
This aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
1964 Schleicher Ka7 Glider
This aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
1969 Schweizer 2-33 Glider
This aircraft was on display in the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon.
More airplane photo tours
Museums 201: The Curtiss Jenny Airplane (photo diary)
Museums 201: Piper Cubs (Photo Diary)
Museums 201: World War I Fokker Airplanes (photo diary)
Museums 201: World War I Sopwith Airplanes (photo diary)
Museums 201: Bell Helicopters (photo diary)
Museums 201: Jet airplances of the 1940s (photo diary)