Slingsby Capstan

T.49 Capstan
	Slingsby T.49 Capstan in 1966
Role	Sailplane
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd
First flight	1961
Number built	34

The Slingsby T.49 Capstan is a British two-seat glider of the 1960s built by Slingsby Sailplanes as a replacement for their earlier Type 42 Eagle.

Design and development

The Capstan is a high-winged monoplane of wooden construction, the last two-seat wooden glider built by Slingsby,^[1] intended for both training and general club flying. Side-by-side seats for the two pilots are accommodated in an enclosed cockpit with a one-piece perspex canopy. The prototype T.49A first flew in 1961, and it entered production as the T.49B in 1963.^[2] Thirty-four Capstans were built,^[1] one of which was fitted with an auxiliary engine with the designation T.49C Powered Capstan.

Specifications

Capstan BUR/BGA1248 at the Vintage Glider Rally, Camphill, 2011

Capstan T49 Polar Curve, from manufacturer's Handbook

Data from The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II^[3] and Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1969 ^[2]

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 25 ft 4 in (7.72 m)
Wingspan: 55 ft 1 in (16.78 m)
Wing area: 219.9 sq ft (20.43 m²)
Aspect ratio: 13.75
Airfoil: Root:NACA 63₃-620, Tip: NACA 6412
Empty weight: 761 lb (345.4 kg)
Gross weight: 1,250 lb (567 kg)

Performance

Stall speed: 37 mph (60 km/h, 32 kn)
Never exceed speed: 135 mph (217 km/h, 117 kn)
Rough air speed max: 92 mph (148 km/h; 80 kn)
Aerotow speed: 92 mph (148 km/h; 80 kn)
Winch launch speed: 92 mph (148 km/h; 80 kn)
g limits: +4, 0
Maximum glide ratio: 30:1 at 47 mph (76 km/h; 41 kn)
Rate of sink: 130 ft/min (0.66 m/s) at 43 mph (70 km/h; 38 kn)
Wing loading: 5.7 lb/sq ft (27.7 kg/m²)

Notes

^ ^a ^b "Slingsby Archived 3 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine", www.sailplanedirectory.com. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
^ ^a ^b Taylor 1969, p.550.
^ Shenstone, B.S.; K.G. Wilkinson (1963). The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II (in English, French, and German) (1st ed.). Zurich: Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue. pp. 116–117.

References

"Two New Sailplanes". Flight International, 31 May 1962.pp. 867–869.
Taylor, J.W.R (ed.) Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1969–70. London:Sampson Low, 1969.
Slingsby Sailplanes Capstan T49 Handbook, 1963

External links

[sailplane_directory-1] "Slingsby Archived 3 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine", www.sailplanedirectory.com. Retrieved 21 March 2009.

[Janes_69_p550-2] Taylor 1969, p.550.

[Shenstone-3] Shenstone, B.S.; K.G. Wilkinson (1963). The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II (in English, French, and German) (1st ed.). Zurich: Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue. pp. 116–117.

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