The Buxton Hjordis was a single-seat

sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...

built by Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd. in the UK to a design by G.M Buxton. Only one was constructed and was flown by Philip Wills at competitions in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

between 1935-7.

Development

The sole Buxton Hjordis was a high-performance sailplane designed by G.M "Mungo" Buxton and built in 1935 by Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd. It was a single-seater of all-wood construction. Its straight-tapered, cantilever wing was pedestal-mounted and was without flaps or airbrakes. The

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

was circular in cross section with the cockpit immediately in front of the wing

leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...

and a wheel-less, single-skid main undercarriage. Aft, the fuselage tapered to carry a very small triangular fin, on which was mounted a much taller, wide chord

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

of rounded triangular shape and with a vertical leading edge. The horizontal tail was small and essentially all

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

apart from a leading-edge hinge. Buxton began the design of a development, the Hjordis 2 which was completed and built by

Slingsby Aviation Slingsby Aviation was a British aircraft manufacturer based in Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, England. The company was founded to design and build glider (sailplane), gliders and sailplanes. From the early 1930s to around 1970 it built over 5 ...

as the King Kite.

Operational history

The Hjordis first flew on 27 June 1935. It had been designed and built for the well-known British glider pilot, Philip Wills, and he flew it at the British National Gliding Competitions at

Sutton Bank Sutton Bank is a hill in the former Hambleton District of the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire in England. It is a high point on the Hambleton Hills with extensive views over the Vale of York and the Vale of Mowbray. The A1 ...

in September 1935. He also flew it at the International Competition held between 14-47 July 1937 at the

Wasserkuppe The Wasserkuppe (;) is the highest mountain in the Rhön Mountains, Rhön range and the tallest elevation in the Germany, German state of Hesse, standing at above sea level. It forms a prominent plateau within the Fulda district and is known as ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

.''Flight'' 15 August 1937 p.81
/ref> At that time it was registered as ''G-GAAA''. The following year it went to South Africa as ''ZS-23''.

The name

Hjordis is a character in

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

, the mother of

Sigurd Sigurd ( ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir () — and who was later murdered. In the Nordic countries, he is referred t ...

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

Specifications

Notes

References

* {{Slingsby aircraft 1930s British sailplanes Buxton Hjordis Aircraft first flown in 1935 High-wing aircraft