The Schweizer SA 1-30 was the first entry by Schweizer in the powered aircraft market.

Design and development

Schweizer developed a line of gliders starting in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The 1-30 was not intended to be a motor glider, but rather a

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a Maximum Takeoff Weight, maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are use ...

utilizing some glider and sailplane technologies, common parts with other Schweizer designs and an affordable price as a result of using smaller powerplants. Removable wings, and the ability to be transported by trailer were also criteria for keeping airport-based hangar costs down. The 1-30 shares the same wings and tail surfaces as the 1-26 glider. 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 ...

is of aluminum construction with a welded steel tube tail structure. The wings are removable using the same design as the 1-26. The engine uses a cowling with exposed cylinders like a J-3 Cub for simplicity and cooling efficiency. Wing mounted spoilers were retained from the 1-26, allowing steep low-speed descents at about a 5:1 glide ratio. Three sets of wings were tested including a set from the model 2-31.

Operational history

Construction of the prototype was started in April 1958 and completed by August. The aircraft was tested as a glider aero-towing aircraft using a Schweizer SGU 2-22C. The single-place 1-30 was not intended to go into production, the two-place 2-31 was envisioned as the production model, but was also not produced beyond a single prototype.

Variants

;SAU 1-30 :The SA 1-30 modified with a shorter wing and a fully cowled engine.

Specifications (Schweizer SA 1-30)

References

{{Schweizer aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Schweizer aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1958