The Slingsby T.3 Primary (a.k.a. Dagling) was a single-seat training glider produced in the 1930s by Fred Slingsby in Kirbymoorside, Yorkshire.

Design and development

During the 1920s

Alexander Lippisch Alexander Martin Lippisch (November 2, 1894 – February 11, 1976) was a German aeronautical engineer, a pioneer of aerodynamics who made important contributions to the understanding of tailless aircraft, delta wings and the ground effect, and a ...

designed a training glider with very low performance to introduce pilots gradually to full-blown gliding. The result was a glider with a very simple structure of an open framework fuselage, with short wings attached by cables to a king post and the base of the fuselage. Lippisch's original design, the Zögling (Pupil in English) had an all-wood fuselage but Wolf Hirth instigated a redesign of the rear fuselage using steel tubes.

History

The plans for the modified Zögling made their way via the United States to the London Gliding Club and

Reginald Foster Dagnall Reginald Foster Dagnall (11 April 1888 – 16 November 1942) was a British engineer and aircraft designer. Early life Dagnall was born in Fulham, London in 1888 the son of Walter and Frances Dagnall, he was educated at Tiffin School, Kingston ...

, whose RFD company put it into production as the RFD Primary. They built 27 in 1930-31. The type became known as the Dagling, a name formed by combining Dagnall and Zögling, which later became used informally to cover all types of primary gliders in the UK. Fred Slingsby took over construction in 1934 and production continued up to the outbreak of World War II. The Primary should not be confused with the similar T.38 Grasshopper which was produced for the Air Training Corps in the 1950s.

Operators

Variants

;Slingsby T.3 Primary :Derived from the Wolf Hirth-modified Zögling ;RFD Primary Type AT :Production of the Primary by the

R.F.D. Co Rural Free Delivery (RFD) was a program of the United States Post Office Department that began in the late 19th century to deliver mail directly to rural destinations. Previously, individuals living in remote homesteads had to pick up mail themsel ...

, named Dagling from a contraction of Dagnall and Zögling. ;Hawkridge Dagling :A modified Dagnall built post World War II by the

Hawkridge Aircraft Co. Hawkridge may refer to two places in England: * Hawkridge, Somerset * Hawkridge, Chittlehampton, North Devon See also * Hawkeridge, Wiltshire {{Disambig, geo ...

Specifications

References

* Ellison, N.H. ''British Gliders and Sailplanes 1922-1970''. A & C Black, 1971 * Simons, M. ''Slingsby Sailplanes''. Airlife Publishing, 1996 -

External links

{{Slingsby aircraft 1930s British sailplanes Glider aircraft

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

Parasol-wing aircraft