Slingsby Dart 17R

As some off you know I used to fly full size gliders and over the year I have been fortunate to fly many types and from various club sites all around the country. I spent my early days flying K6E's, K18's, Pirat's and some flying in a Dart 17R owned by a good friend of mine, Les Merrit. It was lovely to fly with lots of room and flew very nicely. On one flight I remember flying out over the sea up at about 4500ft after soaring a classic sea breeze front. I might even have some pictures from that flight somewhere. Must dig them out!

I found this video of a 1/3 scale Slingsby Dart 17R and it took me back when I was younger and slimmer and flying the full size version. A British made glider, built up in Yorkshire by Slinsby Sailplanes Ltd from 1965. One of only a few wooden gliders to have retractable undercarriage and complete with a 17 metre wingspan. The glide angle was reasonable at 36 - 1. Les often flew 300Km x country tasks with his Dart 17R and continued for many years to get around a 500Km course.

 

Note the under carriage being retracted shortly after take off - very nice....