Paul,

You had a discusion about early composite aircraft.

To my knowlege the first successful aircraft was a totally composite
sailplane
designed and built by one Byran Stender, the B.S.-1, while a student at
Darmstadt. It was completed just in time for the German Nationals and it
was
flown in it by Byran, I believe.

It took first place in each of the first three days. A noted German
contestant
made the remark: "Ja! It is doing well in these strong thermal conditions,
but
it von't in veak conditions!" The weather changed,to weak thermals. The
B.S.-1
continued to win each day. The next to the last day of the contest the
B.S.-1
had accumulated enough points that it would have won even if it hadn't
flown the
last day.

Two more ships were built using the molds.

Some time later Byran was running some flight tests and there was a
catastrophic
failure of the spar within the fuselage. Byran left the sailplane, at
about
1000 feet agl, but his chute did not open. As was customary, then the
ripcord
was tied to a laynard with its end attached to the spar. Consequently the
ripcord was never pulled.

After the accident the remainder of the spar was tested. Although made of
E-glass it tested way way lower than it's calculated strength.
Eugene Sandburg

What year was that?

Paul Lamar

-- Paul,

I don´t remember and my library is in Montana.   I believe it can be looked
up in the
second addition of Worlds Sailplanes.  I haven´t seen it in Janes but they
should have
published it as well.  It was the forrunner of the ¨Glass Slippers¨, later
The Libelle and
the Diamont were built.  I believe it had an airfoil designed by Dr.
Wortman.  I am
reasonably sure that it wasn´t one designed by Dr. Eppler.  They were the
leaders at that
time.  It was a real machine for the time.

Gene

1962
http://www.sailplanedirectory.com/glasflugel.htm

Paul Lamar

The Phoenix I was talking about was built in 1959-56-57 and the Bavarian
competition it flew in, was in 1959. This design was not suitable for
production. The Galsfluegel guy, Haenle and his wife, picked up from there
and designed and built a line of gliders with production in mind. I believe
he got killed in a glider crash, and she continued the operation for a long
time.

Richard Sohn
N2071U