Buxton Hjordis

The Buxton Hjordis was a single-seat sailplane 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 between 1935-7.

Hjordis
Role Competition sailplane
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Slingsby Sailplanes
Designer G. M. Buxton
First flight 27 May 1935
Number built 1

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 was circular in cross section with the cockpit immediately in front of the wing leading edge 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 of rounded triangular shape and with a vertical leading edge. The horizontal tail was small and essentially all elevator apart from a leading-edge hinge.[1]

Buxton began the design of a development, the Hjordis 2 which was completed and built by Slingsby Aviation as the King Kite.[2]

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 in September 1935.[3] He also flew it at the International Competition held between 14-47 July 1937 at the Wasserkuppe, Germany.[4] At that time it was registered as G-GAAA. The following year it went to South Africa as ZS-23.[1]

The name

Hjordis is a character in Norse mythology, the mother of Sigurd/Siegfried.

Specifications

Data from Ellison 1971, p. 94

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 6.58 m (21 ft 7 in)
  • Wingspan: 15.54 m (51 ft 0 in)
  • Wing area: 11.52 m2 (124.0 sq ft)
  • Aspect ratio: 21
  • Airfoil: Göttingen 652 at root, RAF 32 at tip
  • Empty weight: 144 kg (317 lb)
  • Gross weight: 218 kg (481 lb)

Performance

  • Rate of sink: 0.61 m/s (120 ft/min) minimum
  • Lift-to-drag: 24
  • Wing loading: 18.9 kg/m2 (3.9 lb/sq ft)

Notes
  1. Ellison 1971, p. 94
  2. Ellison 1971, p. 95
  3. Flight 12 September 1935 p.297-8
  4. Flight 15 August 1937 p.81

References
  • Ellison, Norman (1971). British Gliders and Sailplanes. London: A & C Black Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7136-1189-2.
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