Sproule-Ivanoff Camel

The Sproule-Ivanoff Camel was a 1930s British single-seat medium performance glider designed by J.S Sproule and Alexander Ivanoff and built by Scott Light Aircraft of Dunstable, Bedfordshire.[1][2]

Camel
Role Single-seat glider
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Scott Light Aircraft
First flight 1939
Number built 1

Design and development

At the end of 1937 Sproule and Ivanoff decided to design a glider that would be cheap, be easy to control and have a good speed range. It would also have wing-folding for quick assembly.[1] The glider was a high wing strut-supported single-spar monoplane with no flaps of airbrakes and an enclosed single-seat cockpit.[1] The Camel first flew at Ratcliffe in Leicestershire in 1939.[2] In 1949 the Camel was registered to Alexander Ivanoff as G-ALLL.[3]

Accidents

On 19 August 1951 the Camel was destroyed in a fatal mid-air collision with another glider over Dunstable.[4][5] The pilot, an instructor with the London Gliding Club, was killed when the Camel suddenly descended on top of an EoN Olympia glider.[5] The pilot of the Olympia, from the South Downs Gliding Club, took evasive action when he saw the Camel descend; the glider lost four foot of wing tip but landed safely.[5] The Camel did not have a certificate of airworthiness, which was not a compulsory requirement. The Deputy Coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death, saying "there was no evidence that either glider was anything but airworthy".[6]

Specifications

Data from VGC News[2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 17 ft 2 in (5.23 m)
  • Wingspan: 37 ft 4 in (11.38 m)
  • Wing area: 110 sq ft (10 m2)
  • Aspect ratio: 12.7
  • Airfoil: Göttingen 535 at root, Göttingen 389 at tip[7]

Performance

  • Rate of sink: 169 ft/min (0.86 m/s) minimum at 35 mph (56 km/h)[7]
  • Wing loading: 3.7 lb/sq ft (18 kg/m2) [7]

See also

Related lists

References

Notes
  1. Sproule, J.S. (April 1929). "The Camel". Sailplane and Glider. British Gliding Association. 10 (4): 70–71.
  2. "Would this have been the Camel Mk 2". VGC News. Vintage Glider Club. 10 (93): 18. 1998.
  3. "Aircraft Register Entry for G-ALLL" (PDF). United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  4. "Glider Instructor Killed". News in Brief. The Times. No. 52084. London. 20 August 1951. col D, p. 4.
  5. "Club and Gliding News". Flight: 236. 24 August 1951.
  6. "Death after Glider Collision". News. The Times. No. 52087. London. 23 August 1951. col D, p. 3.
  7. Ellison, Norman (1971). British Gliders and Sailplanes. London: A & C Black Ltd. pp. 138–9, 169. ISBN 978-0-7136-1189-2.
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