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Collection

B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge.
  • Image 1 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge
  • Image 2 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge
  • Image 3 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge
  • Image 4 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge
  • +11
    Image 5 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge
  • Image 6 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge
  • Image 7 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge
  • Image 8 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge
  • Image 9 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge
  • Image 10 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge
  • Image 11 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge
  • Image 12 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge
  • Image 13 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge
  • Image 14 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge
  • Image 15 of 15, B2422 Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958. Click to enlarge

‘Twin Plank’ tail-less glider made by Reginald Todhunter

Designed
This glider was built at Bankstown, NSW, by Glidair Sailplanes, the first firm in Sydney to solely build and repair sailpanes. The tail-less flying wing glider was successfully test flown by Reginald Todhunter of Glidair Sailplanes in 1958 and in 1967 became the first tail-less glider to receive an Australian Certificate of Airworthiness. As well as Todhunter, the design team included Stephen Marton, Milton Lalas and Al Backstrom and the design was based on an American design known as EPB, after its designers Easley, Powell and Backstrom. Able to carry two people, the glider was named 'Twin Plank' and carried the registration number VH-GST. The glider's flying speed was about 80 km per hour. Intended to be a low-cost trainer for the Gliding Federation of Australia, the 'Twin Plank' did not gain acceptance due to its radical design.

https://glidingaustralia.org/mag/GA39Online.pdf

Judith Campbell, MAAS volunteer, under the supervision of Margaret Simpson, Curator,
July 2018

Summary

Object No.

B2422

Object Statement

Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 1958

Physical Description

Glider, two-seat tail-less flying wing, 'Twin Plank' VH-GST, and engineering drawings (63), wood / fabric / paper, designed and made by Reginald Todhunter, Glidair Sailplanes, Bankstown, NSW, Australia, 1958

'Twin Plank' glider and a collection of drawings and prints for its construction.

Tail-less, high-winged aircraft glider comprises an oval-shaped body and a rounded nose. The glider is made of wood and canvas with a perspex covered cockpit area on the roof and sides, which is hinged from the centre and can open upwards. The glider features cream painted wings with a red painted stripe at either end, a cream painted rear body and red painted nose. Underneath the body of the glider is a single landing wheel and on the top exterior is a metal reinforcement bar. The interior of the cockpit is blue painted metal with double seating side-by-side, two fabric harnesses, controls and dashboard.

Specifications:
Empty weight: 430lb (195 kg)
Wingspan: 35' 6" (10.8m)
Chord (width of wing): 5' (1.5m)
Fuselage length: 10' 9" (3.2m)
Glider ratio: 18:1
Sink rate: 3' 6"/sec (1m/sec)

Short URL

https://ma.as/212051

Production

Designed

Made

Designed

Designed

Designed

Made

Notes

The glider was designed by Reg Todhunter, Stephen Marton, Milton Lalas and Al Backstrom and it was built by Reginald Todhunter of Glidair Sailplanes at Bankstown in 1958. In 1967 it became the first fully approved tail-less sail plane to fly in Australia.

History

Used

Notes

The 'Twin Plank' glider was successfully test flown by Reginald Todhunter on May 31 and June 1, 1958 at Bankstown, NSW.

Source

Credit Line

Gift of Reginald Todhunter, 1981

Acquisition Date

24 November 1981

Cite this Object

Harvard

'Twin Plank' tail-less glider made by Reginald Todhunter 2020, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 26 September 2020, <https://ma.as/212051>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/212051 |title='Twin Plank' tail-less glider made by Reginald Todhunter |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=26 September 2020 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}

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