Midwest MU-1

MU-1
Role	Glider
National origin	United States
Designer	Art Schultz
Status	No longer in production
Primary user	United States Army Air Corps
Number built	at least 6
Variants	Schultz ABC

The Midwest MU-1 was an American single-seat, high-wing, strut-braced utility glider that was designed by Art Schultz in the 1930s.^[1]

Design and development

The MU-1 was designed by Schultz prior to the Second World War and was used by the United States Army Air Corps for glider training and designated as the TG-18.^[1][2]

The MU-1 was constructed with a welded steel tube fuselage and a wooden-framed wings, all covered in doped aircraft fabric covering. The wing was of 36 ft (11.0 m) span, employed a NACA 4412 airfoil and was supported by two parallel struts with jury struts. Landing gear was a fixed monowheel.^[1][3]

The aircraft was type certified on 13 October 1944 and about six were completed by Midwest Sailplane and possibly also by the Motorless Flight Institute of Chicago, Illinois.^[1][3]

Operational history

In 1983 Soaring Magazine reported that two MU-1s were still in existence, but by June 2011 none was on the Federal Aviation Administration registry.^[1][4]

Variants

MU-1

Standard model with 36 ft (11.0 m) wingspan and 172 sq ft (16.0 m²) wing area^[1]

MU-1 long-wing

Version with a longer span, double-tapered wing of similar wing area. This model may have been a proposal only as completed examples have not been confirmed.^[1]

Schultz ABC

Developed from the MU-1, the ABC has a longer wingspan and higher glide ratio. It won the 1937 Eaton Design Competition^[1]

Operators

Military

• United States Army Air Corps^[1]

Specifications (MU-1)

Data from Soaring and Glider Type Certificate 16^[1][3]

General characteristics

• Crew: one
• Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.97 m)
• Wing area: 172 sq ft (16.0 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 7.5:1
• Airfoil: NACA 4412
• Empty weight: 323 lb (147 kg)
• Gross weight: 513 lb (233 kg)

Performance

• Never exceed speed: 80 mph (70 kn; 130 km/h)
• Maximum glide ratio: 15:1 at 36 mph (58 km/h)
• Rate of sink: 174 ft/min (0.88 m/s) at 30 mph (48 km/h)
• Wing loading: 3 lb/sq ft (15 kg/m²)

See also

Related lists

• List of gliders
  

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Said, Bob: 1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine, page 61, Soaring Society of America November 1983. USPS 499-920
2. ^ Aerofiles (June 2011). "Designations". http://www.aerofiles.com/desig-rz.html. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Federal Aviation Administration (October 1944). "Type Certificate data Sheet, Midwest Sailplane". http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgMakeModel.nsf/0/8f99dfab7440681a85256744005a6277/$FILE/ATTPPV7W/GTC16.pdf. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
4. ^ Federal Aviation Administration (June 2011). "Make / Model Inquiry Results". http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=&Modeltxt=MU-1&PageNo=1. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 

External links

• NACA 4412 airfoil