Slingsby Aviation

Infobox Aviation
name=Slingsby Aviation


caption=Slingsby T67M Firefly

thumb|right|Slingsby_Dart_17_sailplane.

Slingsby Aviation is a British aircraft company based in Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire, England.

History

The company was founded in nearby Scarborough as Slingsby Sailplanes by Frederick Nicholas Slingsby, a furniture manufacturer, World War I aviator and gliding enthusiast. Its first aircraft was a German designed Falke which flew in 1931. In 1934 the company moved to Kirbymoorside. In World War II, Slingsby contributed to the production of military gliders with the Slingsby Hengist. Slingsby’s last glider, the Slingsby T.65 Vega, ceased production in 1982. [Simons 1996, p.253.]

Since the 10th August 2006 the name of the company has changed to Slingsby Advanced Composites [ [http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/7be257ba33b3e434d8c4d4452fc1d86a/compdetails Company registration details] ] . Since then the company is owned by three individuals and is no longer a part of Cobham plc.

Slingsby designs and manufactures composite structures, ranging from large marine structures, such as submarine rudders, to lightweight helmets for helmet mounted display systems, mainly for the aerospace and defence industries.

Slingsby Aviation’s SAH2200 hovercraft has operated in such varied regions as the Arctic Circle and Africa. Two are seen in the James Bond movie, "Die Another Day".

The company builds the T-67 Firefly, a two seater military training aircraft.

Slingsby Aviation employs around 130 people on its 12,220 square metre (131,000 square feet) site. The company has its own airfield with a 750 metre reinforced grass runway.

Aircraft

*Baynes Bat
*Slingsby T.1 Falcon 1
*Slingsby T.3 Dagling
*Slingsby T.4 Falcon II
*Slingsby T.5 Grunau Baby
*Slingsby T.6 Kirby Kite 1
*Slingsby T.7 Kirby Cadet
*Slingsby T.8 Kirby Tutor
*Slingsby T.9 King Kite
*Slingsby T.12 Kirby Gull 1
*Slingsby T.14 Gull II
*Slingsby T.18 Hengist
*Slingsby T.20
*Slingsby T.21B Sedbergh
*Slingsby T.31B Tandem Tutor
*Slingsby T.37 Skylark One
*Slingsby T.38 Grasshopper
*Slingsby T.41 Skylark 2
*Slingsby T.43 Skylark 3
*Slingsby T.45 Swallow
*Slingsby T.49B Capstan
*Slingsby T.50 Skylark 4
*Slingsby T.51 Dart
*Slingsby T.53B
*Slingsby T.59 (Kestrel)
*Slingsby T.61 Falke (Venture)
*Slingsby T.65 Vega
*Slingsby T.67 Firefly

References

*"Slingsby Sailplanes", by Martin Simons, Airlife Publishing 1996 ISBN 1-85310-732-8: drawings, descriptions and many photographs of all Slingsby gliders.

External links

* [http://www.slingsby.co.uk/ Slingsby Aviation company web site]