Bristol_Glider
Bristol Glider
British two-seat glider, 1910
The Bristol Glider was an early British two-seat biplane glider designed in 1910s by George Challenger and built by the British & Colonial Aeroplane Company at Filton Aerodrome, Bristol.[1]
Challenger was chief engineer of the British & Colonial Aeroplane Company and he designed the glider for Sir George White the company founder.[1] White had the glider built to present to the Bristol and West of England Aero Club after he had been elected president of the club in October 1910.[1]
Challenger had previously designed the Bristol Boxkite, strongly influenced by Henri Farman's aircraft, and the Glider followed the same layout.[2] It had a foreplane well ahead of the wings, mounted on wire-braced wooden booms, which also carried the undercarriage of a pair of long skids carrying small wheels. [2] Four booms, tapering together in elevation, carried a single tailplane rather than the pair used by the Boxkite.[2] The foreplane and tailplane moved together to control pitch.[1] A small pair of rudders was mounted between the booms near the tail.[1] Lateral control was by ailerons fitted on the upper wing.
The Glider first flew from the landing ground at Keynsham on 17 December 1910, piloted by Challenger. It was hand-towed into the air and retrieved uphill using a two-wheel dolly.[1] It was damaged in February 1911 and repaired but a more serious accident on 4 September 1911 cost £30 to repair.[1] The Glider survived until 1912 but the final fate is not known.[1] The Glider had been designed to have a 30 hp (22 kW) engine fitted but this was never installed.[1]