DFS SG 38 Schulgleiter

{{Infobox aircraft begin

| name=SG 38 Schulgleiter

| image=SG38 at Airpower11 01.jpg

| caption=SG.38 reproduction

}}{{Infobox aircraft type

| type=Primary glider

| national origin=Germany

| manufacturer=

| designer= Schneider, Rehberg and Hofmann

| first flight=1938

| introduced=1938

| retired=

| status=No longer in production

| primary user=

| more users=

| produced=

| number built=about 10,000

| developed from= Stamer Lippisch Zögling

| variants with their own articles=

}}

The Schneider DFS 108-14 SG-38 Schulgleiter (School glider) is a German high-wing, cable-braced, single-seat primary glider that was designed by Schneider, Rehberg and Hofmann at Edmund Schneider's factory at Grunau in 1938, hence the designation. It was produced by several builders, including Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS).{{Cite web|url = http://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/collections/transport/aeronautics/sailplanes/basic-training-glider-sg-38/|title = Basic Training Glider SG 38, 1938|access-date = 14 May 2011|last = Deutsches Museum|year = n.d.|archive-date = 2 June 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150602070443/http://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/collections/transport/aeronautics/sailplanes/basic-training-glider-sg-38}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=16888 |title=Schneider Schulgleiter SG 38 |access-date=19 August 2011 |last=National Museum of the United States Air Force |year=n.d. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913154619/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=16888 |archive-date=13 September 2011 }}

Design and development

The SG 38 was designed to be a training glider for basic flight training by the Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps (NSFK). The usual launch method was by bungee cord from a sloped hill. Because training was conducted solely by solo flight the aircraft had to be very easy to fly and also easy to repair.

The high-wing design uses a kingpost and cable bracing. The primary structure of the glider is of wood, with the wings, tail surfaces and inverted "V" kingpost all finished in doped aircraft fabric covering. The pilot sits on a simple seat in the open air, without a windshield.

The basic configuration was similar to earlier gliders such as the Stamer Lippisch Zögling and the Grunau IX, but the SG 38 was an entirely new design. Improvements included enlarged tail surfaces for better stability, a separate skid mounted on shock-absorbing springs, and an updated seat for the pilot.Sailplanes 1920-1945, Martin Simons, EQIP, 2001

Operational history

File:Fotothek df ld 0003142 001 Sport ^ Flugsport ^ Segelflug.jpg

The SG-38 played a critical role in pilot training for the Luftwaffe in the Second World War, as a simple, but robust, trainer for the rapid increase in the number of pilots needed by Germany. It was commonly flown by bungee launch on the slopes of the Wasserkuppe and the hills of Saarmund.{{Sfn | Sinnhuber | 2012 | p = 9}}

From 1949 to 1951 Spain's AISA produced 50 licence-built aircraft.{{Cite web|url = http://www.ejercitodelaire.mde.es/ea/pag?idDoc=CC080F0B0240A9D7C125747A002415EA&idImg=1850315910A615E1C125747A0026FC8B|title = Fotografía del Aisa Schneider Shulgleiter|access-date = 25 March 2013|last = Museo del Aire|year = n.d.|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131015225357/http://www.ejercitodelaire.mde.es/ea/pag?idDoc=CC080F0B0240A9D7C125747A002415EA&idImg=1850315910A615E1C125747A0026FC8B|archive-date = 15 October 2013}}

In the UK, Elliotts of Newbury built a copy of the SG.38 called the Elliotts Primary EoN; its version first flown in 1948 and used by the RAF as the Eton TX.1.

Aircraft on display

Danmarks Flymuseum, Stauning Vestjylland Airport, Denmark{{cite web|url=http://flymuseum.dk/fly?id=193:hoffmann-rehberg-schneider-sg-38&catid=34|title=Website DFm|access-date = 27 June 2015|year = 2015}}
Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany
Museo del Aire, Madrid, Spain
Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, Paris – Le Bourget Airport, France{{cite web |url=http://www.pyperpote.tonsite.biz/listinmae/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=41:hall-e-apres-guerresaint-exuperyaviation-civi&Itemid=54&layout=default&limitstart=20 |title=List'In MAE |access-date=23 May 2011 |year=2011 |language=fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721055552/http://www.pyperpote.tonsite.biz/listinmae/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=41%3Ahall-e-apres-guerresaint-exuperyaviation-civi&Itemid=54&layout=default&limitstart=20 |archive-date=21 July 2011 }}
Museu do Ar, Sintra, Portugal{{cite web|url=http://www.emfa.pt/www/po/musar/s-003.006.001-aeronaves|title=Força Aérea Portuguesa – Museu do Ar – Sintra|date=|publisher=Museu do Ar|access-date=March 14, 2013|language=Portuguese|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230013508/http://www.emfa.pt/www/po/musar/s-003.006.001-aeronaves|archive-date=December 30, 2012}}
National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio, USA
Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden, Bedfordshire, England{{cite web|url=http://www.shuttleworth.org/collection/eonprimary/|title=1938 Schneider SG38 (EoN Primary)|access-date=25 April 2016|archive-date=12 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812105335/http://www.shuttleworth.org/collection/eonprimary/|url-status=dead}}

Specifications (SG 38)

File:Gummiseilstart SG-38.ogv in Germany.]]

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=Flugzeug-Typenbuch, Helmut Schneider, Hermann Beyer Verlag, Leipzig 1939

|prime units?=met

|genhide=

|crew=One

|capacity=

|length m=6.28

|length ft=

|length in=

|length note=

|span m=10.41

|span ft=

|span in=

|span note=

|height m=2.43

|height ft=

|height in=

|height note=

|wing area sqm=16

|wing area sqft=

|wing area note=

|aspect ratio=6.76

|airfoil=

|empty weight kg=100

|empty weight lb=

|empty weight note=

|gross weight kg=210

|gross weight lb=

|gross weight note=

|more general=

|perfhide=

|max speed kmh=115

|max speed mph=

|max speed kts=

|max speed note=

|cruise speed kmh=

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|cruise speed note=

|stall speed kmh=

|stall speed mph=

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|stall speed note=

|never exceed speed kmh=115

|never exceed speed mph=

|never exceed speed kts=

|never exceed speed note=

|g limits=

|roll rate=

|glide ratio=10:1 at 52 km/h

|sink rate ms=

|sink rate ftmin=

|sink rate note=

|lift to drag=

|wing loading kg/m2= 13.75

|wing loading lb/sqft=

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}}

Bibliography

{{cite book |last = Sinnhuber |first = Karl |title = Salzburg To Stalingrad |location = UK |publisher = Milton Keynes |year = 2012 |isbn = 9781471702228}}