Midwest MU-1
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=MU-1 | image=Midwest MU-1.jpg | caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Glider | national origin=United States | manufacturer= | designer=Arthur B. Schultz | first flight= | introduced= | retired= | status=No longer in production | primary user=United States Army Air Corps | more users= | produced= | number built=at least 6 | program cost= | unit cost= | developed from= | variants with their own articles=Schultz ABC }} |
The Midwest MU-1 was an American single-seat, high-wing, strut-braced utility glider that was designed by Arthur B. Schultz in the 1930s.Said, Bob: 1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine, page 61, Soaring Society of America November 1983. USPS 499-920
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 Midwest TG-18.{{Cite web|url = http://www.aerofiles.com/desig-rz.html |title = Designations|access-date = 23 June 2011|last = Aerofiles|date=June 2011}}
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 {{convert|36|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} span, employed a NACA 4412 airfoil and was supported by two parallel struts with jury struts. Landing gear was a fixed monowheel.{{Cite web|url = http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgMakeModel.nsf/0/8f99dfab7440681a85256744005a6277/$FILE/ATTPPV7W/GTC16.pdf|title = Type Certificate data Sheet, Midwest Sailplane|access-date = 23 June 2011|last = Federal Aviation Administration|date = October 1944|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190721160023/http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgMakeModel.nsf/0/8f99dfab7440681a85256744005a6277/$FILE/ATTPPV7W/GTC16.pdf|archive-date = 21 July 2019|url-status = dead}}
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.
Operational history
In 1983 Soaring Magazine reported that two MU-1s were still in existence, but in October 2015 only one was on the Federal Aviation Administration registry.{{Cite web|url = http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=31680|title = Make / Model Inquiry Results|access-date = 20 October 2015|last = Federal Aviation Administration|date=20 October 2015}}
Variants
;MU-1
:Standard model with {{convert|36|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} wingspan and {{convert|172|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} wing area
;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.
:Developed from the MU-1, the ABC has a longer wingspan and higher glide ratio. It won the 1937 Eaton Design Competition
;TG-18:Military designation for impressed MU-1 gliders used for glider pilot training.
Operators
=Military=
Specifications (MU-1)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Soaring and Glider Type Certificate 16
|prime units?=imp
|genhide=
|crew=one
|capacity=
|length m=
|length ft=
|length in=
|length note=
|span m=
|span ft=36
|span in=0
|span note=
|height m=
|height ft=
|height in=
|height note=
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=172
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=7.5:1
|airfoil=NACA 4412
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=323
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=513
|gross weight note=
|more general=
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|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=80
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|glide ratio=15:1 at {{convert|36|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}
|sink rate ms=
|sink rate ftmin=174
|sink rate note= at {{convert|30|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}
|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading lb/sqft=3
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See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120322234706/http://www.ae.illinois.edu/m-selig/ads/afplots/naca4412.gif NACA 4412 airfoil]
{{Art Schultz aircraft}}
{{US glider aircraft}}