Dunning Lancia sailplane

[avion ancien]

Does anyone know of a photograph and/or GA drawing of the Dunning Lancia sailplane, which I believe to have been designed and built, post-WWII, by Herbert John Dunning of 36 Chester Avenue, Lancing, East Sussex, England and used by the Portsmouth Gliding Club. There are references to it being flown by club members in the immediate post-war years but I have not yet found any references to it postdating Dunning's death on 14 February 1947.

With my thanks in anticipation.

 

[avion ancien]

In Sailplane & Glider of June 1946 the Dunning Lancia is described in the following terms:

'This machine, built by Dunning, the veteran constructor and pilot, has been recently completed and this flight was the first time it has been soared. It is a cabin machine possessing clean, straight forward lines, a great weight and a performance better than the most optimistic of us thought possible. Its stability and general handling are of a very high order and with this flight it has proved itself in no uncertain manner'

as a result of a flight which it made from Portsmouth Aerodrome on 20 April 1946.

 

[Apophenia]

Sorry, can't help with the photo or GA drawing. According to his obituary in Sailplane & Glider, 'Bert' Dunning only flew his 'Lancia' twice - although others apparently flew this machine too - increasing the likelihood of photos existing. Elsewhere it is mentioned that, at the time of his death, Dunning was employed as an aircraft wood-worker.

-- https://www.lakesgc.co.uk/mainwebpages/Sailplane & Glider 1930 - 1955/Volume 15 No.4 Apr 1947.pdf (page 16)

OT: Before the 'Lancia', 'Bert' Dunning also created a sailplane modification of a Cloudcraft Dickson Primary glider. This 'Dunning Sailplane' flew from Lancing on 10 March 1934 only to be written-off in a fatal crash on 20 May 1934.
-- http://all-aero.com/index.php/contactus/60-gliders/21904-dunning-1934-sailplane

Roger S. Dickson's original glider design had a span of only 10.45 m. So, I'm assuming that Dunning created a set of extended wing panels for his Dickson Primary to qualify for the term 'sailplane'. (If anyone has a copy to hand of British Gliders and Sailplanes (by Norman Ellison, A & C Black Ltd., London, 1971), could they have a look at page 106 to see if there are any details of the Dunning Sailplane?)

Elsewhere, I see more details of the fate of that 'Dunning Sailplane'. It crashed while being flown by Southdown GC member John A. Lawford who succumbed to his injuries on 21 May 1934. It sounds like the machine cartwheeled after a wingtip struck the ground shortly after launching.

Mentioned is that the 'Dunning Sailplane' had no British Gliding Association certificate of airworthiness. Also that a contributing factor in the crash was a tight-fitting pilot's nacelle added to the Dickson Primary's open-framed fuselage. It was suggested that 'Bert' Dunning had rebuilt an already-damaged Dickson Primary airframe to create his 'Dunning Sailplane'.
-- https://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=10435.0

Rather than going further OT on Cloudcraft, I've mounted a thread in the Designation Systems section:
-- https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/cloudcraft-glider-company-designations.41584/

 

[avion ancien]

Thank you, Apophenia. Evidently you have gone to some effort on this topic, for which I am grateful. However with the exception of a possible entry in Norman Ellison's book, each of the references mentioned hitherto were known to me.

Whilst I shall be delighted to be proved wrong, I'm not confident that Norman Ellison's book will yield that for which I seek. If it contains an entry for the Lancia, I would have expected this to generate a reference to this on the j2mcl-planeurs.net website. Regrettably the Lancia is not mentioned there.

By reason of the description of the Lancia, quoted in my previous post, I an not convinced that it was a rebuild of the Cloudcraft Dickson (a primary glider) which Dunning converted in or before 1934 and which crashed, with fatal results, in May 1934. If so, why would Dunning have taken eight years over the project and then produce an aircraft which, in all probability, would have been superannuated in 1946? The description given in S&G of June 1946 suggests, to me, an entirely new aircraft - and one which seems to drop off the radar after Dunning's death in February 1947.

 

[Apophenia]

... By reason of the description of the Lancia, quoted in my previous post, I an not convinced that it was a rebuild of the Cloudcraft Dickson (a primary glider) which Dunning converted in or before 1934 and which crashed, with fatal results, in May 1934. If so, why would Dunning have taken eight years over the project and then produce an aircraft which, in all probability, would have been superannuated in 1946? The description given in S&G of June 1946 suggests, to me, an entirely new aircraft - and one which seems to drop off the radar after Dunning's death in February 1947.

I agree absolutely. Other than sharing a common designer/constructor, I don't see any connections between the 'Lancia' and that earlier 'Dunning Sailplane'.

 

[Zoo Tycoon]

Here it is although a little poor quality. Taken from the sale advertisement ;-

ADVERT FROM APRIL 1947 SAILPLANE AND GLIDER FOR SALE.
The "Lancia" Cabin Sailplane. complete with A.S.l. altimeter, variometer and cross level. Simple to rig, ailerons and flaps couple up
automatically, Price, complete with trailer with new tyres, £300.-
Apply Mrs. Dunning, 3…………..
Sussex.

After building a sailplane based on a Dickson Primary, Herbert J Dunning built a Grunau Baby II (BGA 220) and a Flying Flea (G-AEEF).
The "Lancia" was a 50ft-span flapped sailplane based on a Grunau Baby, with an enclosed cockpit and provision for a removable engine, designed by G A Little; construction begun by Dunning at Worthing in 1938, perhaps using parts from BGA 220.

 

[avion ancien]

Thank you, Zoo Tycoon. I'd missed Mrs Dunning's April 1947 advertisement in my trawl through S&G! However I don't know where you found the illustration attached to your post. That doesn't seem to appear in the April 1947 copy of S&G that I can access. I'm also ignorant as to the source of the information contained in the second paragraph of your post. Will you please enlighten me as to that?

 

[Zoo Tycoon]

Info supplied by a member of the VGC and comes from their archives.

Looking back at the message sent, yes the photo was not attached to the advertisement. So strictly speaking the photo is claimed to be the Dunning Lancia.

 

[avion ancien]

Thank you, Zoo Tycoon. I sent an e-mail to David Williams of the VGC, last Saturday, but I've yet to receive a response.

 

[avion ancien]

Still no reply from Mr Williams.