General Aircraft tailless glider

[hesham]

Hi,

the General Aircraft Ltd developed the GAL-56 tailless glider,and here
is a variant from it.
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1948/1948%20-%200018.html?search=tailless+glider

 

[Jemiba]

There were several versions of the GAL-56 glider, testing different sweep
angles and wing planforms and doing sterling service in the british tailess a/c
research. In one of them died the famous glider pilot Robert Kronfeld

 

[weirc]

Hi, the following report contains much usefull info on the tests done for the G.A. tailless aircraft program http://naca.central.cranfield.ac.uk/reports/arc/rm/2364.pdf

Other good sources of information are' WING OF THE WEIRD AND WONDERFULL' Vol 1 by Cap. Eric Brown pg 106-110, also ' BRITISH RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AIRCRAFT' BY Ray Sturivant pg 110-113 and a flying wing book ( this is from memory so DOUBLE check ) by K. Nickel and A. Wolfheart, called ' Flying wing design theory and practice' it has a chapter on the characteristics and problems of the GAL-56.

The Flight article of 26th Sept 1946 mentioned in hesham's Post is also good reading.

Colin

 

[Grey Havoc]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7iDb7LmYwU

 

[Mu17]

The master list of GAL types (now closed for comment) wrongly states that the successor to the GAL56 series - the GAL61, was proner piloted. In fact the pilot was I believe seated conventionally but it was the observer who was prone.
Whilst I may have missed something obvious - very few words seem to have been published about the GAL61 which appeared at the 1948 Farnborough show but was never flown. It is the only other design to employ the spanwise, extending 'trafficator' drag rudder, used on the Horten H.VII, that I am aware of.
Can anyone cast some light on when design c=started and constyriuction began and was completed ? ands why was it never flown ?

 

[Stargazer]

The master list of GAL types (now closed for comment) wrongly states that the successor to the GAL56 series - the GAL61, was proner piloted. In fact the pilot was I believe seated conventionally but it was the observer who was prone.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Unfortunately, despite the fact I created that topic, even I can't modify a single word of it!