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| U.S. Marine Corps Schweizer LNS-1 (Model SGS 8-2) gliders in flight out of Parris Island, South Carolina, May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35134) |
The Schweizer SGS 2-8 is an
American two-seat, mid-wing, strut-braced, training glider built by Schweizer
Aircraft of Elmira, New York.
The 2-8 was originally known
simply as "The Schweizer Two-Place" when it first flew in June 1938.
When World War II started, the 2-8 became a military trainer for the US Army,
Navy and Marines and all existing aircraft were drafted into military service.
After the war they were sold as surplus and quickly became sought after in
civil soaring for their structural strength, lightness and their rugged
all-metal design. The 2-8 became one of the most popular post war trainers in
the United States.
Design and Development
During the 1920s and 1930s
gliding was often self-taught or taught in single place sailplanes. An
instructor would often coach the student using hand signals from the automobile
towing the glider into the air. By the mid-1930s the benefits of having a
two-place glider for training were beginning to be recognized by glider
instructors.
A number of two-place designs
were demonstrated in the United States, including the Gross Sky Ghost in 1932,
the Funk two-place and the Bowlus-duPont two place, both of which first flew in
1933.
In late 1937 the Airhoppers
Gliding Club of Long Island, New York approached the Schweizer brothers to see
about the design of a Schweizer two-place glider specifically for training
purposes.
The Schweizer Metal Aircraft
Company built the 2-8 prototype over the winter of 1937-1938. The aircraft was
completed and first flew in June 1938, in time to fly in the US National
Soaring Championships.
The first dozen 2-8s delivered
went to clubs and individuals and were not certified aircraft at that time. One
2-8 was ordered by the Soaring Society of America for use by their general
manager, Henry Wightman, and was flown from the Washington, DC area.
At the time of the sale to SSA,
Bob McDowell, the attorney who notarized the bill of sale, indicated to the
Schweizers that they should move their manufacturing operation out of their
father's barn and relocate to the Elmira, New York area. The Schweizers
received the suggestion positively as they needed more space to produce
gliders, but they had no money with which to make the move. McDowell convinced
Elmira Industries Inc, the local business development corporation, to provide
space for the Schweizers on the second floor of the Elmira Knitting Mill
Building in return for stock in the company. This resulted in the Schweizer
Metal Aircraft Company becoming the Schweizer Aircraft Corporation, with a sale
of shares to Elmira Industries, local businessmen and soaring pilots.
Orders for 2-8s came in from a
group of Bell Aircraft employees, a youth group, a number of gliding schools,
as well as several individuals.
The 2-8 received type
certificate GTC 5 on 28 June 1940.
The type certificate is
currently held by K & L Soaring of Cayuta, New York. K & L Soaring now
provides all parts and support for the Schweizer line of sailplanes.
Manufactured aircraft are known
as SGS 2-8s while those assembled from factory kits are designated as SGS 2-8A.
The 2-8 has a welded steel tube
fuselage covered in aircraft fabric. The aluminum wings feature assembly with
self-tapping PK screws and very few rivets.
Operational History
In April 1941 the Schweizers
were contacted by the US Army Air Force (USAAF). The USAAF, impressed by the
Luftwaffe's use of gliders to capture the Belgian fortress of Eben-Emael during
the campaign of the previous summer, had decided to commence a glider pilot
training program. The USAAF was in need of training gliders and the Schweizers
offered the SGS 2-8 as the ideal aircraft for the role.
On 10 August 1941 the AAF
issued a statement on the procurement of the 2-8:
What is probably a record in procurement was established in the case of
the contract with the Schweizer Aircraft Corporation of Elmira New York. This
contract, covering three two-place gliders to CAA Class 2 requirements, with certain
modifications, was signed in Washington DC on June 27, 1941. The first glider
under contract has its initial flight test July 2, at Big Flats Airport,
Elmira, New York and is now at Wright Field.
In the first part of 1942
Lieutenant General William S. Knudsen of the War Production Board conducted an
inspection of the Schweizer factory, still located on the second floor of the
Elmira Knitting Mill. He looked at the antiquated plant and instructed the
Schweizers to "get out of here". He was instrumental in the move of
the 2-8 production line to a new plant built for Schweizer Aircraft by the
Defense Plants Corporation at the soon-to-be completed Chemung County Airport.
The US Navy and Marine Corps
also ordered the 2-8 as a glider trainer.
Because the 2-8 was made from
aluminum and steel, which were both declared "strategic materials", a
replacement design was needed. The Schweizers designed the SGS 2-12 as a wooden
version of the 2-8, incorporating some improvements, such as a lower-mounted cantilever
wing to improve instructor visibility. The 2-12 succeeded the 2-8 in production
and 114 were produced with the designation TG-3A.
Competitions and Records
Distance flying in the 2-8 is
challenging, given its 23:1 glide ratio and red-line speed limit of just 72 mph
(117 km/h). SGS 2-8s were flown in several US national competitions and held a
number of records at one time.
Records held include a flight
to goal from Elmira, New York to Washington, DC, a distance of 373 km (232
statute miles) flown by Bob Stanley and Ernie Schweizer.
Dick Johnson set a multi-place
distance record of 499 km (310 statute miles) in a 2-8.
In May 2008 there were still 23
SGS 2-8s registered in the US along with one 2-8A.
Specifications
Role: Open-class sailplane
National origin: United
States
Manufacturer: Schweizer
Aircraft Corporation
Designer: Ernest and Paul A
Schweizer
First flight: June 1938
Number built: 57
Crew: 2
Length: 25 ft 3 in (7.7 m)
Wingspan: 52 ft 0 in (15.86
m)
Height: 6 ft 11 in (2.1 m)
Wing area: 214 sq ft (19.9
m2)
Aspect ratio: 12.6
Airfoil: NACA 4412
Empty weight: 460 lb (209 kg)
Gross weight: 860 lb (390 kg)
Maximum speed: 72 mph (116
km/h, 63 kn)
Stall speed: 30 mph (48 km/h,
26 kn) dual
Aerotow maximum speed: 72 mph
(63 kn; 116 km/h)
Winch launch maximum speed:
54 mph (47 kn; 87 km/h)
Maximum glide ratio: 24:1 at
42 mph (36 kn; 68 km/h)
Wing loading: 4.01 lb/sq ft
(19.6 kg/m2)
Variants
SGS 2-8: The
basic factory produced model was designated as the SGS 2-8.
SGS 2-8A: SGS
2-8s assembled from factory kits were accepted as certified aircraft and were
designated as SGS 2-8A. They were otherwise identical to the 2-8.
TG-2: The
production version of the 2-8 for the US Army Air Force was given the military
designation of TG-2, indicating "Training Glider 2".
TG-2A: The
designation of TG-2A was applied to previously produced civilian versions of
the 2-8 that were conscripted into USAAF use. The military tracked down all
2-8s in the USA and bought them for military training from their civilian
owners.
LNS-1: The
production version constructed for the US Navy and US Marines was designated as
the LNS-1.
Aircraft on Display
There is a 2-8, N10VV, in the
National Soaring Museum and three versions of the LNS-1, on loan to the
National Warplane Museum, the Marine Corps Aviation Museum in Quantico,
Virginia and in the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola, Florida.
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| LNS-1 gliders may someday land U.S. Marines on the shores of Norway, the outskirts of Berlin, or the heel of Italy’s boot. Now they’re grounded peacefully between student-pilot flights at Marine Corps Base, Page Field, Parris Island, South Carolina, May 1942. (National Museum of the U.S. Navy) |
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| Marine Corps LNS-1 gliders for student pilots at Page Field, Parris Island, South Carolina. May 1942. (US National Archives and Records Administration, NAID 195317) |
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| The Marines are good at everything, including glider operation. Two lieutenants in training as pilots of the motorless airboats, LNS-1, before a flight from Marine Corps Base, Page Field, Parris Island, South Carolina, May 1942. (US National Museum of the U.S. Navy) |
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| A U.S. Marine Corps LNS-1 glider is launched at Parris Island, South Carolina, May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division. ID fsa.8d20564) |
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| Marine LNS-1 training gliders from Page Field, Parris Island, Beaufort, South Carolina, May 1942. (US National Archives and Records Administration, NAID 195316) |
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| A U.S. Marine Corps NAF N3N-3 “Yellow Peril” towing three LNS-1 gliders at Parris Island, South Carolina. May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsa.8d20588) |
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| Marine LNS-1 glider at Page Field, Parris Island, South Carolina. May 1942. (Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress) |
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| A U.S. Marine Corps Schweizer LNS-1 (Model SGS 8-2) gliders (BuNo 04384) at of Parris Island, South Carolina, May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35113) |
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| Marine glider pilot at Parris Island, S.C., May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35123) |
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| Marine lieutenant, glider pilot in training, ready for take-off at Page Field, Parris Island, S.C. Power towing plane in background. May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35114) |
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| Marine glider pilot in training in an LNS-1 glider at Page Field, Parris Island, South Carolina. May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35108) |
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| Training gliders at Page Field, Parris Island, S.C., May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35166) |
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| Marine with the gliders at Page Field, Parris Island, S.C., May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35125) |
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| A Jeep pulls a U.S. Marine Corps Schweizer LNS-1 glider at Page Field, Parris Island, South Carolina, May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35111) |
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| Preparing for take-off at the glider pilot training program, Page Field, Parris Island, S.C., May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35129) |
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| A Marine glider pilot in training, a lieutenant, at Page Field, Parris Island, S.C. May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35148) |
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| A Marine Lieutenant, glider pilot in training at Page Field, Parris Island, S.C. May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35146) |
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| Marine lieutenants, glider pilots in training at Page Field, Parris Island, S.C., May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35118) |
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| A Marine Corps glider being towed by a power plane from Page Field, at Parris Island, S.C. May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35168) |
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| A U.S. Marine Corps LNS-1 glider is launched at Parris Island, South Carolina. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35163) |
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| U.S. Marine Corps Schweizer LNS-1 (Model SGS 8-2) gliders being towed over Parris Island, South Carolina, May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35132) |
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| Marine Corps LNS-1 gliders in flight out of Parris Island, South Carolina, May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35139) |
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| Marine Corps gliders being towed from Page Field, Parris Island, S.C., May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35137) |
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| Marine Corps gliders in flight out of Parris Field, S.C., May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35136) |
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| Marine Corps gliders in flight from Page Field, Parris Island, S.C., May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35171) |
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| Marine Corps glider in flight over Parris Island, S.C., May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35141) |
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| Marine Corps gliders in flight out of Parris Island, S.C., May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35133) |
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| Marine Corps gliders in flight out of Parris Island, S.C., May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35140) |
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| Marine Corps glider in flight out of Parris Island, S.C., May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35164) |
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| Marine Corps gliders in flight out of Parris Island, S.C., May 1942. (US Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division, ID fsac.1a35135) |
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| Schweizer SGS, March Field Museum, California, 2 March 2023. |
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| A Schweizer LNS-1 on display at the Air Zoo at Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport in Portage, Michigan, 2019. (Michael Barera) |
