Chard
K. Chard
Contents
History
In 1966, Keith Chard of the Lasham Gliding Centre, Hampshire, built the Osprey, a single-seat Standard Class sailplane utilising the fuselage and tail unit of a Slingsby T.51 Dart 15 fitted with a new high performance wing of his own design, in an attempt to improve performance at high and low speeds for competition flying.
The Chard Osprey was first flown on 15 May 1966 and took part in the British National Gliding Championships of 1966, though it didn't perform as well as expected and was modified during the following year.
A second sailplane was built as the Osprey 2 in 1975.
Company References
- British Gliders and Sailplanes 1922-1970, Norman Ellison (Adam and Charles Black, 1971)
- British Homebuilt Aircraft since 1920 2nd Ed, Ken Ellis (Merseyside Aviation Society, 1979)
- http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/t51.htm
Project Data
| Project No | Type No | Name | Alternative Name(s) | Year | Spec (Requirement) | Status | Qty | Description | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osprey | 1966 | Proto | 1 | 1S sailplane | 1,2,3 | ||||
| Osprey 2 | 1975 | Proto | 1 | 1S sailplane | 1,4 |
Project References
- British Gliders and Sailplanes 1922-1970, Norman Ellison (Adam and Charles Black, 1971)
- British Gliders, P.H. Butler (Merseyside Aviation Society, 2nd Ed. 1975)
- British Homebuilt Aircraft since 1920 2nd Ed, Ken Ellis (Merseyside Aviation Society, 1979)
- http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/t51.htm
Production Details and Type Description
Osprey
Standard Class sailplane of conventional wooden construction, developed from a Slingsby T.51 Dart 15 sailplane, fitted with new wings.
Standard Class sailplane of conventional wooden construction, developed from a Slingsby T.51 Dart 15 sailplane, fitted with new wings.
| Specification | |||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW |
| 49 ft 2.5 in | 25 ft 5 in | 133 sq ft | 549 lb | 790 lb | |
| 15 m | 7.75 m | 12.36 m2 | 249 kg | 358 kg | |
One aircraft only, ex Slingsby T.51 Dart c/n 1457.
Osprey 2
Osprey with wing of increased chord.
Osprey with wing of increased chord.
One aircraft only : Ellis [3] gives registration as BGA 2021, but using fuselage from c/n 1470, which would make it a new machine. Cawsey [4] gives as a rebuild of the first Osprey, also with registration BGA 2021.
Total Chard Production2