First use of term "sailplane" ?

Does anybody know the origins/history of the term "sailplane"?
Thanks,

KK

I did find the following info ... according to the original definition,
a 1-26 is a sailplane ... so I don't want any static about having a
link to the 1-26 Association on the SRA page. :-)

http://www.greeleynet.com/~jhpc/FAQ.doc

Frequently Asked Questions about Gliders and Soaring
by John H. Campbell, SSA Youth Committee

What is the proper term for the aircraft--Glider or Sailplane?
Either, mainly "glider". A glider is any motorless aircraft, this is
the generic and colloquial term used by sailplane pilots themselves.
The word "sailplane" came about in the 1920s to distinguish refined
gliders (glide ratios over 20:1) from "secondary" (over 10:1) and lowly
"primary" training gliders. Since the 1970s, the term has been useful
to mark a distinction from hang-gliders. In the USA, "glider" is the
FAA aircraft category designation for sailplanes and motorgliders
(motorized sailplanes

In article .com,
says...
Does anybody know the origins/history of the term "sailplane"?
Thanks,

The Oxford English Dictionary has a quote using the term from 1922:

1922 Flight XIV. 545/2 The gliding angle of a good ‘sail-plane’ might be
in the neighbourhood of 1 in 16 or 1 in 18.

Thanks ! ... that seems pretty definitive !

KK

I KNEW the 2-22 and 2-33 were good sailplanes.
I just didn't know they were THAT good...:P

In article ,
Peter Harding wrote:
In article .com,
says...
Does anybody know the origins/history of the term "sailplane"?
Thanks,

The Oxford English Dictionary has a quote using the term from 1922:

1922 Flight XIV. 545/2 The gliding angle of a good ‘sail-plane’ might be
in the neighbourhood of 1 in 16 or 1 in 18.


--

------------+
Mark J. Boyd

Definitive? Hmm, I wonder if the word 'sailplane' might have earlier
origins? Lilienthal, Chanute et al used cotton twill cloth to cover
their gliders (perhaps the same, or similar, cloth used for yacht sails
of the time?) and Lilienthal referred to one of his machines as
'Normal-Segelapparat (standard sailing machine)'. It is not too much of
a stretch of the imagination (for me) to believe that people might have
called such gliders 'sailplanes'.
In more recent times, the term 'sailplane' seems to me a much more
appropriate (and elegant) name for hang gliders, which are indeed using
sailcloth for their surface covering.
See Lilienthal info at
http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero...t/lilienth.htm


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bernie01
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