The Slingsby T21

The Slingsby T21 (Sedburgh)

Words: Nan Worrel
photos: Neil Lawson

The Slingsby T21, otherwise known as a Sedburgh is perhaps the most well known and recognisable British glider in the world. With its huge high wings, massive rudder and barge like cockpit there really isn't anything else quite like it.

For the past eight years, I have had a share in a syndicate owned T21 (993, although originally WB990), based at Lasham. I'm very fond of the old girl (T21s are definitely female, look at those hips) and there is nothing I enjoy better than a little canter around the skies over Lasham on a hot sunny day. There is no more relaxing way to spend an hour or two than sitting peacefully with good company, sharing the flying and a bit of gossip, whilst taking the time to admire the view and see which car is parked outside who's caravan! There is something uniquely different about flying with an open cockpit. I'm not sure that I can put it into words but somehow the world seems more vivid and 'real'.

Whenever I take friends flying in the T21 for the first time I always advise them to choose their clothes and then double everything. It's certainly the case that an otherwise beautiful flight can be well and truly marred by the sight of goose-pimpled flesh and a dripping-nose (ugh)! So if it's your first flight in a T21 make sure you wear warm socks and boots (even in the height of summer), a decent jacket, hat, gloves and a scarf and take a clean hankie along - just as your mum always told you.

The 993 Syndicate
The syndicate is similar to a number of other T21 syndicates based elsewhere in that we have ten members and no flying rota. Whilst this would never work for any other glider it is the perfect arrangement for a T21. The T21 is the sort of glider that you usually only want to fly for an hour or two (it's either the cold or the sore bottom that gets you - either way it depends on your level of padding) so, with two seats available, on a reasonable soaring day it's usually possible for more than half of the syndicate to fly.

Each T21 has its own unique history. Our machine was a classic air cadet trainer built under licence by Martin Hearne Ltd.  Between 1952 when she was built and 1985 when she entered civilian life, 993 managed some 3839 hours and a staggering 33,714 launches. This is a tribute to the amazing durability of these gliders because even today the machine is as solid as a brick (and flies like one too!). 

Following the RAF sale, 993 was bought by Dave Bullock (now one of our BGA National Coaches, but then an instructor at the Ouse Gliding Club at Rufforth) and was pressed into service as a training glider and a general source of entertainment. Dave and various other club members (who shall remain nameless, but you know who you are) devised numerous outrageous activities (which I can't go into in print) to which the poor old girl was subjected. However, 993 with her customary patience and docile behaviour took it all in her stride.

In 1992 Dave put the glider up for sale and the Lasham 993 syndicate was born. Since arriving at Lasham, 993 has, I promise you, enjoyed a much more sedate lifestyle but has still provided the syndicate with many hours of enjoyment.

A Joy to Fly
Without a doubt the T21 is a joy a fly. The glider handles well and the side-by-side seating makes communication very easy. Despite the open cockpit, it is surprisingly quiet and it is perfectly possible to have a conversation without having to shout. However, for the inexperienced it is wise to be aware of the T21's limitations. Whilst the glider will winch launch without a problem, on aerotow a T21 can be quite a handful. Above about 60 knots the ailerons become somewhat ineffective and considerable forward force on the stick is required to keep the glider from getting too high. It is therefore always advisable to make sure that the tug pilot is briefed to tow as slowly as possible. The landing speed of a T21 is amazingly slow; 40 knots is plenty of speed, any higher than this and the spoilers tend to become relatively ineffective.  This is important to bear in mind if trying to land short.

It is also very easy to get out of reach of the airfield, particularly if you wander downwind as the T21 has very poor into-wind penetration (the only compensation being that it can be landed in quite a small field if you get the approach right!). A T21 is also best left in the hangar on windy days as not only is ground handling tricky but it can sometimes be difficult to deal with turbulence near the ground. I vividly remember on one occasion having great problems levelling the wings after turning on to finals in gusty cross-wind conditions at Lasham and found myself heading for the Vintage Gliding Club's Workshop. As appropriate a place to end up as it might have been, I'm glad to say I had enough time and height to sort the situation out. Once on the ground the glider was hastily returned to the hangar.

Cross country performer
Lasham has an annual award for the most meritorious flight in a two-seater glider and the more hardy and adventurous members of our syndicate have won this twice in the last few years. In 1993 the cup was awarded to Jim Lyell and Julian Richardson for a 100 km out-and-return flight to Didcot in a time of 3 hours and thirty minutes for an impressive 30 kph. I well remember Jim arriving back from the trip with ice crystals encrusting his beard.  Two years later, in May 1995, the all-female crew of Willy Wilson and Jill Burry took 993 around Salisbury cathedral and back to Lasham for another 100 km out-and-return in a time of just over 4 hours (Click on photo below).

Willy Wilson and Jill Burry recall their flight to Salisbury in 993: " We didn't really plan to go as far as Salisbury, but once we got out of gliding range of Lasham we just kept going. We had put on some warm clothes, nothing special just hats and scarves but only had one pair of gloves between us so we had to share with the person flying wearing them at any one time. We had a few low scrapes along the way with a particularly funny incident where we got very low over a Summer fete where the crowd thought that we were one of the attractions and started shouting at us! We also encountered a hang glider pilot who got quite a surprise when we leaned over the side and called down to him. On the way back we both had a nasty fright when we heard a very loud noise; only our straps kept us from jumping out of our seats - it turned out to be the hooter of the steam train on the Watercress line. We were in sight of Lasham on the way back for almost an hour and a half before we eventually reached the airfield due to a breezy head wind. When we finally landed we were very cold but soon thawed out with some Lasham tea and buns. Would we do it again? Definitely!

Famous names
There seems to have been a tradition along the years of naming T21s. At one time, Lasham had Daisy, Fanny, Rudolph and Min. Min (apparently a cartoon character of the 50s, and, before you ask, yes I'm too young to remember) was the glider that was built by the boys of Leighton Park School. Other famously named T21s flying today are Bluebell, Snoopy, Lucy and Daisy (not the original Lasham one, however). Snoopy is owned by a massive Talgarth syndicate and regularly spends many hours over the Winter ridge soaring amongst the Black Mountains while Cambridge-based Bluebell, who celebrated her 50^th birthday with a party last year, is often to be seen soaring over the flatter East Anglian countryside. Lucy has been syndicate-owned at Lasham for more than 20 years now while visitors to Oxford Gliding Club at Weston-on-the-Green can fly Daisy for a very modest 20p/minute, a bargain for anyone who still hasn't experienced the hair-do wrecking effects of a flight in a T21!

So, I hope you have enjoyed the stories of days gone by but much more importantly have been inspired to continue the traditions of T21 flying. The T21 may be an oldie now but it still is and always will be a  goodie.

Nan Worrell