Cloudcraft Phantom

Phantom
Role	Single seat high performance sailplane
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Cloudcraft Glider Co., Southampton
Designer	Roger Dickson
First flight	11 June 1931
Number built	1
Unit cost	£300, ex-works 1931

The Cloudcraft Phantom was a glider designed in the United Kingdom in 1931 to make long flights. It set an unofficial duration British record but vandalism prevented a cross-Channel attempt.

Design and development

The Phantom was a single-seat, clean, high-performance glider designed for Mr Percy Michelson with distance records and a cross-channel flight in mind.^[1] It was an all-wood aircraft, built of spruce and plywood.^[2] The wing had a single spruce spar with stressed ply to the leading edge forming a torsion box.^[2] At the time, the choice of the biconvex R.A.F. 34 airfoil was unusual, the concave/convex Göttingen forms being generally used.^[2] The wing was high mounted on a long, shallow pylon just behind the open cockpit, braced with a single lift strut on each side.^[2][3]

Its tailplane was low mounted and the rudder rounded and generous, mounted on a narrow fin. It landed on a long skid reaching from the nose to well behind the wing trailing edge.^[2][3]

The Phantom first flew on 11 June 1931.^[3]

Operational history

The Phantom gained its Certificate of Airworthiness in November 1931.^[3] Advertisements from July 1931 show that Cloudcraft hoped to sell the Phantom equipped as both Standard and Special models^[4] but the company closed for business at the end of 1931, so only was built.^[3]

One of the Phantom's earliest outings was to the glider demonstration at Bunster Hill, overlooking Ilam, Staffordshire, on 27-28 June 1931, one of the Lyons Tea meetings. Unfortunately, some of the ply became detached near the cockpit and no flights were made.^[5] The month after its maiden flight, the repaired Phantom demonstrated its intended long-duration ability by unofficially breaking the British glider duration record with a flight of over 4¼ hours. The pilot was "Mungo" Buxton.^[2] It was the first time that the time set by Maneyrol in the Peyret Tandem at the British Glider Competition nine years earlier had been bettered by a British pilot and aircraft in Britain.^[2]

Its owner, Michelson, intended to try for the Cellon prize for an unpowered cross-English Channel flight^[1] but the aircraft was seriously damaged by vandals on the cliffs near Dover.^[6] He could not afford to have it repaired and put it up for sale in 1932.^[7] The remains were bought by the Bradford and County Gliding Club in April 1933.^[6] It seems they wanted it for its instruments and launch rope,^[6] for the Phantom was too lightly built for club work.^[1] The remains ended up at the Slingsby Aviation works at Kirbymoorside; they were there in 1938^[3] but may have been burned during World War II.^[6]

Specifications

Data from Ellison^[3]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 25 ft 0 in (7.62 m)
• Wingspan: 51 ft 0 in (15.54 m)
• Wing area: 200 sq ft (19 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 13
• Airfoil: R.A.F. 34 modified
• Empty weight: 247 lb (112 kg)
• Gross weight: 407 lb (185 kg)

Performance

• Lift-to-drag: 26, maximum

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "The Cloudcraft Phantom". Sailplane and Glider 2 (5): 56. 11 September 1931. http://www.lakesgc.co.uk/mainwebpages/Sailplane%20&%20Glider%201930%20-%201955/volume%202%20No.%205%20Sept%2011%201931.pdf. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "The New Record Holder". Sailplane and Glider 2 (2): 16. 31 July 1931. http://www.lakesgc.co.uk/mainwebpages/Sailplane%20&%20Glider%201930%20-%201955/Volume%202%20No.%202%20Jul%2031%201931.pdf. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Ellison, Norman (1971). British Gliders and Sailplanes. London: A & C Black Ltd. pp. 100, 245. ISBN 0 7136 1189 8 5. 
4. ^ "Cloudcraft Advertisement". Sailplane and Glider 2 (1): 7. 17 July 1931. http://www.lakesgc.co.uk/mainwebpages/Sailplane%20&%20Glider%201930%20-%201955/Volume%202%20No.%201%20Jul%2017%201931.pdf. 
5. ^ "The Meeting at Bunster". Sailplane and Glider 2 (1): 4. 17 July 1931. http://www.lakesgc.co.uk/mainwebpages/Sailplane%20&%20Glider%201930%20-%201955/Volume%202%20No.%201%20Jul%2017%201931.pdf. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "Cloudcraft Phantom in Yorkshire". http://scalesoaring.co.uk/public_html/yabbfiles/Attachments/kassel.pdf. Retrieved 2011-07-25. 
7. ^ "For Sale". Sailplane and Glider 3 (13): 155. 22 July 1932. http://www.lakesgc.co.uk/mainwebpages/Sailplane%20&%20Glider%201930%20-%201955/volume%203%20No.%2013%20Jul%2022%201932.pdf. 

External links

• "Image of Cloudcraft Phantom soaring". Flight (5 February 1932): p.113. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1932/1932%20-%200121.html. 

• R.A.F. 34 airfoil