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The 'standard' 1-23 introduced in 1948, and with its
later versions, the B, C, D, E, F, G, and H was for years
America's most numerous performance sailplane. The 1-23B
& C were built for the 1952 World Championships held at
Madrid &endash; Cuatro Vientos, Spain flown by Paul
MacCready and Paul Schweizer. They both had the wing spars
spliced and stretched to 15.24 m./ 50 ft., and the C had
thicker wing skins, a heavier spar and weighed 41 kg./ 90 lb
more.
In 1953 the 1-23D (ATC) was introduced, a production
version of the B. One flown by Paul MacCready won the 1953
Nationals, and another was flown 733 km./ 455.5 miles by Joe
Lincoln to earn the Barringer Trophy for 1960. An example
belongs to the National Soaring Museum.
The single increased span (16.1 m./ 52.8 ft.) 1-23E was
built for Paul MacCready to fly in the 1954 World
Championships where it finished 4th. It has balanced air
brakes and originally did not have a wheel, using the skid
for takeoff and landing. Paul Bikle won two world altitude
records with the 1-23E (14.102 m./ 46.267 ft. absolute
12.894 m./ 42.303 ft. gain). One F was built, being an E
with heavier butted skins on the wing.
The 1-23G (ATC) was a 1954 production model with the
longer wing of the E and F, standard spoilers and a larger
vertical tail of slightly different shape. To the basic
1-23G model Schweizer added balanced airbrakes, removable
wingtips and other minor modifications to produce the H
model, of which 8 were built. The more numerous H-15 version
has a wingspan reduced to 15.0 m./ 49.2 ft. qualifying it
for the FAI-OSTIC Standard Class. It was also produced with
removable tips increasing the span to 16.1 m./ 52.8 ft. 39
of this model were built. One, which also belongs to the
National Soaring Museum, was substantially modified by
Sterling Starr by the fitting of a new NACA 65 (3)-618
section 16.5 m./ 54 ft. wing.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Special thanks to the Soaring
Society of America (SSA), for permission to use text and
specs from their publications. More information on vintage
soaring craft may be found at their pages and in their
publications and those of the
Vintage Sailplane
Association.
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Schweizer SGS 1-23 with parts and plans
to build the standard through
factory B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and H-15 models or the Sterling
Starr modified 54 ft. span H variant.
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Herbert
Eberbach with his meticulously built H model 1-23
finished in the colors and markings of the plane
flown by Steve McQueen's character in The Thomas
Crown Affair.
Click
here to visit the RC Groups build log
My father James A Martin's
boss, Paul Bickle set two world altitude records in
a sailplane in a Schweizer SGS 1-23E equipped with
oxygen in a mountain wave over the high desert of
California on February 21, 1961 at 46,267 ft. and
altitude gained at 42,303 ft. My brother's wife's
dad Jim Moeller was crewing with him as he made the
attempts at the record and towed him on the record
setting flight! I guess that may be why the 1-23 is
a little closer to my heart than the rest.
Our exact scale 1:5 1-23 may
be built as either an A, B, C, D, E, G, or H15
model using components supplied in our laser cut
parts kit which provides different span and aspect
ratios that build on the same basic airframe. This
means your kit can be built with 105" for the A
model, 120" for the B, C, or D model and 126" for
the F and G models. You may also build the H-15
model which is 118" in span or the Sterling Starr
variant at 129.6" span.
This is part of our
committment to value in offering unique kits of
premium quality.
As far as we know, the Schweizer
1-23 has never been offered in a kit of any kind
and is rarely modeled and we will offer a
fiberglass composite fuselage and obechi sheeted
foam wing version of this kit very soon, with
tooling already complete.
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SPECS
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Span (Starr H):
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129 5/8" (3.3m)
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Length:
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49 1/8" (127cm)
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Aspect:
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15.12:1
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Area (H model):
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900 in.2
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All up weight:
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5.5 lbs.
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Wing loading:
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14 oz./ft.2
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Airfoil:
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Selig 7037
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Scale:
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1:5 scale
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No. Servos Req'd:
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5-7
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FUNCTIONS:
Rudder, Elevator,
Dive Brakes, Ailerons, Tow Release
(optional)
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PARTIAL
KIT CONTENTS
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All balsa and plywood wing ribs,
Plywood Fuselage side doublers,
Fuselage bulkheads,
Light ply nose stringers,
Sheet balsa tails,
Canopy bows,
Vac-formed plastic canopy
Plans, 2 sheets 36" x 68", rolled.
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HARDWARE
PACK CONTENTS
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Lightweight wheel/tire 2-1/2" dia,
Steel wire axle, 5/32",
Dura collars 5/32",
3-48 x 3/4" stab mounting bolts,
Hinges, nylon large,12,
Pushrods (tails) 2 48" length,
3/8" 7075 T6 aluminum wing rod,
13/32" OD brass joiner sleeve,
1/8" x 6" spring steel incidence pin,
5/32" OD brass incidence sleeve.
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REQUIRED
TO COMPLETE MODEL
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Wing and fuse 1/16" balsa sheet,
Spruce spars,
Balsa shear webs
Cable pushrods (dive brakes) 2,
Adhesive epoxy and CA cements,
Covering, fabric or film,
Servos, wires, battery and receiver.
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