DFS SG 38 Schulgleiter

The SG 38 was designed to be a training glider for basic flight training by the Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps (NSFK). The usual launch method was by bungee cord from a sloped hill. Because training was conducted solely by solo flight the aircraft had to be very easy to fly and also easy to repair. ==Operational history==

The SG-38 played a critical role in pilot training for the Luftwaffe in the Second World War, as a simple, but robust, trainer for the rapid increase in the number of pilots needed by Germany. It was commonly flown by bungee launch on the slopes of the Wasserkuppe In the UK, Elliotts of Newbury built a copy of the SG.38 called the Elliotts Primary EoN; its version first flown in 1948 and used by the RAF as the Eton TX.1. During WW2, from 1940 to 1944, the Chinese Nationalist Air Force also used the copied SG-38 glider for basic pilot training in south-west China. ==Aircraft on display==

• Danmarks Flymuseum, Stauning Vestjylland Airport, Denmark • Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany • Museu do Ar, Sintra, Portugal • National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio, USA ==Specifications (SG 38) ==

File:Gleiter SG-38.jpg|SG-38 bungee launch File:Schulgleiter SG-38 768px.jpg|SG-38 landing File:Fotothek df ld 0003140 001a Sport ^ Flugsport ^ Segelflug.jpg|SG-38 being carried to the launch point File:Aircraft Glider Schneider SG 38.jpg|SG-38 in the Deutsches Museum Munich, Germany ==References==