The Manuel Hawk was a homebuilt single-seat glider designed and constructed in the UK around 1970. Only one example was flown.
| Hawk | |
|---|---|
| Role | Glider |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Designer | W.L. Manuel |
| First flight | 25 November 1972 |
| Number built | 1 |
W. L. "Bill" Manuel, who had designed and built a glider as early as 1929 and was later responsible for the Willow Wren, designed the Hawk during his retirement. It was a single-seat aircraft intended for soaring in weak thermals.[1] He built the Hawk himself during 1968 and 1969[2] before taking it to the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield for structural analysis.[1]
The Hawk was an all-wood, cantilever shoulder wing monoplane. The centre section of the three-piece wing was of constant chord and fitted with parallel-ruler type, upper surface airbrakes positioned at 28.26% of the half-span and at 42% chord. The outer panels were tapered with rounded tips and carried the ailerons. The wing had an angle of incidence of 3° and the outer panels had 3° of dihedral. Structurally, the wings had a spruce main spar at 33% chord with a plywood-covered torsion box ahead of it and fabric covering aft.[1]
The fuselage was a semi-monocoque spruce structure with plywood covering. The fin was also plywood-covered, carrying a fabric-covered rudder which reached from the underside of the T-tail to the bottom of the fuselage. The fixed-incidence tailplane was likewise plywood-covered and the elevator fabric-covered. The latter carried a Flettner-type trim tab on its starboard edge. The Hawk's single seat was forward of the wing and under a hinged, framed canopy. It landed on a single fixed wheel assisted by a tailskid.[1]
The first flight was on 25 November 1972, piloted by Howard Torode of the Cranfield Institute. Tests showed a lack of rudder power, quickly cured by an increase in area, but no other concerns.[1]
Only one Hawk was built. It was certified as BGA 1778 by February 1973.[3] In July that year it was at the Sywell PFA weekend, where it gained third place in a competition amongst homebuilt aircraft.[4] Since 2013 it has been preserved by the Gliding Heritage Centre at Lasham.[5]
Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1973/74[1]
General characteristics
Performance
Bill Manuel aircraft | |
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| Gliders |
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| Microlights |
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