| Histoire résumée | Version canadienne du Salamandra, dessiné par Wacław CZERWIŃSKI lorsqu'il se réfugia au Canada, où il fut embauché par De Havilland Aircraft Co.
The De Havilland Sparrow is an interesting ship in that it is one of the few club-designed ships to actually get built. Had there been sufficient demand, it would have been put into quantity production.
The Sparrow looks somewhat like a cross between the classic primary and a secondary which it actually is. It was designed in 1942 by member of the De Havilland Aircraft Company at Toronto, who had form a glider club under the leadership of Wacław CZERWIŃSKI, a refugee polish glider pilot and designer. Czerwinski departed from the traditional European pattern and design the Sparrow to conform to Canadian condiIions. The tail was supported by booms and was wire-bracthe manner of primaries, but the wing was a semi-cantilever type, stru-braced and tapered in plan-form.
Construction was entirely of wood. The surfaces were fabric covered while the pod was plywood covered. Span was 38'6" and length was 22'6". Emply weight was 280 pounds and gross weight was 460 pounds.
Th wing loading was quite light, 2,7 pounds per square foot. Gliding ratio was 16 to 1 which made the ship a very good secondary. From all available reports the Sparrow was a good soaring machine and almost in a class with the world-standard Grünau Baby. |
