T.49 Capstan
Slingsby T.49 Capstan in 1966
Role	Sailplane Type of aircraft
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd
First flight	1961
Number built	34

The Slingsby T.49 Capstan is a British two-seat glider of the 1960s built by Slingsby Sailplanes as a replacement for their earlier Type 42 Eagle.

Design and development

The Capstan is a high-winged monoplane of wooden construction, the last two-seat wooden glider built by Slingsby,^[1] intended for both training and general club flying. Side-by-side seats for the two pilots are accommodated in an enclosed cockpit with a one-piece perspex canopy. The prototype T.49A first flew in 1961, and it entered production as the T.49B in 1963.^[2] Thirty-four Capstans were built,^[1] one of which was fitted with an auxiliary engine with the designation T.49C Powered Capstan.

Specifications

Data from The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II^[3] and Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1969 ^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 25 ft 4 in (7.72 m)
• Wingspan: 55 ft 1 in (16.78 m)
• Wing area: 219.9 sq ft (20.43 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 13.75
• Airfoil: Root:NACA 63₃-620, Tip: NACA 6412
• Empty weight: 761 lb (345.4 kg)
• Gross weight: 1,250 lb (567 kg)

Performance

• Stall speed: 37 mph (60 km/h, 32 kn)
• Never exceed speed: 135 mph (217 km/h, 117 kn)
  
• Rough air speed max: 92 mph (148 km/h; 80 kn)
• Aerotow speed: 92 mph (148 km/h; 80 kn)
• Winch launch speed: 92 mph (148 km/h; 80 kn)
• g limits: +4, 0
• Maximum glide ratio: 30:1 at 47 mph (76 km/h; 41 kn)
• Rate of sink: 130 ft/min (0.66 m/s) at 43 mph (70 km/h; 38 kn)
• Wing loading: 5.7 lb/sq ft (27.7 kg/m²)