Schweizer Cargo Glider Designs - Company Response

Company Response

Schweizer submitted one design each in response to the specification. The Schweizer brothers considered the specification flawed, as an aircraft that would land at 38 mph without flaps would require very low wing loading. To design an aircraft with a very low wing loading, but able to carry nine or fifteen troops, would require a very large wing, rendering the resulting aircraft cumbersome on the ground, especially on windy days.

The designs that were submitted complied with the USAAF specification, but were considered by the company to be impractical. In the long run, the Schweizer's concerns with the specification were taken seriously and the requirements were later changed to allow higher landing speeds and the use of flaps, making the resulting gliders smaller and more useful.

Schweizer also developed designs for six-place and single-place cargo gliders for military use. Like the earlier designs, none were put into production.

Schweizer aircraft did not submit revised designs for the new specification, but instead concentrated on production of the army TG-2 and the navy and marine LNS-1 along with the new wooden structure TG-3. The TG-3 was designed to avoid the use of strategic materials, such as aluminum and took a large measure of company resources to design and produce in numbers. The company also moved into subcontract work for other companies, producing assemblies and components.

After the war the specialization in subcontract work led Schweizer Aircraft to produce whole aircraft under sub-contract, such as the Grumman Ag Cat agricultural aircraft and the Hughes 300 helicopter, for which it later purchased the rights, renaming it the Schweizer 300.