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The LAISTER-Kauffman "Yankee Doodle Two" is a two-place sailplane with tapered cantilever wings of 50 foot span. Steel tube, fabric covered construction, its empty weight is 475 pounds. 
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NOMAD
The sailplane Nomad, incorporating many ideas of Robert Stanley, has an all-aluminum fuselage and was altered in 1939 by a V-shaped tail to eliminate the rudder. 57-foot wings give hide speed and performance. 
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MINIMOA
Probably the best known high-performance sailplane is the Minimoa, deigned by Wolf Hirth of Germany and carrying unlimited license in the United States. Of Hirth's design also is the Goppingen III which Chester Decker piloted to the national championship in 1939. 
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The Kirby Kite, of English design, is the first British gull wing type sailplane. With a wingspan of 47 feet, weight of 260 pounds and a 32 miles per hour cruising speed, the craft is a very fine performer. 

Types of Craft 
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TRANSPORTER 
In the field of two-place sailplanes is the tandem Transporter built by Jay Buxton of California. The 52 foot wing is a straight tapered, semi-cantilever of wood and fabric. Steel tube fuselage with fabric covering. With a weight of about 435 pounds and light wing loading it cruises easily with passenger. 
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GROSS F-5 
The only glider to have the distinction of being a four passenger ship is the Gross F-5 designed and built by Dr. Frank Gross of Akron. This craft is a steel tube job weighing 400 pounds, and it will carry a load of 640 pounds. 

Let us repeat, the fact that only these few ships are mentioned does not mean that American soaring is limited to these types. Many others have come into the picture in the twenty years of greatest soaring activity in the country. Some are gone now, others remain, and many other types are yet created only in the minds of the builders who are ever seeking to improve the ships. 

The sailplanes make the records-they are the things of beauty grace and high performance-but it is to the men who design and build and operate the secondary trainers who are the backbone of soaring. It is in these that the pilots learn the basic "know-how" and then go on to higher performances. It's the same old story, the actors get the applause, the backstage cast are almost forgotten in the excitement of the show.

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