page_title: Slingsby Kite
section_title: Design and development
hierarchical_section_title: Slingsby Kite / Design and development
caption_attribution_description: English: Kirby Kite vintage sailplane (BGA 310) on display at the Shuttleworth Collection, Bedforshire, England.
context_page_description: The Slingsby T.6/T.23 Kirby Kite was a single-seat sport glider produced from 1935, by Fred Slingsby in Kirbymoorside, Yorkshire.
context_section_description: During the early 1930s there was a dearth of high-performance gliders that could be flown by relatively inexperienced pilots. To remedy this shortcoming Fred Slingsby modified the Grunau Baby design with longer gulled wings and rounded fuselage formers skinned with plywood, resulting in the T.6 Kirby Kite. Later developments included spoilers to improve landing performance and an enlarged rudder which improved the harmony of the controls. Further re-design was carried out at the end of World War II, with a raised wing pylon, landing wheel and spoilers fitted as standard. The T.23 Kite 1A flew in December 1945 but did not enter production due to the limited improvement in performance, but further development was planned, as the Type 23A, with a new 1° dihedral straight wings, the production of which is uncertain. The final iteration of the Slingsby Grunau Baby derivatives was the T.26 Kite 2, which introduced an entirely new wing, an enclosed cockpit, straight tapered wings and other detailed improvements.
caption: Slingsby T.6 Kirby Kite BGA310 at Old Warden, 2013
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