Slingsby
A Scarborough furniture maker who mended his gliding club’s gliders built over half of Britain’s club sailplanes, then a trainer flown by the RAF and USAF; today it makes parts for submarines.
Slingsby: the company and the aircraft that made its name
From furniture to Falcons
Frederick Slingsby was an RAF pilot in the First World War. In 1920 he bought a share of a woodworking and furniture factory in Queen Street, Scarborough. In 1930 he helped found the Scarborough Gliding Club, and after repairing its gliders his workshop built its first aircraft, a German-designed Falke, which flew in 1931. A local landowner tempted him 30 miles inland to Kirkbymoorside in 1934, and in July 1939 a new factory opened at Welburn as Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd. From the early 1930s to about 1970, Slingsby built more than half of all British club gliders.
The Barge and the Sky
The war brought the Hengist troop glider, 14 of which were delivered but never used in action, and huge numbers of training gliders for the Air Training Corps. The T.21, nicknamed the Barge for its boat-like hull, changed how Britain learned to glide: with the T.31 it meant that by the early 1950s almost all first lessons were in two-seaters rather than solo. About 226 T.21Bs were built. The T.34 Sky dominated the 1952 World Gliding Championships, finishing first, third and fourth, and the Skylark family became the post-war best seller.
Firefly, fire and composites
In November 1968 a disastrous fire hit the works; the company went into liquidation in July 1969 and was taken over by Vickers. Its last original glider, the T.65 Vega, ended production in 1982. Slingsby’s final aircraft was the T67 Firefly, a composite rebuild of René Fournier’s RF-6. More than 250 were built; the US Air Force bought 113 as the T-3A, but after three fatal accidents that killed three cadets and three instructors it grounded the fleet in 1997. The RAF flew 22 as basic trainers from 1995 to 2010. The firm now makes composite structures for ships, submarines and aircraft.
Slingsby in numbers
The company
- In short
- Founded 1931
- First aircraft built at Scarborough in 1931 by Fred Slingsby’s woodworking business
- Moved to Kirkbymoorside in 1934; Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd from 1939
- Owners since 1969: Vickers, UBE, ML Holdings, Cobham, Marshall, Axvik
- About 130 employees in the Firefly era
Production
- Best known for
- Gliders, T67 Firefly
- More than 50% of British club gliders, early 1930s to about 1970
- T.21B: about 226 built
- T67 Firefly: more than 250 built
Today
- Now
- Slingsby Advanced Composites
- Composite structures for ships, submarines and aircraft
- Part of Sweden’s Axvik Group since June 2025
The numbers
- Share of British club gliders built
- more than 50%1930s–1970
- Employees
- around 130Firefly era
- Site
- 12,220 square metres, own 750 m grass runway
- T-3A Fireflies bought by the USAF
- 1131993–1995
Every notable Slingsby aircraft
Photos: Andrew Thomas from Shrewsbury, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
| Aircraft | Role | First flight | Built | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slingsby T.1 Falcon | Single-seat sport glider | 1931 | Retired | First Slingsby type, based on the German Falke | |
| Slingsby T.18 Hengist | 15-seat military assault glider | 1942 | 14 production | Retired | Designed by Jack Frost; never used operationally |
| Slingsby T.21 (Sedbergh TX.1) | Two-seat training glider | 1944 | about 226 T.21B | Retired | The Barge; RAF Air Cadets and clubs worldwide |
| Slingsby T.34 Sky | Competition sailplane | 1950 | 16 | Retired | Dominated the 1952 World Gliding Championships |
| Slingsby T.37 Skylark | Club and competition sailplane | Retired | Family became the post-war best seller | ||
| Slingsby T.65 Vega | GRP sailplane | Retired | Last Slingsby glider and last original design | ||
| Slingsby T67 Firefly | Two-seat aerobatic trainer | 1974 | more than 250 | In service | Composite development of the Fournier RF-6; USAF T-3A, RAF, Jordan |
Slingsby aircraft in the world’s air forces
4 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Slingsby types. 1 of them still have one in service.
| Air force | In service | Formerly flown |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Bahraini Air Force | Slingsby T67M-260 Firefly | |
| Army Air Corps (United Kingdom) | Slingsby T67 Firefly and de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk T10 | |
| Belize Defence Force Air Wing | Slingsby T67M260 Firefly | |
| Royal Canadian Air Force | Slingsby CT-111 Firefly |
Where Slingsby built, who led it, what it achieved
Factories
- Queen Street works · Scarborough — Furniture factory where the first glider was built
- Kirkbymoorside works · Kirkbymoorside and Welburn, North Yorkshire — Welburn factory opened July 1939; company airfield
People
- Frederick Nicholas Slingsby · founder — First World War pilot and co-founder of the Scarborough Gliding Club
- John (Jack) Frost · designer — Designed the Hengist glider
Records and firsts
- T.34 Sky placed first, third and fourth at the 1952 World Gliding Championships
Slingsby, year by year
Slingsby buys into a Scarborough furniture factory
First aircraft, the Falcon, flies
Move to Kirkbymoorside
Welburn factory opens; Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd
Hengist glider first flight
Sky wins the World Gliding Championships
Factory fire
Taken over by Vickers after liquidation
Rights to the Fournier RF-6B bought; becomes T67
Slingsby Aviation set up
Acquired by Cobham
USAF grounds its T-3A Fireflies
Renamed Slingsby Advanced Composites
Acquired by Marshall Aerospace
Sold to Axvik Group of Sweden
Everything people ask about Slingsby
Does Slingsby still build aircraft?
Why did the US Air Force ground the T-3A Firefly?
What was the Slingsby T.21?
Who owns Slingsby today?
Around Slingsby
Every fact, checked
- Slingsby Aviation – Wikipedia
- Slingsby T67 Firefly – Wikipedia
- Slingsby T.21 – Wikipedia
- Slingsby Hengist – Wikipedia
- Slingsby Sky – Wikipedia
Verified 2026-10-03.