{{Short description|American glider of the 1930s}} <!-- This article is a part of Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft. Please see Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout. --> {{Infobox aircraft |name = Model CG-2 |image = CESSNA CG-2 GLIDER.jpg |caption = A CG-2 on display |type = Primary Glider |manufacturer = Cessna Aircraft Company |designer = Clyde Cessna, Eldon Cessna |first_flight = |introduction =1930 |retired = |status = |primary_user = |more_users = |produced =1930-1932 |number_built = |developed_from = |variants = }} The '''Cessna Model CG-2''' is an American primary glider built by the Cessna Aircraft Company in the early 1930s.

==Design and development== In 1930, the Cessna Aircraft Company was suffering from the effects of the Great Depression, which drastically reduced civil aircraft sales. Clyde Cessna, the company's principal founder, needed a solution. Clyde's son Eldon Cessna suggested building gliders, which were simple and cheap to construct, and would keep the company afloat until customers resumed purchasing more advanced (and expensive) powered aircraft.

The result was a simple primary glider known as the '''Model CG-2''', known internally as the '''Cessna Glider, model 2''', introduced in 1930 and inspired by German primary gliders of the era. It was marketed by Cessna via catalog at a price of only $398 {{USDCY|398|1930}}; one reason for its low price was that it was sold as a kit, crated with an assembly manual and a bungee cord launch system. The advertising campaign promised that ''"man might fly first, without power, in safety"''; another advertisement stated that ''"glider pilots will be future transport pilots"''.

Production figures for the Model CG-2 are not precisely known. Cessna records show that only 54 CG-2 gliders were sold; however, some sources state that Cessna manufactured at least 300 CG-2s.<ref name=":0"/>

CG-2 sales generated sufficient funds to keep Cessna operating until 1932, when the company shut down for a period of two years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=1930 Cessna CG-2 Glider |url=https://www.meer.com/en/48901-1930-cessna-cg-2-glider |access-date=2022-07-07 |website=www.meer.com |date=19 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Air Venture Website |url=https://www.eaa.org/eaa-museum/museum-collection/aircraft-collection-folder/1930-cessna-cg-2-glider |access-date=2022-07-07 |website=www.eaa.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Cessna CG-2 Glider Museum of Flight |url=https://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/cessna-cg-2-glider |access-date=2022-07-08}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Cessna CG-2 Glider - Seattle, WA - Static Aircraft Displays on Waymarking.com |url=https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMVGR7_Cessna_CG_2_Glider_Seattle_WA |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.waymarking.com}}</ref>

== Operational Usage == Once the CG-2 had been assembled the glider could be launched via the bungee cord method, as supplied with the glider, or it could be towed by an automobile or airplane.<ref name=":0" />

Longer flights could also be achieved by launching the glider off a hill or ridge.<ref name=":1" />

==Surviving Examples==

There are two known examples of a CG-2 on display in a museum.

* One example is on display at the EAA Airventure Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.<ref name=":0" /> * A single example resides on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cessna CG-2 Glider|url=http://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/cessna-cg-2-glider|access-date=29 March 2011}}</ref>

==Variants== *'''Cessna CPG-1''' - A motorized variant using a 10&nbsp;hp (7.4&nbsp;kW) Cleone engine.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=AAHS Journal |volume=29}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> *'''Cessna CS-1''' - A sailplane variant.<ref name=":2" /> *'''Cessna EC-2''' - A small one-seat monoplane derivative, with enclosed cockpit, powered.<ref name=":2" />

== Gallery == alt=Men with a Cessna CG-2 glider in the 1930s|none|thumb|600x600px|Men with a Cessna CG-2 glider in the 1930s

==Specifications== {{Aircraft specs |ref=AirVenture Museum website<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eaa.org/eaa-museum/museum-collection/aircraft-collection-folder/1930-cessna-cg-2-glider |title=1930 Cessna CG-2 Glider |website=eaa.org |date=2017-04-25}}</ref> |prime units? = imp

|crew=one pilot |length m=5.49 |length ft=18 |length in=0 |span m=11.02 |span ft=36 |span in=2 |height m=2.08 |height ft=6 |height in=10 |wing area sqm=14.6 |wing area sqft=157 |empty weight kg=54 |empty weight lb=120 |max speed kmh=40 |max speed mph=25 |stall speed kmh=24|stall speed mph=15|cruise speed kmh=32|cruise speed mph=20}} <!-- ==See also== -->

==References== {{commons category|Cessna CG-2}}

=== Citations === {{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography === *{{cite book |title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985)|publisher= Orbis Publishing}}

==External links== *[http://www.airventuremuseum.org/collection/aircraft/Cessna%20CG-2%20Glider.asp AirVenture Museum website] * [https://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/cessna-cg-2-glider Museum of Flight (Seattle) website]

{{Cessna}}

Category:1930s United States civil trainer aircraft CG-02 Category:Glider aircraft Category:Aircraft first flown in 1930 Category:Parasol-wing aircraft