# Hawkridge Venture > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hawkridge_Venture > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hawkridge_Venture.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawkridge_Venture > Source revision: 1329698285 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) British two-seat glider, 1947 Venture Hawkridge Venture General information Type Side by side seat sailplane National origin United Kingdom Manufacturer Hawkridge Aircraft Ltd, Dunstable Number built 2 History First flight c.1947 The **Hawkridge Venture** was a wooden [sailplane](/source/Glider_(sailplane)) built shortly after [World War II](/source/World_War_II) in the [UK](/source/United_Kingdom). It carried two people, in [side-by-side configuration](/source/Side-by-side_configuration). Two Ventures were built, one flying in the UK and the other in [Australia](/source/Australia). ## Design and development Hawkridge Aircraft Ltd was founded in 1945 by Eric Paul Zander (formerly of [Dart Aircraft](/source/Dart_Aircraft)) and Harry E Bolton, initially with an office in [London](/source/London) and a small workshop at Bolton's home in [Denham](/source/Denham%2C_Buckinghamshire). They later moved to a small factory in [Dunstable](/source/Dunstable), close to the home of the [London Gliding Club](/source/London_Gliding_Club), with the aim of servicing and building gliders. The Venture was the only aircraft they both designed and built. It was a conventional wooden glider, seating two side by side.[1] Its wing was built around two [spars](/source/Spar_(aeronautics)) and had a constant-[chord](/source/Chord_(aircraft)) centre section with straight taper outboard. [Spoilers](/source/Spoiler_(aeronautics)) were fitted on the upper surfaces; there were no [flaps](/source/Flap_(aircraft)). The wing was mounted on the raised upper [fuselage](/source/Fuselage) just behind the cockpit, braced by one [lift strut](/source/Lift_strut) on each side from the lower fuselage. The [cantilever](/source/Cantilever), straight-tapered [tailplane](/source/Tailplane) was also mounted on top of the fuselage, far enough forward that the [rudder](/source/Rudder) hinge was aligned with the trailing edges of the [elevators](/source/Elevator_(aircraft)). The [fin](/source/Fin) was narrow, with a vertical leading edge; the rudder was almost rectangular and extended down to the lower fuselage.[1] The fuselage of the Venture was flat-sided, with decking behind the wings and a shallow [ventral](/source/Ventral) extension from the wings forward. The latter carried a landing skid with a fixed monowheel behind it, under the wing. A tail bumper completed the undercarriage. The open cockpit seated two side by side under the wing [leading edge](/source/Leading_edge).[1] The first flight of the Venture is thought to have been made in 1947.[1] ## Operational history The only Venture built by Hawkridge was registered as *G-ALMF* and then as *BGA 688*.[1] It ended its career with the Lakes Gliding Club at Tebay where it crashed on 22 July 1962.[1][2] Another Venture was built in Australia by the [Dubbo](/source/Dubbo) Gliding Club in 1953 from plans supplied by Hawkridge.[1][3][4] This aircraft, registered *VH-GDU*, was with the Orange Gliding Club of [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales) in about 1970.[1] In 2010 it was held by the [Narromine](/source/Narromine) Aviation Museum, not far from Dubbo.[4] ## Specifications *Data from* Ellison[1] **General characteristics** - **Capacity:** 2 - **Length:** 24 ft 4 in (7.42 m) - **Wingspan:** 55 ft 0 in (16.76 m) ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Ellison_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Ellison_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Ellison_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Ellison_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Ellison_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Ellison_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-Ellison_1-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-Ellison_1-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-Ellison_1-8) Ellison, Norman (1971). *British Gliders and Sailplanes*. London: A & C Black Ltd. pp. 40, 133, 252. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7136-1189-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7136-1189-2). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-S&P_2-0)** ["Lakes"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120324142549/http://www.lakesgc.co.uk/mainwebpages/Sailplane%20%26%20Gliding%201961%20to%201970/Volume%2013%20No%205%20Oct%201962.pdf) (PDF). *Sailing and Gliding*. **13** (5): 360. October 1962. Archived from [the original](http://www.lakesgc.co.uk/mainwebpages/Sailplane%20&%20Gliding%201961%20to%201970/Volume%2013%20No%205%20Oct%201962.pdf) (PDF) on 24 March 2012. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Dubbo_3-0)** ["VGC - Kestrel at Dubbo G.C."](https://web.archive.org/web/20110929084109/http://www.vintagegliderclub.org/vgc_news/international.htm) 1998. Archived from [the original](http://www.vintagegliderclub.org/vgc_news/international.htm) on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Narromine_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Narromine_4-1) ["Museum Showcase"](http://www.narromineaviationmuseum.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=7&Itemid=2). 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2011. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hawkridge Venture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawkridge_Venture) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawkridge_Venture?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.