Frankfort Cinema

Last updated
Cinema, TG-1
Frankfort Cinema TG-1A on display.jpg
A Frankfort Cinema TG-1A on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.
General information
TypeSailplane
Manufacturer Frankfort
Designer
Twentynine Palms AirAcademy TG-1A glider a training glider a Frankfort Cinema with the Army designation TG-1 US Army Air Corps TG-1Aglider.jpg
Twentynine Palms AirAcademy TG-1A glider a training glider a Frankfort Cinema with the Army designation TG-1

The Frankfort Cinema is a sailplane manufactured in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s and which was used by the United States Army Air Corps as a training glider under the designation TG-1. It was a high-wing, strut-braced design with a fully enclosed cabin. Originally designed as a single-seater, a two-seat version designated the Cinema II was produced soon afterwards, and this design was put forward when the Army issued a requirement for training gliders. At the same time, the company was awarded production contracts for transport gliders, the CG-1 and CG-2.

Contents

However, Frankfort lacked the resources to quickly produce large numbers of gliders, and only 43 TG-1s were delivered. The TG-1 designation was also applied to 10 civilian Cinemas that were impressed into Army service.

Variants

Cinema
baseline design
Cinema II
two-seat version
TG-1
USAAF designation for Cinema II
TG-23
USAAF designation for one impressed Cinema I (serial n/o 42-57192) [1]

Aircraft on display

Specifications (Cinema II)

General characteristics

Performance

References

  1. https://usmilitaryaircraft.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/airf-tg.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  2. US Southwest Soaring Museum (2010). "Sailplanes, Hang Gliders & Motor Gliders". Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  3. Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum. "Frankfort TG-1A "Cinema B"". waaamuseum.org. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2021.