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The Yakima Clipper was designed and built in 1931-1932 by Washington State native and Northwest glider pioneer Charles McAllister. Based on German gliders he saw in a 1929 National Geographic article, the Yakima Clipper is made of wood with fabric-covered wings. With McAllister at the controls, the sleek glider was flown in an attempt to break the world soaring endurance record in June of 1933. After a Northwest record of 8 hours and 52 minutes aloft, the wind abated and McAllister was forced to land short of a world record.
The Yakima Clipper was the first licensed glider in Washington State. McAllister himself held the state's first glider pilot's license and his first aviator's license was signed by Orville Wright. At age 15, McAllister built his first glider from a 1918 Popular Mechanics article. In 1926, he formed McAllister's Flying School in Yakima, Washington and was a founding member of the Yakima Glider Club, established in 1930. Yakima's airport is fittingly named McAllister Field.
It took almost two years for McAllister to build the Yakima Clipper, which was constructed mostly of Sitka spruce and plywood. He designed the fuselage tall and narrow so that he could see better in flight. The glider was also amazingly sturdy; the wings each took 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of weight in load tests and bent about three feet (.9 m) with no signs of breakage. "In flight," commented McAllister, "I could never get them to bend over a foot."
Flying the Yakima Clipper was tricky. McAllister said that without lots of flying experience, his first flight may have ended in a crash, as the glider had poor aileron control. However, he soon mastered the glider and logged over 40 flights and 100 hours of flight time. The Yakima Clipper has been flown by only one pilot: Charlie himself. It has been part of the Museum's collection since 1987.
The Yakima Clipper was designed and built in 1931-1932 by Washington State native and Northwest glider pioneer Charles McAllister. Based on German gliders he saw in a 1929 National Geographic article, the Yakima Clipper is made of wood with fabric-covered wings. With McAllister at the controls, the sleek glider was flown in an attempt to break the world soaring endurance record in June of 1933. After a Northwest record of 8 hours and 52 minutes aloft, the wind abated and McAllister was forced to land short of a world record.
The Yakima Clipper was the first licensed glider in Washington State. McAllister himself held the state's first glider pilot's license and his first aviator's license was signed by Orville Wright. At age 15, McAllister built his first glider from a 1918 Popular Mechanics article. In 1926, he formed McAllister's Flying School in Yakima, Washington and was a founding member of the Yakima Glider Club, established in 1930. Yakima's airport is fittingly named McAllister Field.
It took almost two years for McAllister to build the Yakima Clipper, which was constructed mostly of Sitka spruce and plywood. He designed the fuselage tall and narrow so that he could see better in flight. The glider was also amazingly sturdy; the wings each took 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of weight in load tests and bent about three feet (.9 m) with no signs of breakage. "In flight," commented McAllister, "I could never get them to bend over a foot."
Flying the Yakima Clipper was tricky. McAllister said that without lots of flying experience, his first flight may have ended in a crash, as the glider had poor aileron control. However, he soon mastered the glider and logged over 40 flights and 100 hours of flight time. The Yakima Clipper has been flown by only one pilot: Charlie himself. It has been part of the Museum's collection since 1987.
