Schweizer SGU 1-7

The Schweizer SGU 1-7 is an American Open Class, single-seat, high-wing strut braced glider built by Schweizer Metal Aircraft Company of Elmira, New York.

The first 1-7 was built in 1937 and the second one was completed in 1939.

The 1-7 was the first Schweizer aircraft which was produced as more than a single example and it was the first aircraft that the company sold.

Design and development

Schweizer Aircraft started construction of the 1-7 prototype 1937, shortly after the SGU 1-6 came in third in the 1937 Eaton Design Contest. The intention was that the winning design would be made available as drawings and kits for amateur construction and that Bureau of Air Commerce certification would be sought.

The 1-6 had not fared well in the competition and none of the winners in the contest had proven as easy to construct as the contest organizers had hoped. As a result of the lessons learned in the Eaton contest a new clean-sheet design was started by the Schweizer brothers.

The resulting single seater-seventh design (1-7) was quite different from the 1-6. The 1-6 had been an all-metal design including aluminum-covered wings and was the first all-metal glider ever built.