RIDLEY gliders (Cyril Burfield Ridley, Arundel House School Aero Club, Surbiton, Surrey)

   A Chanute type biplane glider was built by Cyril Ridley of Thames Ditton in 1910, while he was a pupil at Arundel House School. The machine was flown successfully at Sandown Park on several occasions and also at the Crystal Palace. It was made of cheap materials and did not last long. For 1911 Ridley proposed to make a monoplane glider and wrote to The Aero asking for comments on his suggested design. After leaving school Ridley worked for Sopwiths in the Rink, before the War. But by April 1916 had learned to fly at the Hall School before joining the RNAS on 25 June 1916.

   Data Glider No.l Glider No.2
   Span 18ft 24ft
   Chord 4ft 6in 6ft
   Gap 4ft 6in -
   Area sq. ft sq. ft
   Length 14ft 16ft
   Weight 140 lb. -


ARUNDEL HOUSE SCHOOL CLUB glider. (Sec. R.P. Grimmer, Senior Pupil, R.F. Mann)

   A biplane of Chanute type was built by Cyril Ridley (q.v.), pupil at the school in 1910. The two leading lights in the club were later partners building, in wartime, the Mann and Grimmer M1 biplane. A second glider was reported nearly complete in May 1910, built by pupil Owen Wilson-Jones of Surbiton.