02/05/2026
Progress on the Rigid Midget vintage one off racing sailplane. Irv Culver designed the Rigid Midget in 1941, but due to the Second World War no prototype was constructed until 1947. The Midget was completed in time for Ray Parker to fly the aircraft in the 1947 US Nationals, held at Wichita Falls, Texas, in which he finished third. Culver is credited in giving the very secret Lockheed Advanced Development Projects division the name “Skunk Works” during WW2.