One of the pioneer British sailplane designers before the war, Mr W. L Manuel became concerned at the number of fatal accidents in hang gliding, and in the Condor has designed a simple two-seater sailplane intended especially for hill soaring and aimed at meeting the needs of those who would like to fly but who could not afford the price of a modern high performance sailplane, and who do not have the skills or the time to construct one of the homebuilt designs now on offer.

Resembling the primary trainers of the early 1930s in appearance, the Condor has a short boat-shaped fuselage nacelle of metal tube construction with comfortable side-by-side seating for two in an open cockpit; at the rear of the nacelle is a pylon on which the high constant chord wings are mounted, these being braced by V-struts on each side to a keel running under the cockpit. The tail unit is carried on an open girder-type rear fuselage of aluminium tubing, the tail surfaces being of generous area with fabric covered ribs and widechord elevators. The landing gear consists of a bow shaped ash skid under the fuselage nacelle, with rubber rollers as shock absorbers.

The prototype Condor made its first flight in August 1976 and in addition to local soaring has made a number of longer distance flights.

Span: 50 ft 2.5 in / 15.3 m
Length: 21 ft 0 in / 6.4 m
Wing area: 250.0 sq ft / 23.23 sq.m
Aspect ratio: 10.0
Wing section: Gottingen 462
Empty weight: 492 lb / 223 kg
Max weight: 899 lb / 408 kg
Water ballast: None
Max wing loading 17.57 kg/sq.m / 3.6 lb/sq ft
Max speed: 86.5 mph / 75 kt / 139 km/h
Stalling speed: 32 kt / 59 km/h
Best glide ratio: 14:1

Mr W. L. Manuel, who designed the Willow Wren and other gliders during the 1930s, continued working during retirement by designing (1968) and building (1969 at Fairoaks aerodrome, Surrey) the Hawk single-seater, intended for soaring in weak thermals.

The Hawk has a wing of rather low aspect ratio (11.88) and a fuselage that, although well steamlined, is not as slim as some contemporary types. The cantilever shoulder wing is a three-piece wooden structure with a centre section and two outer panels; the single spar is of spruce with a plywood leading edge torsion box and fabric covering aft of the spar, and there are air brakes in the wing upper surfaces. The semi-monocoque fuselage is of spruce covered by plywood, with a non-retractable monowheel for landing. The T-tail is of wooden construction, with a trim tab in the starboard elevator and a small dorsal fin. Instead of the conventional one-piece cockpit canopy, a three-piece one is fitted in which the front and rear sections are fixed one-piece single-curvature transparencies and the hinged middle section is a framed double curve segment.

The undercarriage is a fixed centre main wheel plus a tail skid.

The prototype BGA.1778 c/n 1 was built at Fairoaks in Surrey during 1968-70 and made its first flight at the College of Aeronautics airfield at Cranfield on 25 November 1972. Initial flight tests revealed the need for some modifications, including revised aileron controls, removing the air brakes from the wing under surfaces and increasing the rudder area; further flight testing followed these changes.

Span: 42 ft 0 in / 12.8 m
Length: 20 ft 6 in / 6.25 m
Wing area: 149 sq.ft / 13.84 sq.m
Aspect ratio: 11.88
Wing section: Wortmann FX-61 -184/210
Empty weight: 406 lb / 184 kg
Max weight: 639 lb / 290 kg
Water ballast: None
Max wing loading: 20.95 kg/sq.m / 4.29 lb/sq ft
Max speed: 90 mph / 78.5 kt / 146 km/h
Stalling speed: 31 kt / 57.5 km/h
Max rough air speed: 64 kt / 118.5 km/h
Min sinking speed: 2.53 ft/sec / 0.77 m/sec at 38 mph / 33 kt / 61 km/h
Best glide ratio: 25:1 at 41.7 mph / 36 kt / 66.5 km/h