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General Aircraft Limited
General Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1931 to amalgamation with Blackburn Aircraft in 1949 to become Blackburn and General. Its main products were military gliders and light transport aircraft. History On 27 February 1931, General Aircraft Limited (GAL) was formed to undertake production of aircraft using the 'monospar' wing designs of the Mono-spar Company Ltd. Both firms were headed by Helmut J. Stieger, the Swiss inventor of the technique. GAL produced about 28 examples of the Monospar series of twin-engined light transport aircraft at Croydon Aerodrome between 1932 and 1934. In October 1934, both companies were re-capitalised by investment group British Pacific Trust, and were re-formed in a new company also named General Aircraft Limited. Also included in the new company were the assets of National Flying Services Ltd, the owner of London Air Park, plus adjoining industrial premises built in 1917 by Whitehead Aircraft Ltd. In e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackburn Aircraft
Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-northwest of Manchester. Blackburn is the core centre of the wider unitary authority area along with the town of Darwen. It is one of the largest districts in Lancashire, with commuter links to neighbouring cities of Manchester, Salford, Preston, Lancaster, Liverpool, Bradford and Leeds. At the 2011 census, Blackburn had a population of 117,963, whilst the wider borough of Blackburn with Darwen had a population of 150,030. Blackburn had a population of 117,963 in 2011, with 30.8% being people of ethnic backgrounds other than white British. A former mill town, textiles have been produced in Blackburn since the middle of the 13th century, when wool was woven in people's houses in the domestic system. Flemish weavers who settled in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Aircraft Monospar ST-4
The General Aircraft Monospar was a 1930s British family of touring and utility aircraft built by General Aircraft Ltd (GAL). Design and development In 1929, the Monospar Company Ltd was formed to pursue new techniques of designing cantilever wings, based on the work of Swiss engineer Helmuth J. Stieger, who headed the company. Helmuth John Stieger was born in Zurich in 1902, and educated at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic, and then at the Imperial College of Science in London. While working as a designer for William Beardmore and Company, he formed his own ideas about wing design, and evolved an improved method of building and stressing wings, for which he was later granted a British Patent in December 1927. The principle behind this Patent No. 306,220 was that the wing needed only one spar with torsion loads resisted by an efficient system of strong compression struts, with triangulated bracing in the form of thin wires. The design was revolutionary and very light for its str ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Aircraft Owlet
The General Aircraft GAL.45 Owlet was a 1940s British single-engined trainer aircraft built by General Aircraft Limited at London Air Park, Hanworth. History The Owlet was a training version of the Cygnet II built as an attempt to produce a cheap primary trainer for the Royal Air Force. The main change was a modified fuselage with a tandem open cockpit (the Cygnet had an enclosed cockpit with side-by-side seating). The same outboard wing panels were used, but due to the slimmer fuselage, the resulting wingspan was reduced by 24 inches (61 cm), and wing area was reduced. The Owlet prototype (registered G-AGBK) first flew on 5 September 1940. It did not attract any orders, but ironically it was impressed into service (with serial number ''DP240'') with the Royal Air Force as a tricycle undercarriage trainer for the Douglas Boston, which was the primary use to which unmodified Cygnets were also being put. The only Owlet crashed near Arundel, Sussex on 30 August 1942 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Fleet
A fleet or naval fleet is a large formation of warships – the largest formation in any navy – controlled by one leader. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land. Purpose In the modern sense, fleets are usually, but not necessarily, permanent formations and are generally assigned to a particular ocean or sea. Most fleets are named after that ocean or sea, but the convention in the United States Navy is to use numbers. A fleet is normally commanded by an admiral, who is often also a commander in chief, but many fleets have been or are commanded by vice admirals or even rear admirals. Most fleets are divided into several squadrons, each under a subordinate admiral. Those squadrons in turn are often divided into divisions. In the age of sail, fleets were divided into van, centre and rear squadrons, named after each squadron's place in the line of battle. In more modern times, the squadrons are typically composed of homogeneous groups of the same class of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Aircraft Fleet Shadower
The General Aircraft G.A.L.38 Fleet Shadower was a British long-range patrol aircraft design of the immediate pre-Second World War period. The Fleet Shadower was a highly specialized aircraft intended to follow enemy naval task forces over long times and radio back position information. However, the concept produced an ungainly and ultimately unsuccessful type. The Airspeed Fleet Shadower, built to the same requirement and of broadly similar appearance, also did not progress past the prototype stage. Design and development The G.A.L.38 Fleet Shadower and the Airspeed A.S.39 Fleet Shadower were produced to meet Specification S.23/37, which came from the Royal Navy's "Operational Requirement OR.52" for an aircraft that could shadow enemy fleets at night. Three other companies were also involved initially: Percival, Short Brothers and Fairey Aviation. Following evaluation of the designs General Aircraft and Airspeed were contracted to build two prototypes each, General Aircraft con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Aircraft Cagnet
The General Aircraft GAL.33 Cagnet was a British light trainer aircraft designed by General Aircraft Ltd which flew from 1939 to 1941. Only one example was constructed. Design The Cagnet was a two-seat pusher propeller aircraft. The side-by-side seating was in an open cockpit just ahead of the strut-mounted inline engine. The low cantilever wings featured a gull shape, with twin booms mounted, one at each wing's bend point. A horizontal stabilizer and elevator ran between twin fins with rudders, one at the end of each boom. The fixed landing gear used a nosewheel. First flight was in 1939; the aircraft bore the serial number ''T46''. General Aircraft proposed the Cagnet as a basic trainer. It was tested as a Flying Observation post trainer by the Royal School of Army Co-operation from February through June 1940 (with military serial number ''W7646''). After that testing, it underwent various other tests. Its final flight was in 1941. The engine was a Blackburn Ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Aircraft GAL
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. March 2021. Oxford University Press. https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/77489?rskey=dCKrg4&result=1 (accessed May 11, 2021) The term ''general'' is used in two ways: as the generic title for all grades of general officer and as a specific rank. It originates in the 16th century, as a shortening of ''captain general'', which rank was taken from Middle French ''capitaine général''. The adjective ''general'' had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. Today, the title of ''general'' is known in some countries as a four-star rank. However, different countries use different systems of stars or other insignia for senior ranks. It has a NATO rank sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Aircraft Monospar ST-25 Universal
The General Aircraft Monospar ST-25 was a British 1930s light twin-engined utility aircraft. Design and development The Monospar ST-25 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a fabric-covered metal structure. The monospar name came from the use of a single spar in the wing structure, that had been developed by H J Stieger. The cabin was enclosed with five seats. It was based on the GAL Monospar ST-10, with the addition of a folding seat for a fifth passenger, extra side windows, and the addition of a radio receiver. On 19 June 1935, the prototype (G-ADIV) made its first flight at Hanworth Air Park. It was designated Monospar ST-25 Jubilee, to honour the 25th anniversary of the reign of King George V.Jackson 1973, pp. 215–220 Operational history *The last flying Monospar ST-25 (ZK-AFF), of Piet Van Asch, the owner of New Zealand Aerial Mapping Ltd, was lost in 1986 in a hangar fire. *The last surviving Monospar ST-25 (OY-DAZ), an ST-25 Ambulance, was fully restored during 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Aircraft Monospar ST-25 De Luxe
The General Aircraft Monospar ST-25 was a British 1930s light twin-engined utility aircraft. Design and development The Monospar ST-25 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a fabric-covered metal structure. The monospar name came from the use of a single spar in the wing structure, that had been developed by H J Stieger. The cabin was enclosed with five seats. It was based on the GAL Monospar ST-10, with the addition of a folding seat for a fifth passenger, extra side windows, and the addition of a radio receiver. On 19 June 1935, the prototype (G-ADIV) made its first flight at Hanworth Air Park. It was designated Monospar ST-25 Jubilee, to honour the 25th anniversary of the reign of King George V.Jackson 1973, pp. 215–220 Operational history *The last flying Monospar ST-25 (ZK-AFF), of Piet Van Asch, the owner of New Zealand Aerial Mapping Ltd, was lost in 1986 in a hangar fire. *The last surviving Monospar ST-25 (OY-DAZ), an ST-25 Ambulance, was fully restored during 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Aircraft Monospar ST-25 Jubilee
The General Aircraft Monospar ST-25 was a British 1930s light twin-engined utility aircraft. Design and development The Monospar ST-25 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a fabric-covered metal structure. The monospar name came from the use of a single spar in the wing structure, that had been developed by H J Stieger. The cabin was enclosed with five seats. It was based on the GAL Monospar ST-10, with the addition of a folding seat for a fifth passenger, extra side windows, and the addition of a radio receiver. On 19 June 1935, the prototype (G-ADIV) made its first flight at Hanworth Air Park. It was designated Monospar ST-25 Jubilee, to honour the 25th anniversary of the reign of King George V.Jackson 1973, pp. 215–220 Operational history *The last flying Monospar ST-25 (ZK-AFF), of Piet Van Asch, the owner of New Zealand Aerial Mapping Ltd, was lost in 1986 in a hangar fire. *The last surviving Monospar ST-25 (OY-DAZ), an ST-25 Ambulance, was fully restored during 198 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Aircraft Monospar ST-18 Croydon
__NOTOC__ The General Aircraft ST-18 Croydon was a 1930s British cabin monoplane built by General Aircraft Limited. Development Following the mixed success of the earlier Monospar family of aircraft, the company designed a ten-seat light transport, the ST-18 (later named Croydon). Due to the longer-span wing, it was not a cantilever ''monospar'' wing but had to be fitted with bracing struts. The ST-18 was a low-wing monoplane, with a conventional tail unit and tailwheel landing gear, and hydraulically retractable main gear. It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior radial engines mounted on the wing leading edges. It had a crew of three, and a cabin for ten passengers, a toilet and baggage compartment.Jackson (1974), p. 310 Operational history On 16 November 1935, the sole aircraft (T22, later G-AECB) first flew at Hanworth Aerodrome, piloted by Harry M. Schofield. It performed well, but did not attract any orders, so the aircraft was prepared to establish a record ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Aircraft Monospar ST-12
The General Aircraft Monospar was a 1930s British family of touring and utility aircraft built by General Aircraft Ltd (GAL). Design and development In 1929, the Monospar Company Ltd was formed to pursue new techniques of designing cantilever wings, based on the work of Swiss engineer Helmuth J. Stieger, who headed the company. Helmuth John Stieger was born in Zurich in 1902, and educated at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic, and then at the Imperial College of Science in London. While working as a designer for William Beardmore and Company, he formed his own ideas about wing design, and evolved an improved method of building and stressing wings, for which he was later granted a British Patent in December 1927. The principle behind this Patent No. 306,220 was that the wing needed only one spar with torsion loads resisted by an efficient system of strong compression struts, with triangulated bracing in the form of thin wires. The design was revolutionary and very light for its str ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
