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Vickers Vixen
The Vickers Vixen was a British general-purpose biplane of the 1920s. Designed and developed by Vickers in a number of variants, with 18 Vixen Mark V sold to Chile. A prototype of a version with metal wings was built as the Vickers Vivid. The Vixen also formed the basis of the closely related Venture and Valparaiso aircraft, which were also built and sold in small numbers in the 1920s Development and design In 1922, Vickers designed a two-seat biplane as a private venture as a possible replacement for the Airco DH.9A and Bristol F.2 Fighter. Building on the experience of the unsuccessful wartime FB.14 fighter-reconnaissance aircraft, the Vixen was a single-bay biplane with a steel tube fuselage and wooden wings, powered by a 450 hp (340 kW) Napier Lion engine. The first prototype aircraft, the Type 71 Vixen I, given the civil registration ''G-EBEC'', flew in February 1923. It was tested at Martlesham Heath and showed good performance, prompting modification to a day ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WikiProject Aircraft
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is a Wikimedia movement affinity group for contributors with shared goals. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within Wikimedia project, sister projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by ''Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outside organization ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landing Gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin Company. For aircraft, Stinton makes the terminology distinction ''undercarriage (British) = landing gear (US)''. For aircraft, the landing gear supports the craft when it is not flying, allowing it to take off, land, and taxi without damage. Wheeled landing gear is the most common, with skis or floats needed to operate from snow/ice/water and skids for vertical operation on land. Faster aircraft have retractable undercarriages, which fold away during flight to reduce drag. Some unusual landing gear have been evaluated experimentally. These include: no landing gear (to save weight), made possible by operating from a catapult cradle and flexible landing deck: air cushion (to enable operation over a wide range of ground obstacles and wat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westland Wapiti
The Westland Wapiti was a British two-seat general-purpose military single-engined biplane of the 1920s. It was designed and built by Westland Aircraft Works to replace the Airco DH.9A in Royal Air Force service. First flying in 1927, the Wapiti entered service with the RAF in 1928, and remained in production until 1932, a total of 565 being built. It equipped twenty squadrons of the RAF, both overseas (particularly in India and Iraq) and at home, remaining in RAF service until 1940, also being used by the Air Forces of Australia, Canada, South Africa and India. It also formed the basis for the Westland Wallace which partly replaced the Wapiti in RAF use. The Wapiti is named for the wapiti, also known as elk, one of the largest species of the deer family and one of the largest land mammals in North America and eastern Asia. Design and development In 1927, the British Air Ministry issued Specification 26/27 for a replacement of the elderly Airco DH.9A, designed during the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gloster Goral
The Gloster Goral was a single-engined two-seat biplane built to an Air Ministry contract for a general-purpose military aircraft in the late 1920s. It did not win the contest and only one was built. Development In 1927, driven by conflicting pressures of an ageing, World War I aircraft stock and the continual need for economy the Air Ministry was attracted by the idea of a general-purpose, multi-tasking machine which used many components from the large stocks of Airco DH.9A accumulated ten years before. The result was Air Ministry specification 26/27, which also encouraged the use of a metal airframe for use overseas and of the abundant Napier Lion engine. At least eight manufacturers responded and the Goral was Gloster's submission. The Goral was an all-metal framed, fabric-covered biplane using DH9A wings of two-bay construction and of slight stagger, with parallel interplane struts. There were ailerons on all wings. The fuselage was oval in cross section and quite slim. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Havilland Hound
The de Havilland DH.65 Hound was a 1920s British two-seat day bomber built by de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome. History The Hound was designed as a two-seat general purpose biplane, a private venture to meet Air Ministry Specification 12/26. The prototype ''G-EBNJ'' first flew on 17 November 1926. It was of all-wooden construction, powered by a Napier Lion engine. In 1927, the nose and rudder were modified, it was fitted with a geared engine and received the modified designation DH.65A. It was delivered to the Royal Air Force in January 1928 receiving serial number ''J9127'' for evaluation. While it showed superior performance to the other competitors for the specification, it was rejected because of its wooden construction and the order was placed with the Hawker Hart. Despite its rejection by the RAF, on 26 April 1928 the aircraft set a world record for carrying a load of 2,205 lb (1,000 kg) over 62 mi (100 km) at 160 mph (257 km/h) piloted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairey Ferret
The Fairey Ferret was a 1930s British general-purpose biplane designed and built by the Fairey Aviation Company. It performed well in trials but was not ordered into production. Development The Ferret was designed to meet a Fleet Air Arm requirement defined by specification 37/22 for a reconnaissance aircraft; it was the company's first all-metal design. With a lack of interest from the FAA the company proposed the design to meet a Royal Air Force requirement for a general-purpose biplane. The company built three prototypes, two were three-seaters (to meet the naval requirement) and the third was a two-seater. The two-seater Ferret III was also fitted with a new Fairey-designed high-speed gun mounting in the rear cockpit. The first prototype first flew in June 1925 powered by a 400 hp (298 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IV radial engine. The other two aircraft had a nine-inch extension to the wingspan and both were fitted with a 425 hp (317 kW) Bristol Jupit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bristol Boarhound
The Bristol Boarhound was a British army cooperation and liaison aircraft of the 1920s. It was a two-seat biplane with wings of equal span, of steel frame construction with fabric covering. Design and development The Boarhound was built as a private venture to Air Ministry Specification 8/24 (later superseded by Specification 20/25) for an Army cooperation aircraft to replace the Bristol Fighter, first flying on 8 June 1925 as the Type 93 Boarhound. The Boarhound, designed by Captain Frank Barnwell, was a two-bay biplane which used a method of steel construction which involved high-tensile steel strips, rolled into cusped and flanged sections, which were riveted together to form longerons and struts. The resulting structure was lighter, stronger and cheaper than one made from drawn tubes. It had a deep fuselage allowing bulky radio and camera equipment to be carried, and was powered by a Bristol Jupiter IV engine with variable timing. The Boarhound was evaluated alon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Air Ministry Specifications
This is a partial list of the British Air Ministry (AM) specifications for aircraft. A specification stemmed from an Operational Requirement, abbreviated "OR", describing what the aircraft would be used for. This in turn led to the specification itself, e.g. a two-engined fighter with four machine guns. So for example, OR.40 for a heavy bomber led to Specification B.12/36. Aircraft manufacturers would be invited to present design proposals to the ministry, following which prototypes of one or more of the proposals might be ordered for evaluation. On very rare occasions, a manufacturer would design and build an aircraft using their own money as a "private venture" (PV). This would then be offered to the ministry for evaluation. If the aircraft generated interest in the ministry or RAF due to performance or some other combination of features then the ministry might well issue a specification based on the private venture aircraft. The system of producing aircraft to a specification r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State for Air. Organisations before the Air Ministry The Air Committee On 13 April 1912, less than two weeks after the creation of the Royal Flying Corps (which initially consisted of both a naval and a military wing), an Air Committee was established to act as an intermediary between the Admiralty and the War Office in matters relating to aviation. The new Air Committee was composed of representatives of the two war ministries, and although it could make recommendations, it lacked executive authority. The recommendations of the Air Committee had to be ratified by the Admiralty Board and the Imperial General Staff and, in consequence, the Committee was not particularly effective. The increasing separation of army and naval aviation from 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Night Fighter
A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used in World War I and included types that were specifically modified to operate at night. During the Second World War, night fighters were either purpose-built night fighter designs, or more commonly, heavy fighters or light bombers adapted for the mission, often employing radar or other systems for providing some sort of detection capability in low visibility. Many night fighters of the conflict also included instrument landing systems for landing at night, as turning on the runway lights made runways into an easy target for opposing intruders. Some experiments tested the use of day fighters on night missions, but these tended to work only under very favourable circumstances and were not widely successful. Avionics systems were greatly mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolls-Royce Condor
The Rolls-Royce Condor aircraft piston engine was a larger version of the Rolls-Royce Eagle developing up to 675 horsepower (500 kW). The engine first ran in 1918 and a total of 327 engines were recorded as being built. Variants ''Note:'' ;Condor I :(1920-1921) 600 hp, 72 built at Derby. ;Condor IA :Alternative designation for Condor II. ;Condor II :(1921) 650 hp, revised propeller reduction gear ratio, increased compression ratio (5.17:1). 34 built at Derby. ;Condor III :(1923-1927) 650/670 hp, compression ratio 6.5:1, Re-designed connecting rods. 196 built at Derby. ;Condor IIIA :(1925) 650/665 hp. Improved main bearing design and material. ;Condor IIIB :(1930) 650 hp, 0.477:1 reduction gear, re-designed crankcase and crankshaft. ;Condor IV :(1925) 750 hp. Direct-drive, modified engine mounting. 13 built at Derby. ;Condor IVA :(1927) 750 hp. Nine built at Derby. ;Condor V :(1925) As Condor IIIA with two-stage turbocharger. Run but not flown, one built at Derby. ;Condor VI ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vickers Vivid In Flight
Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 1867, acquired more businesses, and began branching out into military hardware and shipbuilding. In 1911, the company expanded into aircraft manufacture and opened a flying school. They expanded even further into electrical and railway manufacturing, and in 1928 acquired an interest in the Supermarine. Beginning in the 1960s, various parts of the company were nationalised, and in 1999 the rest of the company was acquired by Rolls-Royce plc, who sold the defence arm to Alvis plc. The Vickers name lived on in Alvis Vickers, until the latter was acquired by BAE Systems in 2004 to form BAE Systems Land Systems. History Early history Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
