Carden Aero Engines Limited was a 1930s British

fixed-wing A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct ...

aero-engine manufacturer, based at

Heston Aerodrome Heston Aerodrome was an airfield located to the west of London, England, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, Ne ...

History

Sir John Carden Sir John Valentine Carden, 6th Baronet MBE (6 February 1892 – 10 December 1935) was an English tank and vehicle designer. He was the sixth baronet of Templemore, County Tipperary, from 1931. Work Born in London, Carden was a talented, self ...

established the company in March 1936, while the

Flying Flea The Flying Flea (french: Pou du Ciel, lit=Louse of the Sky) is a large family of light homebuilt aircraft first flown in 1933. The odd name comes from the French nickname for the Ford Model T automobile: ''Pou de la Route'', or "Louse of the Ro ...

craze was sweeping

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. He saw a need for a cheap low-powered propulsion unit for

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

. The engine was an adaptation of the well-proven and reliable

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

10 Model C motor car

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

. Following the death of Sir John in an air accident in December 1935, the company was taken over by Carden-Baynes Aircraft Ltd, and later sold to

Chilton Aircraft Chilton Aircraft Ltd was a British aircraft design and manufacturing company of the late 1930s and 1940s. Foundation The company was founded in early 1937 by two former de Havilland Technical School students and Old Etonians, the Hon. Andrew ...

Ltd,

Chilton Foliat Chilton Foliat is a village and civil parish on the River Kennet in Wiltshire, England. The parish is in the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is on the county boundary with West Berkshire and is about northwest of the ...

, near

Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

Engines

;Carden-Baynes Auxiliary :The Carden-Baynes Auxiliary engine, as used on the Scud III Auxiliary sailplane, was a 2.5 hp Villiers air-cooled two-stroke, capacity 350 cc.Jackson (1974), p.316 ;Carden-Ford 31 hp 4-cylLumsden, Alec. ''British Piston Engines and their Aircraft''. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 1994. :A much modified

Ford 10 The Ford Model C Ten is a car that was built by Ford UK between 1934 and 1937. The Ten moniker signifies its 10 British fiscal horsepower. The car was also assembled in Spain (Barcelona) between 1934 and 1936. The German version produced in th ...

car engine. ;Carden-Ford S.P.1 :Further development of the 31 hp engine, with a centric supercharger, 1.1:1 gear ratio, splined propeller shaft extension and horizontal mounting for flush wing mounting. Used exclusively on the Carden-Baynes Bee.

Aircraft using Carden engines

Aircraft that have used the Carden-Ford 31 hp engine are: Broughton-Blayney Brawney,

B.A.C. Drone The B.A.C. Drone was a British ultralight single-seat aircraft of the 1930s. Design During the early 1930s, the British Aircraft Company of Maidstone, Kent built a series of gliders culminating in the B.A.C. VII tandem two-seater. In 1932 the fi ...

Kronfeld Monoplane The Kronfeld Monoplane was a 1930s British ultra-light aircraft designed by Robert Kronfeld, only one was built. Design and development Designed as a successor to the company's Kronfeld Drone, the Monoplane was a single-seat parasol monoplane ...

Mignet HM.14 The Mignet HM.14 ''Flying Flea'' (''Pou du Ciel'' literally "Louse of the Sky" in French) is a single-seat light aircraft first flown in 1933, designed for amateur construction. It was the first of a family of aircraft collectively known as Flyi ...

(''Flying Flea''),

Perman Parasol is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist duo Fujiko Fujio about a clumsy boy, Mitsuo Suwa, who is chosen to apprentice to a powerful superhero to save the world along with other superheroes. The manga ser ...

, Taylor Watkinson Dingbat, and Chilton D.W.1 Monoplane.

Notes

References

*Jackson, A.J.J. 1974. British Civil Aircraft, Vol.1. Putnam *Lumsden, Alec. ''British Piston Engines and their Aircraft''. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 1994. {{ISBN, 1-85310-294-6

External links