The Hendy 281 Hobo was a British single-seat light monoplane designed by Basil B. Henderson and built by the Hendy Aircraft Company at

Shoreham Airport Brighton City Airport , also commonly known as Shoreham Airport, is located in the parish of Lancing in West Sussex, England. It has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying i ...

in 1929. Only one aircraft was built, registered ''G-AAIG'', and first flown in October 1929 by

Edgar Percival Edgar Wikner Percival (23 February 1897 – 21 January 1984) was a noted Australian aircraft designer and pilot whose aircraft were distinguished by speed and grace. Percival went on to set up the Percival Aircraft Company, a British aircraft ...

. It was a small low-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed tailskid landing gear and powered by a 35 hp

ABC Motors ABC Motors Limited ("All British (Engine) Company") of Hersham, Surrey, England was a manufacturer of cars, aircraft, motor scooters, and engines for road and air. Established by Ronald Charteris in Hersham, Surrey in 1912, its chief designer ...

Scorpion II engine. It was rebuilt in 1934 with a 90 hp

Pobjoy Cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble ...

, mass balance ailerons and a modified landing gear.

Operational life

Under the ownership of

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

Patrick Stuart''The Ramsey Courier.'' Friday 2 August 1935 (p.4). it was entered in many races in the 1930s and in 1934 won a race between Hatfield and

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

at . In the summer months of 1935 the Hendy Hobo was operated out of

Hall Caine Airport Hall Caine Airport, also referred to as Close Lake Airfield, was an airfield on the Isle of Man located near the town of Ramsey. It was named after the author Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine CH, KBE by his sons Gordon Hall Caine and Derwent Hall Cain ...

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. Under the control of

Flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

R. Duncanson, a former Chief Flying Instructor at the

London Air Park London Air Park, also known as Hanworth Air Park, was a grass airfield in the grounds of Hanworth Park House, operational 1917–1919 and 1929–1947. It was on the southeastern edge of Feltham, now part of the London Borough of Hounslow. In th ...

and who had recently set up a flying school at Hall Caine. The Hendy Hobo captivated visitors and locals alike by performing a series of

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

over

Ramsey Bay Ramsey Bay ( gv, Baie Rhumsaa) is a large bay and Marine Nature Reserve covering some 94 square kilometres off the northeastern coast of the Isle of Man. It runs for 18 kilometres from the Point of Ayre at the island's northern tip to Maughold ...

Loss

On 30 August 1940 it was destroyed by German bombing at

Lympne Aerodrome Lympne Airport , was a military and later civil airfield , at Lympne, Kent, United Kingdom, which operated from 1916 to 1984. During the First World War RFC Lympne was originally an acceptance point for aircraft being delivered to, and returni ...

Specifications (Hobo)

Notes

References

* A.J. Jackson, ''British Civil Aircraft since 1919'' Volume 3, 1974, Putnam, London, , Page 252 {{Hendy Aircraft Company aircraft 1920s British civil utility aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1929 Hendy Aircraft Company aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft