The Napier-Heston Racer, also referred to as the Heston Type 5 Racer or Heston High Speed Aircraft J.5, Clare 1976, p. 426. was a 1940s

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

single-seat

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...

monoplane first conceived by D. Napier and Son Ltd., and built by the

Heston Aircraft Company Heston Aircraft Company was a British aircraft manufacturer based at Heston Aerodrome, Middlesex, England. Starting in 1934 the company produced a number of aircraft designs beginning with the Heston Phoenix and the Hordern-Richmond Autoplane. ...

Ltd, for an attempt on the World Air Speed Record. The private venture was financed by William Morris,

Lord Nuffield William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, (10 October 1877 – 22 August 1963) was an English motor manufacturer and philanthropist. He was the founder of Morris Motors Limited and is remembered as the founder of the Nuffield Foundation, ...

Design and development

The Napier-Heston Racer design team was led by Arthur Ernest Hagg of

Napier & Son D. Napier & Son Limited was a British engineering company best known for its luxury motor cars in the Edwardian era and for its aero engines throughout the early to mid-20th century. Napier was founded as a precision engineering company in 1 ...

, and George Cornwall of

Ltd. It was a single-engined, low-wing cantilever

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

, purpose-built as a contender for the World Speed Record. Gunston 1976, p. 321. It was built almost entirely of wood, that served to ensure rapid construction, a "superfine" finish, and streamlined, "beautiful" lines. The use of a multi-ducted belly scoop and clear, low profile perspex canopy, along with a reputed 20 coats of hand-rubbed lacquer also contributed to the sleek aerodynamic finish.

Saunders-Roe Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. History The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took a c ...

provided wing spars made of "Compregnated wood", a system that involved multiple laminations bonded with resin under high pressure. Gunston 1976, p. 322. Diminutive, thin-sectioned symmetrical wing airfoils were designed for high-speed flight. Cowin 1999, p. 75. The elevator control circuit was designed by

's Chief Draughtsman, C.G.W Ebbutt, with a variable ratio- with the stick near the neutral position, large movements could be made with small resulting pitch movements. This was needed for accurate handling at low level and high speed (the 3 km airspeed record course had to be flown under 100 ft above sea level). Towards the ends of the control column movement, the ratio increased to allow utilisation of the full range of elevator travel. Clare 1976, p. 427. The aircraft's design parameters were purposely designed around a top secret, untested, 24-cylinder, 2,450 hp liquid-cooled Napier Sabre engine. Lewis 1972, p. 441. Although originally proposed to the Air Ministry and receiving approval as primarily an engine programme, the Napier-Heston Racer was ultimately not officially sanctioned and had to proceed as a private venture with Lord Nuffield entirely underwriting the project.

Operational history

The first aircraft of two planned for the record attempt, registered G-AFOK (call sign ''Fox Oboe King''), had its

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alw ...

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 ...

on 12 June 1940, piloted by Squadron Leader G.L.G. Richmond, Chief Test Pilot of Heston Aircraft. The takeoff was not without drama and a heavy bump during the high speed run in takeoff configuration (with the constricted canopy removed for the test flight), launched the Racer prematurely into the air. Gunston 1976, p. 323. Recovering from the abrupt takeoff, Richmond carried out a preliminary test flight with gear extended throughout but after only five minutes airborne, while encountering inadequate elevator control, the engine overheated. According to some accounts, Richmond was being scalded by steam from the radiator mounted below the cockpit, and in haste to carry out a forced landing, inadvertently stalled the aircraft at approximately 30 ft above the airfield. Other sources state that the coolant leak only occurred after impact. Clare 1976, p. 428. The aircraft impacted heavily, with the undercarriage driven through the wings, and the tail broken off. Gunston 1976, p. 324. Richmond survived with minor injuries, chiefly burns.Napier-Heston Racer: Air Racing History.com
/ref> Napier had ordered two examples in 1938, but with the destruction of the first prototype, the Napier-Heston programme was discontinued despite 80% completion of the second aircraft, G-AFOL, the No. 2 (as it was commonly known). Lewis 1972, p. 444.

Specifications

Comparable aircraft

Hughes H-1 Racer The Hughes H-1 Racer is a racing aircraft built by Hughes Aircraft in 1935. It set a world airspeed record and a transcontinental speed record across the United States. The H-1 Racer was the last aircraft built by a private individual to set the ...

: 352 mph in 1935 (unofficial world record). * Messerschmitt Bf 109 V-13, D-IPKY: 379 mph on 11 November 1937 (unofficial world record) *

Heinkel He 100 The Heinkel He 100 was a German pre-World War II fighter aircraft design from Heinkel. Although it proved to be one of the fastest fighter aircraft in the world at the time of its development, the design was not ordered into series production. ...

V-2: 394.6 mph in June 1938; V-8: 463.9 mph on 30 March 1939 (both unofficial world records) * Supermarine Speed Spitfire: 408 mph in February 1939 (not during a record attempt) * Messerschmitt Me 209 V-1: 469 mph on 26 April 1939 ( FAI landplane airspeed world record)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Clare, R.A. "Napier-Heston Racer Postscript". ''Aeroplane Monthly'', August 1976. IPC Media. * Cowin, Hugh W. ''The Risk Takers, A Unique Pictorial Record 1908–1972: Racing & Record-setting Aircraft'' (Aviation Pioneer 2). London: Osprey Aviation, 1999. . * Gunston, Bill. "The Napier-Heston Racer". ''Aeroplane Monthly'', June 1976. IPC Media. *''The

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft The ''Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft'' was a weekly partwork magazine by Aerospace Publishing (an imprint of Orbis Publishing) which was published in the United Kingdom (and sold in other countries too) during the early 1980s. The magazi ...

'' (Part Work 1982–1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985, p. 2158. * Jackson, A.J. ''British Civil Aircraft since 1919, Vol. 3''. London: Putnam, 1974. . * Lewis, Peter. "Heston Aircraft." ''Air Pictorial'', Volume 34, no. 11, November 1972. * Meaden, Jack. "The Heston-Napier Racer and World Records". ''Air-Britain Archive'' (quarterly), Summer 2006.

External links

Air Racing History website: Napier-Heston Racer

Heston J-5 Napier Racer, technical data, in German only
{{Heston aircraft 1940s British experimental aircraft 1940s British sport aircraft Heston aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1940