The Simmonds Spartan is a 1920s

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, ...

two-seat biplane trainer/tourer aircraft built by Simmonds Aircraft Limited.

History

Not happy with the high cost of manufacturing light aircraft, O.E. Simmonds designed and built a wooden two-seat biplane in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

. To reduce maintenance costs all four wings and ailerons were the same; this allowed one spare wing to be used in any position. Powered by a

Cirrus III The ADC Cirrus is a series of British aero engines manufactured using surplus Renault parts by the Aircraft Disposal Company (ADC) in the 1920s. The engines were air-cooled, four-cylinder inline types. They were widely used for private and li ...

, the prototype G-EBYU first flew in time to enter the

King's Cup Air Race The King's Cup air race Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, ...

. The aircraft was flown to the Berlin Aero Show on 24 October 1928, a non-stop flight of 7 hours and 10 minutes. Production began at

Woolston, Hampshire Woolston is a suburb of Southampton, Hampshire, located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen. It is bounded by the River Itchen, Sholing, Peartree Green, Itchen and Weston. The area has a strong maritime and aviation history. The former ...

, with the final assembly and test flying at

Hamble Aerodrome Hamble-le-Rice is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. It is best known for being an aircraft training centre during the Second World War and is a popular yachting location. The village and the River Ha ...

. Forty-nine aircraft were built, many for export, with New Zealand customers buying the most. At home 12 were delivered to the National Flying Services for use as trainers. Three aircraft were operated on floats in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. Although not as famous as other aircraft of the period, one aircraft was ski-equipped and was notable for covering more than 45,000 miles over

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

mountain ranges. Three aircraft were built as three-seaters, with two passengers in tandem in front of the pilot; these were mainly used for pleasure flying. Due to the success of the Spartan, the company renamed itself Spartan Aircraft Limited and developed the design into the two-seater

Spartan Arrow The Spartan Arrow is a British two-seat biplane aircraft of the early 1930s, built by Spartan Aircraft Limited. History Built as a successor to the company's first design the Simmonds Spartan, the Arrow was a two-seat biplane with a spruce ...

and the three-seater

Spartan Three Seater The Spartan Three Seater was a British three-seat biplane touring and pleasure-flying aircraft built by Spartan Aircraft Limited. History Built as a three-seat version of the Simmonds Spartan The Simmonds Spartan is a 1920s British tw ...

Survivors

New Zealand Simmons Spartan ZK-ABZ is situated at the Geraldine Tractor and Automobile Museum. It was flown by Geraldine based New Zealand Airways Limited, amongst others. The Shed NZ, issue 100, January-February 2022, p. 131

Operators

The aircraft was operated by flying clubs and private individuals: ; ; *

Fiji Airways Fiji Airways (trading as and formerly known as Air Pacific) is the flag carrier airline of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, K ...

; ; * New Zealand Airways ; ; *

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

; ; *

National Flying Services National Flying Services Ltd was a company aiming to create and manage a large number of airfields and flying clubs around Britain. It relied on government subsidy, and it collapsed when the subsidy was withdrawn in 1934, because the aims had not ...

Specifications

References

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External links