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 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 bip ...
, the Three Seater was a biplane with a spruce and plywood fuselage. Although not many aircraft were built, the Three Seater was a mainstay of the pleasure flying business in the 1930s. The wings were designed to fold back easily, in order to be stored in a shed rather than requiring a dedicated hangar.
Following the first batch of aircraft, designated the Three Seater I, an improved version was built and designated as the Three Seater II. The six Three Seater IIs had improved visibility for the pilot and easier access for the passengers, and were powered by a Cirrus Hermes IV engine.
One Three Seater II (registered as ZK-ARH) currently survives, owned by a private individual in New Zealand, having passed through British and Irish owners (as G-ABYN and EI-ABU) since its manufacture in June 1932.
Variants
*Three Seater I - 19 aircraft
*Three Seater II - 6 aircraft
Operators
The aircraft was mainly operated by flying clubs and private individuals:
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* Iraq Airwork Limited
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British Airways Limited
Specifications (Three Seater II)
References
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{{Spartan aircraft limited aircraft
1930s British civil utility aircraft
Three Seater
Biplanes
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1930