The Hawker Duiker was an unusual and unsuccessful aircraft. It was the first design at
Hawker under a new chief designer, Captain Thomson, in 1922. Much of the equipment and parts were proprietary and made by another aircraft company,
Vickers
Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...
, which shared the airfield at
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfie ...
with Hawker. The Duiker was a
parasol wing
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 confi ...
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 ...
in a period where the
biplane held sway.
Design and development
The Duiker was designed to meet a requirement for a Corps Reconnaissance aircraft to carry out operations in support of the Army, which eventually was drawn up into
Air Ministry Specification 7/22.
The Duiker had an all-wood structure. The wing was slightly swept back, which gave rise to instability at all speeds, and even caused the separation of the wing from the rear struts. The fin was rather small and was typical of
Sopwith design in shape. An
Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar
The Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar was an aircraft engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley. The Jaguar was a petrol-fuelled air-cooled 14-cylinder two-row radial engine design. The Jaguar III was first used in 1923, followed in 1925 by the Jaguar ...
engine was initially used, but this was later changed to a
Bristol Jupiter IV. The first flight took place in July 1923. Only one aircraft was built.
Specifications
See also
References
* Mason, Francis K, ''Hawker Aircraft since 1920''. London:Putnam, Third edition 1991. .
{{Hawker Aircraft aircraft
1920s British military reconnaissance aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Parasol-wing aircraft
Duiker
Aircraft first flown in 1923