Flanders F.4
| Flanders F.4 | |
|---|---|
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| Type: | |
| Design country: | |
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| First flight: |
1912 |
| Number of pieces: |
4th |
The Flanders F.4 was a British monoplane of the Royal Flying Corps from 1912.
history
Leonard Howard-Flanders founded Flanders Ltd. in 1910 . and wanted to build his own planes. Before that he worked at Alliott Verdon Roe .
His first aircraft was the F.2 , a small monoplane with a 60 hp Green engine. His pilot Ronald Kemp took part in the British Empire Michelin Cup in Brooklands . The F.4 eventually emerged from the hapless version F.3 .
On April 13, 1912, the British military founded the Royal Flying Corps by royal decree. The F.4 was the military variant of the F.3 with a reduced wingspan and a 70 hp Renault engine. The Waroffice ordered four F.4 machines.
In May 1912, several test series began to determine the most suitable machine for the Royal Flying Corps. However, the F.4 was not included. The following machines passed all tests: a Cody biplane, a Deperdussin , a Hanriot, two Blériots and a Farman. The first prize of £ 4,000 went to Samuel Franklin Cody .
After the comparison flight, the F.4 proved to be a powerful machine in several tests. Even so, the Waroffice opted for an aircraft outside of the competition, the Royal Aircraft Factory BE2 . She performed even better. However, the F.4 was the first aircraft to be equipped with radio. The Farnborough and Brooklands tests were carried out with a 6V Marconi battery operated transmitter.
To make matters worse for Flanders, the Waroffice banned monoplane in October 1912. The four Flanders machines had to be taken out of service in favor of double-deckers . Flanders now had to build biplanes and was even able to sell his Flanders B.2 to the Royal Navy . Flanders Ltd. went bankrupt in 1913.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| length | 9.68 m |
| span | 12.34 m |
| height | 2.82 m |
| Wing area | approx. 21 m² |
| Takeoff mass | approx. 720 kg |
| Top speed | 105 km / h |
| Engines | a Renault engine with 70 hp (51 kW) |
Museum plane
A replica of a similar Flanders aircraft exists, the 1912 Mannigan-Flanders MF1 in the Shuttleworth collection. The airworthy machine (G-BAAF) was built in 1973 by Doug Bianchi for filming. It is in the Blue Max Museum of Film Flying in Marlow, Buckinghamshire .
