Southern Martlet

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Southern Martlet
Martlet of the Shuttleworth Collection
Type: Sport plane
Design country:

United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom

Manufacturer:

Southern Aircraft Company

First flight:

1929

Number of pieces:

6th

The Southern Martlet was a single-seat biplane made by the British manufacturer Southern Aircraft.

development and construction

The Southern Martlet was the first aircraft designed by Frederick George Miles . Miles was working at the time for the manufacturer Southern Aircraft in Shoreham . The design is based on the Avro Baby with a modified rear, chassis and an ABC Hornet with a nominal output of 85  PS (63  kW ). As with the Baby, this is a single-seat biplane with staggered wings , a rigid, two-wheeled main landing gear and a tail skid . The main landing gear is sprung with a combination of oil damping and coil springs produced by Hendy Aircraft from Shoreham. The prototype with the aircraft registration G-AAII was presented to the public for the first time on August 30, 1929 at the reopening of the London Air Park (formerly Hanworth Aerodrome) and proved to be a very maneuverable sport aircraft.

use

Martlet of the Shuttleworth Collection in Old Warden

Five series copies, which differed mainly in the engine , were built in Shoreham . Three of them were equipped with an Armstrong Siddeley Genet II with a nominal output of 100  HP (74  kW ). These were bare five-cylinder star engines . One machine was initially powered by a de Havilland Gipsy I with 100 HP (74 kW), later by a de Havilland Gipsy II with 120 HP (88 kW).

The Martlets were not very successful as racing planes, but served as aerobatic planes by a number of private owners .

Only one example, the Martlet with the aircraft registration G-AAYX, powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major, survived the Second World War . This aircraft was stationed at Woodley Airfield as a private aircraft for Frederick Miles for several years . Today it is part of the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden Airfield . It has been extensively restored and has been airworthy again since September 2000 . The machine is part of the permanent exhibition and is shown during in-house flight demonstrations in the summer months.

Versions

200 (G-AAII)
Prototype, initially powered by an ABC Hornet later by an Armstrong Siddeley Genet II with 85  PS (63  kW )
201 (G-AAVD)
First production copy, powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Genet II
202 (G-AAYX)
Second production copy powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major
203 (G-AAYZ)
Third series production, powered by a de Havilland Gipsy II, built for Frederick Guest
204 (G-ABBN)
Fourth production specimen, powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Genet II, built for Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton
205 (G-ABIF)
Fifth serial production, powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Genet II, built for Miss Maxine Freeman-Thomas, who later became Frederick Miles' wife
Metal Martlet
Despite its name, the Metal Martlet had little in common with the Martlet. Only one copy of this model was built, but it was not very successful.

Technical data (Genet II)

Parameter Data
crew 1
length 20.25  ft (6.17  m )
span 25 ft (7.62 m)
height 7.58 ft (2.31 m)
Wing area 180  ft² (16.7  m² )
Empty mass 705  lb (320  kg )
Max. Takeoff mass 1,030 lb (467 kg)
Cruising speed 96  mph (154  km / h )
Top speed 113 mph (182 km / h)
Range 280  mi (451  km )
Engines 1 × Armstrong Siddeley Genet II with 80  PS (59  kW )

Preserved copies

The aircraft with serial number 202 and registration G-AAYX is in an airworthy condition in the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden Airfield in Bedfordshire .

See also

literature

  • AJ Jackson: British Civil Aircraft 1919-59 . tape 2 . Putnam Publishing, London 1960 (English).

Web links

Commons : Southern Martlet  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c A. J. Jackson: British Civil Aircraft 1919-59 . tape 2 . Putnam Publishing, London 1960, pp. 269-272 (English).
  2. ↑ a b Southern Martlet. Shuttleworth Collection , accessed May 6, 2020 .