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