Westland Dreadnought
| Westland Dreadnought | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Passenger plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: |
Westland Aircraft |
| First flight: |
May 9, 1924 |
| Commissioning: |
- |
| Production time: |
- |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
The Westland Dreadnought was a passenger aircraft produced by the British manufacturer Westland Aircraft . The extraordinary design of the aircraft was characterized by a very thick and deep wing that merged smoothly into the fuselage.
Another protagonist of this design concept in Germany was the Junkers company with their G 38 aircraft . In today's terminology, the concept can be called a blended wing body . The design is (as of 2008) being examined by NASA in the test aircraft X-48 for its suitability in civil and military aviation.
history
In 1917, Westland Aircraft Works began to design an aircraft based on the plans of the Russian exiled Woyewodski. These envisaged an aerodynamically clean, cantilevered monoplane, the large wings of which should merge smoothly into the fuselage. A special interest lay in the fact that they wanted to catch up with the German lead in the construction of cantilever monoplane all-metal aircraft. The modern designs by Junkers and Rohrbach in particular served as models.
The first tests carried out in 1919 in the low-speed wind tunnel of the Royal Aircraft Establishment showed that although high lift could be expected, it was paired with very high aerodynamic drag. In addition, this design was judged to be particularly prone to tumbling.
Nevertheless, the British invited the Ministry of Aviation , the company Bristol and Westland in a bid to make proposals for a full-scale machine. Westland received the order for a single-engine, eight-seat mail plane.
construction
The complex six-spar wing used tubular steel girders and vertical tubular struts together with cross-wire bracing. A mathematician was hired to solve the difficult practical problems with this unorthodox structure.
The cabin area was clad with aluminum, the rest of the fuselage and the wings, however, were conventionally covered with canvas. The design of the entire hull shape, as well as the adaptation of the profile used (RAE T.64), was carried out according to purely empirical aspects without any mathematical background. The difficult construction meant that the machine took over two years to build.
use
The first flight of the machine on May 9, 1924 ended in an accident in which the pilot was seriously injured. The cause could not be determined and the further development of the machine was stopped. However, it represented a milestone in the development of new design principles, at least in British aviation history. Not least because of the experience gained with it, the wind tunnel investigations in later constructions in England were given a higher priority.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 2 |
| Passengers | 8th |
| length | 17.07 m (56 ft 0 in) |
| span | 21.18 m (69 ft 6 in) |
| Takeoff mass | 3130 kg (6900 lb) |
| Top speed | 102 knots (190 km / h ) estimated |
| Engines | 1 × Napier Lion with 336 kW (450 PS) |
See also
literature
Harold Penrose, Airplane Monthly , February 1978
Web links
- A brief history (English)