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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0492.PDF
492 FLIGHT, 15 April 1955 Wessex 8-seater (three 7-cylinder Genet Major). Wessex tor Sabena (three 5-cylinder Genet Major). Woodpigeon Mk I (Bristol Cherub). Widgeon Mk I (Blackburne Thrush). THE WESTLAND FAMILY . . . at the time) with wireless and wheel brakes, G-AAGW wasacquired by Imperial Airways for charter work. Wessex (5-cylinder Genet Major engines) The Wessex was aremodelled Westland IV, powered with Armstrong Siddeley five- cylinder Genet Major radial engines. Four were supplied toSabena during 1930, and the following data apply to these machines: Empty weight 3,425 lb, gross weight, 5,750 lb, maxi-mum speed 108 m.p.h., cruising speed 95 m.p.h., stalling speed 52 m.p.h., initial rate of climb 530 ft/min, duration (two-thirdsfuel) 3| hr, ceiling on two engines 4,000ft. Wessex (7-cylinder Genet Major engines) During 1931 a ver-sion of the Wessex was produced with the then-new seven-cylinder Genet Major engines of about 140 h.p. each. This model wasknown as the High-Performance Type, the version with the earlier power plants being described as the Standard Type. Thestructure of the former was strengthened, and various improve- ments, including balanced ailerons and a new windscreen, were incorporated. The Westland IV supplied to Imperial Airways wasconverted into the High-Performance Type and two additional Wessexes were supplied. Figures for the High-PerformanceWessex were: Empty weight 3,755 lb, gross weight 6,000 1b, cruising speed 100 m.p.h., two-engine ceiling 6,000ft. Wessex Eight-seater This model was used, under the registra-tion G-ABVB, by the Portsmouth, Southsea and Isle of Wight Aviation Co., Ltd., for the Portsmouth-I.o.W. ferry service, andwas distinguished in having accommodation for eight passengers, a raised cockpit, revised vertical tail surfaces, and a strengthenedundercarriage to provide for the greater all-up weight of 6,300 lb. Townend rings were fitted over the seven-cylinder Genet Majorengines, and the cruising and maximum speeds were, respectively, 105 m.p.h. and 122 m.p.h.In all, eight Wessexes, of various models, were built. ' LIGHTPLANES Woodpigeon Mk I For the Air Ministry's Light AeroplaneCompetition at Lympne in 1924 Westlands produced a tiny two- seater called the Woodpigeon, which was a biplane counterpart ofthe monoplane Widgeon, later described. The wings could be folded round the rear spar joints and trailing-edge flaps were fittedover the whole span of both wings. These flaps served not only as camber-changing devices but as ailerons also, and Mr. Bruce hadcontrived that their movement should be automatic in normal flying, though when the pilot desired more camber than was auto-matically provided, he was able to over-ride the mechanism. The Woodpigeon proved less successful than the Widgeon, and is saidto have been difficult to keep in the air, which is hardly surprising when it is noted that the engine was a Bristol Cherub of only32 h.p. whereas the gross weight was 779 1b. The span was 22ft 9in, length 19ft 6in, maximum speed 72 m.p.h., landingspeed 32 m.pJi. Eventually the competition Woodpigeon, G-EBIY, was fittedwith wings of longer span, as developed for the Mk II aircraft. Woodpigeon Mk I (A.B.C. Scorpion) Woodpigeon G-EBIYwas acquired by the Seven Aeroplane Club, fitted with an A.B.C. Scorpion Mk II, driving a Fairey-Reed airscrew, and enteredfor the Lympne Lightplane Meeting in September 1926. pgn Mk II In this version of the Woodpigeon the wingspan was increased to 27ft, the tailplane was made adjustable, and other refinements were incorporated. Empty and gross weightswere 545 lb and 885 lb, and with a 45 h.p. Anzani engine per- formance proved satisfactory. For several years WoodpigeonMk II G-EBJV was flown by W/C. Mitchell, a local owner who served with distinction in the R. A.F. as the oldest night-fighter pilot. Widgeon Mk I This little parasol monoplane was proposed byMr. Davenport and built for the Lympne trials of 1924, though it met with a mishap on its first circuit of the course. In Septemberof that year Flight remarked that it was of very unorthodox design compared with the majority of the entries, not only as regardsaerodynamic features but also in the matter of structure. "The view laterally, forward and aft and downwards," it was observed,"should be well-nigh perfect, while even in an upward direction the view is restricted to but a very small extent. This is dueto the fact that the monoplane wing tapers considerably in chord towards .the root, so that the pilot in the rear cockpit can lookup and backward, while the front pilot can look in all directions, except diagonally up and back." The fuselage was almost identicalwith that of the Woodpigeon, being of girder construction and braced by piano wire. As on the Woodpigeon, full-span aileron/flap surfaces were fitted, and the wings were arranged to fold. The engine was a 1,096 c.c. Blackburne Thrush three-cylinderradial, the span 30ft 8in, length 20ft Sin, wing area 145 sq ft, weight empty 475 lb, gross weight 815 lb, maximum speed 72m.p.h., and landing speed 32 m.p.h. Widgeon Mk II When the Lympne trials of 1924 had provedthat the tiny engines fitted to the competing aircraft were quite inadequate for the loads carried, the Widgeon was fitted with a Widgeon Mk II (Armstrong Siddeley Genet).
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