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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1153.PDF
FLIGHT, 24 August 1961 255 Artist's impression of the 8.206 On this and the following seven pages "Flight" presents the first detailed description of the B.206, the largest and fastest of the new Beagle pack, together with an illustrated review of five other members— three of which have yet to fly. The description of the B.206 has been written for us by C. B. Bailey-Watson. BEAGLE B.206 — and the rest of the pack WHEN Peter Masefield first conceived the idea of this newaeroplane he was motivated by two things: first, there wasevidence of a worldwide need for a good sophisticatedbusiness aircraft capable of carrying five to seven people in limou- sine comfort; and second, he thought that this aircraft should beBritish. It was likely, however, that if any one of the major UK aircraft companies with the necessary resources were to tackle thejob, it would involve the project with such a weighty overhead burden as virtually to condemn the venture to commercial disaster. Then Mr Masefield started to talk about it with Mr MichaelBellhouse, the deputy chairman of the Pressed Steel Company. The outcome was the formation of British Executive and GeneralAviation Ltd (Beagle) as a subsidiary of Pressed Steel, with Mr Bellhouse as chairman and Mr Masefield as managing director.This happened in October last year, and was rapidly followed by the acquisition of Auster Aircraft Ltd of Rearsby and the aviationinterests of F. G. Miles Ltd at Shoreham, these two becoming subsidiaries of British Executive and General Aviation and re-formed as Beagle-Auster Aircraft Ltd and Beagle-Miles Aircraft Ltd, with Peter Masefield as chairman of both. On the design and manufacturing nucleus now commanded,Masefield immediately set about building up the necessary strength of team and facilities to tackle the job. A new design and adminis-tration block of buildings was erected and occupied in very short order. New factory building was planned and all the necessarywheels of Industrial Development Certificates, planning authority, ground leasing and so on set in motion. A great deal of work wasdone in an incredibly short time by—on the yardstick of modern aviation industry—a handful of people. It has been said that anounce of enthusiasm is worth a ton of experience, and this may be right: but when a ton of enthusiasm is added to a ton of experiencethen life becomes exciting and things really happen—quick. Peter Masefield schemed the design himself. Its genesis was aBristol Aircraft board memorandum dated November 20, 1959, when Mr Masefield was managing director of that company.When he left that appointment he spent three months of hard slogging work on the project design of his aeroplane. A great dealof this was inventive design work out of his basic aircraft engineering talent; a great deal was relating the design parameters to the findingsof a comprehensive market study of business aircraft requirements throughout the World. The start of the project was given thereference number 200—the "2" signifying two engines. The air- craft as it now exists in actuality is numbered 206: it represents thelatest of six project designs, each one a refined advance on its predecessor. From the earliest days, the B.206 engineering design has beendirected by R. J. B. Woodhams, chief engineer of Beagle, whose deputy, Dickie Bird, has been responsible project engineer for theprototype. George Miles, technical director of the group, has been a tower of strength in relating the full Miles resources to the job,whilst J. W. P. Angell, group production manager, and Tom Rickard, works manager at Shoreham, have done wonders in getting the prototype into the air nine months from the start ofdetail design. An astonishing performance this, in relation to what is, after all, a pretty sophisticated aeroplane. Perhaps to theenthusiasm/experience equation one ought in this instance to integrate the powerful factor of teamwork; for it has certainlyshown its value. The world requirement for business aircraft covers a fairlybroad spectrum, but there is a large-scale demand for a thoroughly civilized, not too large, simple to operate aeroplane which cancarry five to seven people in spacious comfort on journeys of up to 1,000 miles. It must also be capable of slipping along at around200 knots so that the journey times are acceptably short. What is the purpose of a business aeroplane ? It is worth posingthis question because the answer clarifies the design essentials. First of all the purpose is simply to provide a private means oftransport that allows the user to travel freely, at his convenience, without requiring him to adapt his programme to the routes andtimetables of scheduled commercial transport. There is, of course, a proviso to this in terms of single-flight distance. An executivewishing to go from Rome to Johannesburg or from Manchester to Mexico City would obviously be better served by trunk airline.But if our man in Manchester wishes to go to, say. Turin, or any- where else within 1,000 miles, he can go direct, at whatever time helikes, and with colleagues as well. Now, legal requirements such as customs clearance and so onapart, the next vital element is the operational implication of going direct, at any time. Going direct is not simply a matter of fuelcapacity: it implies an equipment standard to permit flying airways —and "at any time" implies night or day, all weathers, with, again,the corollary of necessary equipment standard. First-class travel quality on airlines, railways and in the bestcars in the world sets a level of executive travel that has to be matched in the business aircraft. Such an aircraft should, indeed,be an air limousine: quiet, smooth, very comfortable and fast. Translating these several requirements into design solutions is anice exercise in compromise. A spacious cabin exacts a drag pen- alty: luxurious furnishings, really effective soundproofing and anelaborate equipment standard impose weight problems: weight and drag militate against performance and economics. If there werea golden-rule solution to the task, chief engineers and chief designers would be less gifted men. The B.206 is, perhaps, the best solution to the business aircraftdesign problem that has so far been devised—which, parentheti- cally, is a commentary on the men who have done the devising. Itis, for a start, an extremely good-looking aeroplane, and human nature being as it is, something that is good to look at immediatelyengenders a warm response: certainly there are the roots of con- tinuous dissatisfaction in anything that is ill-proportioned. Theprofiles of the B.206 do, in fact, disguise the most unusual spacious- ness of the cabin: it really is very large—and particularly in itswidth. This matter of spaciousness is not unimportant. Whilst it
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