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Covers all types of powered and unpowered flying aircraft
The site of the present Thai restaurant at the junction of Eastgate Square, between St Pancras and The Hornet was the location from the late 17th century for the Unicorn Inn. The title deeds held by Messrs Henty and Constable in 1940 go back to 1741. The “Unicorn” was the home of that ancient body…
Designed by chief engineer Kurt Tank, the aircraft was initially developed for two alternative power plants, the inline Daimler Benz DB 601 and the radial BMW 139. The choice of a radial engine was controversial as it was thought the large frontal area would adversely affect performance. However, it offered more power and was chosen…
Designed by Professor Willy Messerschmitt to meet a 1934 Reichfluftfahrtministerium requirement for a single-seat monoplane fighter, the prototype Bf1 09A first flew in September 1935 and was the winning competitor in a fly-off that involved three other designs – Focke-Wulf submitted the Fw 159V1, Arado the Ar 80V1 and Heinkel the He 112. When it…
Specification F.7/30 From the early 1930s it became apparent that the Royal Air Force’s current fighters were pitifully inadequate barely able to outpace the bombers that were supposed to attack. To address this state of affairs the Air Ministry issued specification F.7/30 for a new day and night fighter. The key performance requirements in the…
The Schneider Prize was a trophy awarded to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flying boats. It was financed by Jacques Schneider, a balloonist and aircraft enthusiast and was intended to take place annually and latter biannually. If an aero club won three races in five years, they would retain the trophy. The…
Read More “The Schneider Competition – and the Supermarine Company” »
Design and Development In 1925, at a time when biplanes largely ruled the skies, the newly appointed Chief Designer of the Hawker Engineering Company, Sydney Camm, put forward a design for a single monoplane fighter armed with Vickers machine guns and powered by a Bristol Jupiter engine. Such a revolutionary design was not accepted, so…