burger-menu
Поиск по сайту:
airplane photo

Страна: Великобритания

Год: 1911

A.Jackson De Havilland Aircraft since 1909 (Putnam)

Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.1

   The first type designed under Geoffrey de Havilland's direction after his appointment to Farnborough was a canard pusher biplane which, at a time when little money was being spent on new aeroplanes, had to be described as the rebuild of a crashed Army Bleriot monoplane. In fact, nothing but the Bleriot's 60 h.p. E.N.V. engine was used in its construction.
   Two bay biplane wings were mounted at the rear end of a long, narrow nacelle, with twin rudders on outriggers behind and a front wing, or elevator, in the extreme nose. It received Royal Aircraft Factory designation S.E.1, signifying Santos Experimental initially but later it came to mean Scouting Experimental.
   Roll-out took place at 5 a.m. on June 7, 1911 but the wheels were too far aft of the CG, causing the front skids to dig into the ground when taxying and it was next day, after adjustments, before a first straight flight of about a mile was possible. Longer straight flights followed on June 10 when it was said to be fast and to climb well but it was not exactly a successful aeroplane and a flight to Laffan's Plain on June 28 showed that the hinge line of the front wing was too far ahead of the c.p. and progressive reductions in area were necessary before the S.E. 1 became stable in pitch. Turns were difficult and although side area was reduced by stripping fabric from the sides of the nacelle, real improvement was only achieved when the all-moving front wing was replaced by a fixed aerofoil with trailing edge elevator.
   Geoffrey de Havilland, its only pilot up to that time, flew it for the last time on August 16, 1911 when he made two return trips to Laffan's Plain with a misfiring engine. This was put right but two days later, on August 18, Lt. T. J. Ridge, Assistant Superintendent of the Royal Aircraft Factory but a pilot of only limited experience, stalled it off a gliding turn over Farnborough, spun it and was killed.

SPECIFICATION AND DATA
   Construction: By the Royal Aircraft Factory, Farnborough, Hants.
   Power Plant: One 60 h.p. E.N.V. Type F.
   Dimensions:
   Span 38 ft. 6 in. Length 29 ft. 0 in.
   Height 11 ft. 6 in. Wing area 400 sq. ft.
   Weights: All-up weight 1,200 lb.

Показать полностью

Описание:

  • A.Jackson De Havilland Aircraft since 1909 (Putnam)
  • P.Hare Royal Aircraft Factory (Putnam)
  • M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)
  • P.Lewis British Aircraft 1809-1914 (Putnam)
  • J.Bruce British Aeroplanes 1914-1918 (Putnam)
  • Журнал Flight