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Vickers No.6 / No.8

Страна: Великобритания

Год: 1912

Vickers - No.2 - No.5, No.7 - 1912 - Великобритания<– –>Vickers - EFB.1 - 1913 - Великобритания


C.Andrews Vickers Aircraft since 1908 (Putnam)


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   Extensive redesign was introduced in the No. 6 monoplane, built at Erith in June 1912 for the Military Aeroplane Trials Competition, held on Salisbury Plain that year by the War Office. In the No. 6 the wing span was reduced and the undercarriage simplified by the adoption of a two-wheel arrangement with one central skid. Crew seating was side by side, which led to the unofficial designation of the monoplane as the Vickers Sociable. One of the requirements of the Competition was that both members of the crew should be provided with the best possible view of the ground in a forward arc, as the aeroplane was regarded then mainly as an instrument for supporting reconnaissance by cavalry.
   No. 6 was powered by a 70 hp Viale seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, but this proved too unreliable to give the aeroplane a reasonable chance in the Competition, in which it was flown by L. F. Macdonald, Vickers' pilot. From this type a two-seat biplane was developed and test flown from Joyce Green in December 1912. It was in this aircraft that Macdonald, with his mechanic H. England, crashed in the Thames on 13 January, 1913, both occupants being drowned. The accident was attributed to failure of the 70 hp Gnome rotary engine, which type of engine had previously replaced the Viale in No. 6. No photographs or drawings have survived of this biplane conversion.
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   No. 8, the last of the early monoplanes built, reverted to the configuration of No. 6, with a 70 hp or 80 hp Gnome rotary engine as power. It was displayed at the Fourth International Aero Show at Olympia in February 1913. At the next Aero Show, also at Olympia in 1914, Vickers showed a two-seat scout biplane of wooden construction which was obviously a development of the earlier biplane of 1913. Here again few details were released, except that its estimated speed was 100 mph. Presumably this design was dropped in favour of the development of the Vickers Gunbus, which had become a priority for active service.
   The following extract is taken from Flight for February 1913, and is a description of the typical construction of the Vickers monoplanes, couched in the terminology of the period. It refers to No. 8 as exhibited in the Aero Show of that year.
   'The 80 hp Vickers Two-seater Monoplane - This monoplane is of the same type as the one which, fitted with a 70 hp stationary Viale motor, put up such praiseworthy flights at the time of the Military Aeroplane Competitions in August last. The identical machine shown, driven by a 70 hp Gnome motor, has done upwards of 500 miles in the air at the Vickers private flying ground at Erith, piloted by the late Mr Leslie Macdonald and by their present pilot instructor, Mr Barnwell.
   'Its body is an all-steel structure, built lattice-girder fashion, with light tubular longitudinals and tubular cross members. They are assembled by means of welded steel sockets, the joints being afterwards sweated together and pinned. At the front end the four longitudinals meet in a flat upright prate, which serves as one of the mounting plates of the motor. Further support for the motor is provided by a stout flanged plate arranged some little distance behind the front cap. Seats are provided for the pilot and passenger side by side, and there are transparent wind shields fitted in front of them, so that they may suffer no inconvenience from the propeller draught. So carefully has this been carried out that when the machine is flying the occupants can detect scarcely any wind at all. Dual control is fitted. The seats are arranged well forward in the body, so that the occupants have a good clear view over the leading edge of the wings. To still further increase their range of vision, Cellon windows are let into the sides of the body. An interesting fitting in the cockpit is a Clift anti-drift compass, which is mounted over a hole in the floor and by which the machine may be kept on a true course in a side wind.
   'The landing chassis is of the central skid and double wheel type. Two Vs of stout steel tube support the body from a long ash skid, which is curved up in front and which is armoured by the application of Duralumin sheeting. Two axles, carrying the rolling wheels, extend on either side of the skid. Landing shocks are absorbed by elastic springs in tension.
   'The wings are built about two tubular steel spars cored with wood. Over them the ash ribs are loosely fitted in such a manner that continual warping of the wings does not tend to weaken them in any way. On the under side of the wings three stranded steel cables proceed to each spar, and these take the main lift. In a similar manner the wings are braced from above to a cabane above the pilot's cockpit.
   'The tail is formed by the splaying out of the body at the rear to give a fixed stabilising surface behind which are hinged the two lifting flaps. On this monoplane, as distinct from the one that flew in connection with the Military Competitions at Salisbury, a vertical fin is fitted, which precedes an unbalanced directional rudder. A small steel skid protects the tail unit, but it is probable that it very seldom comes into play, for most of the weight of the tail on landing is taken by the backward laminated extension of the main landing skid.
   'Fitted with an engine of 70 hp this monoplane shows a speed of 63 mph, and is capable of climbing with the useful load aboard of pilot, passenger, and sufficient fuel for a 3 1/2-hours' flight at the rate of 250 ft per minute. With an 80 hp Gnome motor installed, the machine has been timed to attain and maintain a speed of over 70 mph.'
   The early Vickers monoplanes, supported by three Vickers Boxkites of Farman biplane genus, earned their keep despite the hazards of their low-powered engines of dubious reliability and the local physical obstructions to low-altitude flying at Brooklands in the wooded uplands of nearby St George's Hill and Weybridge Heath. There was also the notorious sewage farm, located inside the motor-racing track towards the railway embankment, ready to receive into its sticky mire the unwary flier in trouble on take-off or approach. The monoplanes competed in the popular flying meetings held at Brooklands in pre-1914 days and were always prominent in the handicap races flown on a circuit out to Coxes Lock Mill, near Addlestone, and back. Those halcyon afternoons of real peacetime aeronautics are fast fading from living memory.
   Vickers Flying School at Brooklands trained 77 pupils between 1912 and 1914, the second highest of all the civilian schools in the country, and was only bettered by the Bristol School, who also trained most of their pupils at Brooklands. From January to August 1914, when Vickers School closed down because of the outbreak of war, it produced 36 pilots with aviators' certificates - popularly known as flying tickets. This was the record for the country, and the list of Vickers pupils contained names of pilots who achieved fame later on. The work of the pre-1914 civilian flying schools contributed much to the air services by way of trained pilots in the critical early period of the first world war.
   Meanwhile Vickers went on with their development of metallised airframes as pioneered by the R.E.P. type monoplanes and with the evolution of a gun-carrying pusher biplane as well as various attempts to find a satisfactory alternative engine to the ubiquitous Gnome.


Monoplanes Nos. 1-7
   Nos 1, 2 and 3 No. 6 No. 7
Accommodation: Pilot and passenger Pilot and passenger Pilot and passenger
Engine: 60 hp R.E.P.* 70 hp Viale** 100 hp Gnome
Span: 47 ft 6 in 35 ft 34 ft 6 in
Length: 36 ft 5 in - 25 ft
Wing Area: 290 sq ft 220 sq ft 220 sq ft
Empty Weight: 1,000 lb - 730 lb
Gross Weight: - - 1,200 lb
Max Speed
   at Ground Level: 56 mph 63 mph 70 mph
Range: - - 350 miles
* Changed to 60 hp Vickers-REP on No. 2.
** Changed to 70 hp Gnome rotary.


M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)


Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing


P.Lewis British Aircraft 1809-1914 (Putnam)


Vickers Monoplanes Nos. 1 to 8

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   Monoplanes Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 were on the strength of the Vickers School of Flying at Brooklands in 1912 as instructional aircraft, but proved to be rather heavy for this type of work. A new design was therefore evolved which displayed a fairly definite breakaway from the previous machines. To comply with the requirements of the 1912 Military Trials for an equally good forward view for both of the crew, the Monoplane No. 6 featured side-by-side seats. Dual controls formed part of the equipment, and in plan view the wider, rectangular-section fuselage was untapered, the parallel sides finally splaying outwards to blend into the tailplane. A desirable increase in power over that given by the R.E.P. engine was met by the installation of the seven-cylinder 70 h.p. Viale air-cooled radial, which produced a top speed of 63 m.p.h. A fixed fin was dispensed with, a pleasingly-shaped rudder forming the vertical tail surfaces. Wings of 35 ft. span were braced from a cabane consisting of a pair of side-by-side inverted-vee struts. The earlier rather complex type of undercarriage was discarded; in its place was a simple unit of twin wheels on leaf springs and with a single central skid.
   The Monoplane No. 6 was dubbed The Sociable and was flown in the Trials as entry No. 3, piloted by L. F. MacDonald. A troublesome engine reduced the machine's chances in the tests, and it was fitted later with a Viale of greater power. A 70 h.p. Gnome rotary finally replaced the Viale, and was covered over its upper portion by a neat cowling which blended into the lines of the fuselage. An improvement in the visibility of the crew was brought about by the addition of side windows in the fuselage.
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   The final variant of the first series of Vickers monoplanes was No. 8, which was built also in 1913 and was shown at the Olympia Aero Show of the same year. It was the earlier No. 6 in a new guise, fitted with the 70 h.p. or 80 h.p. Gnome engine. Minor modifications in detail had been made, including the revision of the horizontal tail surfaces to a fish shape. The machine had been flown for over 500 miles by L. F. MacDonald and R. H. Barnwell at the Erith field before it appeared at Olympia.


Vickers Tractor Biplane

   A two-seat tractor biplane with a wooden airframe, driven by the 70 h.p. Gnome engine, was completed in December, 1912. It crashed into the River Thames at Erith on a flight from Joyce Green on 13th January, 1913, while piloted by Leslie F. MacDonald, who, together with his passenger, Harold England, was drowned.


Jane's All The World Aircraft 1913


VICKERS. Vickers, Ltd., Vickers House, Broadway, Westminster. School: Brooklands. Seven pupils qualified during 1912.

   Monoplane. Military
Model and date. 1912-13. biplane.
   2-seater. 1913.

Length................feet(m.) 25 (7.60) ...
Span..................feet(m.) 34? (10.50) 40 (12.20)
Area..............sq.feet(m?.) 220 (20) 385 (35)
Weight,total........lbs.(kgs.) 730 (331) ...
Weight, useful......lbs.(kgs.) ... ...
Motor.....................h.p. 80 Gnome 80 Wolseley
Speed..............m.p.h.(km.) 70 (115) ...
Endurance.................hrs. 3 ...
Number built during 1912...... ... ...

Notes.-- Steel construction. Landing shock absorbing: 2 wheels and 1 skid. Rectangular enclosed body. Controls: warping and rear elevator.

Monoplane climbs 300 feet a minute fully loaded.

Biplane is armed with a Vickers R.C. automatic gun in the bow.


Журнал Flight


Flight, August 24, 1912.

THE VICKERS MONOPLANE.

   LIKE the previous productions of this firm, Vickers monoplane No. 6, is essentially a steel-built structure. The body is wedge-shaped, pointed in front and flattening away horizontally towards the rear. Unlike the general run of monoplane bodies, it is wider than it is deep in order to seat pilot and passenger side by side. In plan view the body does not taper towards the tail, so in retaining its extreme width it serves in the capacity of a stabiliser, and renders unnecessary the application of any fixed horizontal surface to perform that function. The attitude of the machine in flight is varied by two balanced elevators. To the front of the body is bolted a 70-h.p. radial air-cooled Viale motor, which drives direct a Chauviere propeller. Inside the cockpit the occupants are each provided with controls, which are in the form of universally jointed vertical levers operating the elevators and the wing warping, and pivoted foot-bars for steering. Great ingenuity is displayed in the design of the undercarriage. Its type is distantly related to that of the Nieuport. It is exceptionally strong and flexible, and has the additional advantage of offering little head-resistance. A single central skid is attached to the body by means of two pairs of struts in Vs. The bases of the V's are not rigidly attached to the central skid, but are joined flexibly thereto by the interposition of two laminated steel springs, an idea that, we believe, was first originated by the designers of the German Albatross biplane, one of the cleverest exhibits at the last Paris Aero Show. The way in which the wheels are mounted is shown in one of our sketches. Shocks are absorbed in the same manner as on the R.E.P. monoplane. The oblique compression strut from the wheel is attached to a sliding collar which moves vertically up and down one of the vertical members of the fuselage. Movement of this collar is opposed by rubber springs in tension. Some 6 inches above the skid, and parallel to it, is arranged a long rotating tube which carries two sets of cranks. The set at the rear operates the wing warping, those in front are connected to the controlling levers. The wings are, outwardly, of more or less conventional type of construction, and span 34 ft.


Flight, February 8, 1913.

WHAT THERE WILL BE TO SEE AT OLYMPIA.

THE MACHINES.

Vickers, Ltd.

   Two machines, of excellent design and construction, will represent Messrs. Vickers, Ltd., at the Olympia Show. One will be a military biplane, driven by one of the new Wolseley 60-80 semi-air-cooled semi-water-cooled motors. Their other machine will be a monoplane similar in almost every respect to the one which flew in connection with the Military Trials at Salisbury Plain. Unlike that machine, however, it will be driven by a 70-h.p. Gnome motor.
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   As for the monoplane they will be showing, we have already mentioned that it will be almost identical to the one that figured in the Military Trials at Salisbury, excepting that the Show machine will be fitted with a 70 h.p. Gnome motor. With an engine of this power and type, the monoplane has been timed to do 63 miles an hour, and to lift a useful load, consisting of passenger, pilot, and fuel sufficient for a 3 1/2 hours' flight, at the rate of 250 ft. per minute. Pilot and passenger will be seated side by side, and they will be provided with duplicate controls. Although it is a moderately fast machine, it can be flown in perfect comfort without the necessity of the occupant wearing goggles. This is obtained by the fitting of transparent wind screens in front of pilot and passenger. A similar machine to this one, but fitted with an 80-h.p. Gnome motor, has attained over 70 miles per hour.


Flight, February 22, 1913.

SOME MORE AEROPLANES AT OLYMPIA.

MESSRS. VICKERS, LTD.

   They are represented by two exceedingly businesslike looking machines, an 80-h.p. Gnome engined monoplane and a military biplane equipped with one of the new 60-80-h.p. Wolseley aero motors. For some three years now has this noted firm had in operation an aviation department under the direction of Capt. H. F. Wood, himself a pilot of no mean order. Their designer, Mr. Archibald R. Low, M.A., who is responsible for the drawings of the two machines exhibited, is also an experienced pilot. Both the monoplane and the biplane shown may to all intents and purposes be considered as all-steel machines, for wood only enters into their construction for the shaping of the ribs, for the landing skids, and for the filling pieces by which the tubular struts are brought up to streamline section.

   The 80-h.p. Vickers Two-seater Monoplane. - This monoplane is of the same type as the one which, fitted with a 70-h.p. stationary Viale motor, put up such praiseworthy flights at the time of the Military Aeroplane Competitions in August last. The identical machine shown, driven by a 70-h.p. Gnome motor, has done upwards of 500 miles in the air at the Vickers private flying ground at Erith, piloted by the late Mr. Leslie Macdonald and by their present pilot instructor, Mr. Barnwell.
   Its body is an all-steel structure, built lattice girder fashion, with light tubular longitudinals and tubular cross members. They are assembled by means of welded steel sockets, the joints being afterwards sweated together and pinned. At the front end the four longitudinals meet in a flat upright plate, which serves as one of the provided by a stout flanged plate arranged some little distance behind the front cap. Seats are provided for the pilot and passenger side by side, and there are transparent wind shields fitted in front of them, so that they may suffer no inconvenience from the propeller draught. So carefully has this been carried out that when the machine is flying the occupants can detect scarcely any wind at all. Dual control is fitted. The seats are arranged well forward in the body, so that the occupants have a good clear view over the leading edge of the wings. To still further increase their range of vision, Cellon windows are let into the sides of the body. An interesting fitting in the cockpit is a Cuft anti-drift compass, which is mounted over a hole in the floor and by which the machine may be kept on a true course in a side wind.
   The landing chassis is of the central skid and double wheel type. - Two V's of stout steel tube support the body from a long ash skid, which is curved up in front and which is armoured by the application of Duralumin sheeting. Two axles, carrying the rolling wheels, extend on either side of the skid. Landing shocks are absorbed by elastic springs in tension.
   The wings are built about two tubular steel spars cored with wood. Over them the ash ribs are loosely fitted in such a manner that continual warping of the wings does not tend to weaken them in any way. On the under side of the wings three stranded steel cables proceed to each spar, and these take the main lift. In a similar manner the wings are braced from above to a cabane above the pilot's cockpit.
   The tail is formed by the splaying out of the body at the rear to give a fixed stabilising surface behind which are hinged the two lifting flaps. On this monoplane, as distinct from the one that flew in connection with the Military Competitions at Salisbury, a vertical fin is fitted, which precedes an unbalanced directional rudder. A small steel skid protects the tail unit, but it is probable that it very seldom comes into play, for most of the weight of the tail on landing is taken by the backward laminated extension of the main landing skid.
   Fitted with an engine of 70-h.p., this monoplane shows a speed of 63 miles per hour, and is capable of climbing with the useful load aboard of pilot, passenger, and sufficient fuel for a 3 1/2-hours' flight at the rate of 250 ft. per minute. With an 80-h.p. Gnome motor installed, the machine has been timed to attain and maintain a speed of over 70 miles per hour.
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Flight, May 10, 1913.

FROM THE BRITISH FLYING GROUNDS.

Brooklands Aerodrome.

   ALL the schools are now going strong and the Vickers Company have taken two more sheds to house their new machines.
   On Tuesday morning last week, Mr. Barnwell, Manager of the Vickers School, had rather a narrow escape over the Weybridge golf course whilst testing a new two-seater monoplane, the machine being caught by a sudden gust of wind and dashed to the ground ere the pilot could recover control. It was only his skilful manoeuvring, coupled with the strength of the chassis, a great feature of the Vickers machines, and the body, which considerably minimised the force of the impact, that prevented a worse accident. As it was, Mr. Barnwell escaped with a good shaking and a few cuts.
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M.Goodall, A.Tagg - British Aircraft before the Great War /Schiffer/
Vickers No. 6 monoplane with Viale engine at the War Office Military Aeroplane Trials in 1912 at Larkhill, Salisbury Plain.
Журнал - Flight за 1912 г.
The Vickers monoplane, fitted with 70-h.p. Viale engine, piloted by Macdonald in the Army Aeroplane Competition on Salisbury Plain.
M.Goodall, A.Tagg - British Aircraft before the Great War /Schiffer/
Vickers No.VI monoplane was a major redesign with side-by-side seating.
Jane's All The World Aircraft 1913 /Jane's/
No. 6 monoplane re-engined with a 70 hp Gnome and with a Levasseur-type propeller.
M.Goodall, A.Tagg - British Aircraft before the Great War /Schiffer/
P.Lewis - British Aircraft 1809-1914 /Putnam/
Vickers No.VIII monoplane in the works at Erith. It had side-by-side seating and a 70 or 80hp Gnome engine.
C.Andrews - Vickers Aircraft since 1908 /Putnam/
No. 8 monoplane in Vickers Erith works, showing balanced elevators and sociable side-by-side seating first exploited in No. 6.
Журнал - Flight за 1913 г.
The Vickers war monoplane.
Журнал - Flight за 1913 г.
Mr. Barnwell In flight, with a passenger, on Vlckers No. 8 before his recent mishap down Weybrldge way.
C.Andrews - Vickers Aircraft since 1908 /Putnam/
No. 8 monoplane packed for field transport on trailer and complete with ground crew in Napier car.
Журнал - Flight за 1912 г.
A trio of Vickers monoplanes at the Vickers Brooklands School.
Журнал - Flight за 1913 г.
Ready for the day's work at the Vlckers Flying School at Brooklands Aerodrome.
Журнал - Flight за 1912 г.
THE VICKERS MONOPLANE.-Sketch showing the engine-mounting and landing-skid.
Журнал - Flight за 1912 г.
THE VICKERS MONOPLANE. - The landing-chassis.
Журнал - Flight за 1912 г.
THE VICKERS MONOPLANE. - Showing how the front chassis-struts are connected to the central landing-skid, and insulated therefrom by a laminated steel spring.
Журнал - Flight за 1912 г.
THE VICKERS MONOPLANE. - The mechanism that operates the wing-warping. Note the laminated steel spring that insulates the chassis-strut from the skid.
Журнал - Flight за 1912 г.
THE VICKERS MONOPLANE. - Details of the tail, showing the tailskid and release-catch.
Журнал - Flight за 1913 г.
A chassis detail of the Vickers monoplane.
Журнал - Flight за 1913 г.
VICKERS MONOPLANE DETAILS. - The sketch on the left illustrates the fitting by which the two front V-set chassis struts are assembled to the central skid. It also shows how the wing cables are attached. That on the right shows the tail.
Журнал - Flight за 1913 г.
The 70-h.p. Gnome-Vickers monoplane.
Журнал - Flight за 1913 г.
The 80-h.p. Vickers monoplane.
Журнал - Flight за 1913 г.
AT OLYMPIA. - A study in tail-skids.
Журнал - Flight за 1913 г.
A study in tails.