M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
Biplane
This single-seater was completed in February 1914, to the order of Lt. R.E.B. Hunt and was for exhibition flying. It was in use at Eastbourne until just before the outbreak of war.
The design, by Gassier, was of a simple unstaggered two bay biplane with warping top wing. The overhang of the wing was braced from kingposts, in line with the outboard interplane struts. The front struts were connected to the front spar, which lay along the leading edge. The lower wing was of parallel chord, but the trailing edge of the top wing tapered from a cutaway center section, but changed to become parallel over the warpable length of the span.
The four wheel undercarriage included twin skids, joined by struts to the bottom longerons. There was no fin and the rudder was unbalanced. The engine was a 50hp Gnome seven-cylinder air-cooled rotary, enclosed in a circular cowling, cutaway at the lower quarter.
Data
Cruising speed 65 mph
P.Lewis British Aircraft 1809-1914 (Putnam)
Eastbourne Aviation Company Biplane
The E.A.C. Biplane was designed by Mons. E. L. Gassier and built by the Eastbourne Aviation Company to the order of Lt. R. E. B. Hunt, a pupil of the school who took his Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate No. 715 on 22nd December, 1913, while flying the E.A.C. Monoplane. It was a single-seater, fitted with the 50 h.p. Gnome, and was completed in February, 1914. The machine was intended for exhibition flying, and was flown also by F. B. Fowler who found it extremely pleasant to handle. It was taken away from Eastbourne by Hunt just before the outbreak of the 1914-18 War. Cruising speed, 65 m.p.h.