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Страна: Великобритания

Год: 1914

P.Lewis British Aircraft 1809-1914 (Putnam)

Eastbourne Aviation Company Circuit Seaplane

   Entered as No. 5 in the 1914 Daily Mail Circuit of Britain contest for seaplanes, the Eastbourne Aviation Company's machine was an ambitious design which incorporated a 100 h.p. Green engine mounted inside the fuselage between the wings, driving a pair of 8 ft. 6 ins. diameter tractor propellers through inclined shafts and bevel gearing.
   The head of the Company, F. B. Fowler, was scheduled to fly the big 54 ft. span seaplane in the event, which did not, however, take place owing to the outbreak of the 1914-18 War. The crew occupied side-by-side seats in the nose of the fuselage, which swept upwards towards the tail. The sides were flat, but curved deckings were added above and below, and the fuselage terminated in a rudder post, as sufficient side area was built, into the rear of the machine to enable a fixed fin to be dispensed with.
   The wings were of parallel chord with three bays and no stagger. Ailerons were incorporated in the four wing-tips, and the lower wings were given dihedral while the upper planes were flat. The entire aeroplane was supported when on the water by a pair of long floats, which had one step towards the rear and which were set 12 ft. apart so that wing floats were unnecessary. The length of the main floats also rendered a tail-float superfluous, but the last bay in the fuselage contained a water-tight tank in case the tail should become immersed.
   The principle of having the engine buried inside the fuselage, with either shaft or chain drive to outrigged propellers, was one which appealed to many designers for several years but which never proved to be fully satisfactory in practice. The struts which carried the propellers on the Circuit Seaplane were inclined to distort when full power was applied, and the machine, which was being modified when War broke out, was finally dismantled.

SPECIFICATION

   Description: Two-seat tractor biplane seaplane. Wooden structure, fabric covered.
   Manufacturers: Eastbourne Aviation Co. Ltd., Eastbourne, Sussex.
   Power Plant: 100 h.p. Green.
   Dimensions: Span, 54 ft. Length, 31 ft. Wing area, 700 sq. ft.
   Weights: Empty, 1,850 lb. Loaded, 2,809 lb.
   Performance: Maximum speed, 65 m.p.h. Landing speed, 45 m.p.h. Endurance, 7 hrs.

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Описание:

  • P.Lewis British Aircraft 1809-1914 (Putnam)
  • M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)
  • Журнал Flight