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Страна: Великобритания

Год: 1918

G.Duval British Flying-Boats and Amphibians 1909-1952 (Putnam)

Porte/Felixstowe Fury (1918)

   John Porte’s last Felixstowe production was a huge triplane flying-boat, the largest British machine of its day, powered by no fewer than five 334 h.p. Rolls-Royce Eagle VII engines. The Fury was probably inspired by a large Curtiss triplane flying-boat which had been assembled and flown at Felixstowe in 1916, the Curtiss-Wanamaker, serialled No. 3073. This machine was the first delivered of an order for twenty, but even with its original four 250 h.p. Curtiss engines replaced by Rolls-Royce power units, official tests showed that the performance did not measure up to requirements and the order was cancelled. At the time, Porte had little opportunity and insufficient resources to deal with the redesign of the Curtiss-Wanamaker, but it is certain that as an advocate of the large flying-boat he did not forget it, and when the Fury appeared in 1918 several features of the Curtiss machine were embodied. Known to all at Felixstowe as the Porte Super Baby, the Fury was planned for an engine installation of three of the new 600 h.p. Rolls-Royce Condors but was completed before the Condor became available, so the engine mountings were modified to take five Rolls-Royce Eagles arranged as a central pusher flanked by two outboard pairs of pusher and tractor. The hull, basically employing a similar construction and profile to the other Felixstowe boats and 60 feet in length, was regarded as the best of all the Porte hulls. The top and central mainplanes were of equal span, the latter carrying the engines, while the lower mainplane was one bay shorter. The tail unit resembled that of the Curtiss-Wanamaker, with a biplane tailplane fitted with twin rudders mounted upon a central fin. The Fury design incorporated power-operated controls, using servo-motors, and it was almost certainly the first aircraft in the world to fly with these in operation although actually the Fury proved to be remarkably light on all controls and so the weighty servos were dispensed with. The machine’s designed loaded weight was 24,000 pounds, this being gradually increased during testing without adverse effect upon take-off or seaworthiness until it reached the figure of 33,000 pounds, at which enormous weight Porte himself coaxed the great machine into the air from Harwich Harbour. On another occasion, Major T. D. Hallam, d.s.C., flew the Fury with 24 passengers, fuel for seven hours, and 5,000 pounds of ballast. The tail unit was later modified to a more conventional assembly of biplane layout with triple rudders between the tailplanes, and the hull tested in model form in the Froude Tank at the National Physical Laboratory, some of the recommended modifications resulting from this testing being applied to the full-sized aircraft. Never used operationally, the Fury continued experimental flying after the Armistice, powered in its final form by five Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engines of 365 h.p. each. A few months after Porte and Rennie were demobilised, the Fury stalled and crashed on take-off, possibly due to incorrect loading, the pilot and two crew members losing their lives.
   In August 1919, Porte joined the Gosport Aviation Co. Ltd., as chief designer, to work with an old friend, Herman Volk, who had become manager of the company. A number of designs was produced but none was built due to the post-war slump in orders. In October 1919 John Porte died at Brighton. He was thirty-five years old.


SPECIFICATION

   Power Plant: Five 334 h.p. Rolls-Royce Eagle VII, or five 365 h.p. Rolls- Royce Eagle VIII
   Span: 123 feet
   Length: 63 feet 2 inches
   Weight Loaded: 25,253 pounds (medium), 33,000 pounds (max. test)
   Total Area: 3,108 square feet
   Max. Speed: 97 m.p.h. at 2,000 feet
   Endurance: 7 hours (medium). In excess of 12 hours with max. fuel load
   Armament: Four Lewis guns and heavy bomb load

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Описание:

  • G.Duval British Flying-Boats and Amphibians 1909-1952 (Putnam)
  • J.Bruce British Aeroplanes 1914-1918 (Putnam)
  • H.King Armament of British Aircraft (Putnam)
  • Jane's All The World Aircraft 1919
  • C.Owers The Fighting America Flying Boats of WWI Vol.2 (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 23)