P.Lewis British Aircraft 1809-1914 (Putnam)
Macfie Circuit Biplane
A small, fast, single-seat tractor biplane was built by Robert F. Macfie in three weeks as his entry in the 1911 Circuit of Britain event. Its 100 h.p. A.B.C. engine was not ready in time, and a 50 h.p. Gnome was substituted. The 26 ft. span wings were swept back in a vee and were of very narrow chord, which tapered from 3 ft. 6 ins. at the centre to 2 ft. 3 ins. at the tips. Triple fins were fitted. The racer was tested at Brooklands in July, 1911. Wing area, 130 sq. ft. Weight loaded, 600 lb.
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M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
MACFIE Circuit biplane
Macfie's entry for the Circuit of Britain of 1911 was built in three weeks and came out at Brooklands on 17 July 1911, but was damaged on its first attempt at taxiing. It seems that the center of gravity was too far forward, putting pressure on the skids, causing them to break and foul the propeller. Withdrawal from the contest resulted and no further attempt to rebuild the aircraft was made.
The intended 100hp ABC engine was not available in time and a 50hp Gnome was fitted instead. The fuselage was an open rectangular section, wooden, braced girder tapering in plan and elevation, but finishing at a vertical post well behind the tail unit. The fuselage was mounted centrally on struts between the wings, enabling the pilot to see above the top wing. It may have been intended to cover the structure later for maximum performance to be attained. Long curved skids, similar to those used on the earlier biplane, were fitted, with a pair of castering wheels on diagonal spring struts.
The wings were of tapered form with rounded tips and were swept back at an angle of twenty degrees at the leading edge. The vertical pairs of interplane struts were closely spaced and allowed warping of a large portion of the trailing edge. The tail unit comprised three sets of divided rudders, with pairs of coupling rods top and bottom; the intermediate hinges being combined with the outboard pivots of the centrally mounted elevators.
Power: 50hp Gnome seven-cylinder air-cooled rotary.
Data
Span 26ft
Chord 3ft 6in tapering to 2ft 3in
Area 130 sq ft
Gap 4ft
Weight allup 600lb
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