M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
MARTIN-HANDASYDE Transatlantic monoplane
The partners last monoplane was designed for the sole purpose of competing for the .10,000 Prize offered by the Daily Mail for an Atlantic crossing by air. The machine was sponsored by Canadian financier, E. Mackay Edgar, and was to be flown by Gustav Hamel. He was unfortunately lost in the Channel on 23 May 1914, when the machine was well advanced in construction.
Although superficially an enlarged version of earlier types, the Transatlantic monoplane incorporated a number of original features. The fuselage girder was still of triangular section with the center portion, some fourteen feet in length, enclosed by watertight bulkheads to ensure flotation should the need arise. The engine compartment, with frontal radiator, was cowled in the usual manner and the rear fuselage was fabric covered. A fuel tank of cylindrical shape, 9ft long by 3ft diameter, was housed in the front of the enclosed section, with the two crew members seated side by side behind. The top decking was continuous from the nose of the machine and faired out just behind the cockpit.
The wings were built in four sections. The front and rear spars of the center portions extended above and below the top longerons respectively, to meet on the aircraft center line. The outer wings continued the tapered plan form and included the warping area of the trailing edge portion. Balanced tail surfaces were employed, the large combined tailplane and elevators forming a semicircle.
Struts forming a vee-shape, at both front and rear spar stations provided anchorages for the extensive bracing system and the warping control. The lower pylons, and a similar one below the nose, supported the central skid. The wheels were mounted on separate struts to points at the top longerons, and the whole undercarriage was arranged to be dropped after take off, leaving the central skid for the landing with balancing skids under the mid-span kingposts.
Construction of the machine continued with the possibility of another pilot taking on the task, but inevitably the project was abandoned with the outbreak of war.
Power: 215hp Sunbeam twelve-cylinder water-cooled vee driving a 12ft diameter Lang four-bladed propeller.
Data
Span 66ft
Chord 14ft 6in tapering to 10ft 6in
Length 46ft 4in
Area 770 sq ft
Weight 2,4001b
Weight allup 4,800lb
Speed 80-85 mph
MARTIN-HANDASYDE monoplane
Flight 7 August 1914 (p.842) reported that drawings of a large new monoplane were being prepared. It was to follow the general lines of its predecessors, but the pilot was placed far back and the passenger forward with good vision over the leading edge of the wings. The aircraft was not proceeded with.
P.Lewis British Aircraft 1809-1914 (Putnam)
Martin-Handasyde Transatlantic Monoplane
One of the most promising of the contenders for the ?10,000 Daily Mail transatlantic prize was the Martin-Handasyde design. A side-by-side two-seater, it followed the general lines of previous designs by the same firm. A four-bladed propeller, 12 ft. in diameter, was fitted to its twelve-cylinder 225 h.p. Sunbeam engine. To enable the machine to float, should it be forced to descend on to the sea, the fuselage was provided with a waterproof compartment which extended rearwards for 14 ft. from the engine bulkhead. Another aid to survival was provided by a telescopic signalling mast which was stowed in the fuselage.
Load-carrying requirements necessitated the use of a wing of broad span and large area, and this was mounted at shoulder level on the upper longerons. Surprisingly, in such an advanced design, wing-warping was preferred to the use of ailerons, the wing panels being braced with kingposts and wire. Upon take-off the two-wheeled undercarriage was to be released, landing being effected on the long, fixed skid.
The machine was being constructed at Brooklands during May, 1914, and it was intended that Gustav Hamel should pilot it for the projected West-to-East crossing from Newfoundland to Ireland. These plans received a tragic and abrupt setback when Hamel disappeared while flying the English Channel on 23rd May, 1914. The Martin-Handasyde Transatlantic was one of the most advanced, largest and most powerful designs to have been attempted in its time; financial backing for it was obtained from the Scottish-Canadian financier and sportsman, MacKay Edgar.
SPECIFICATION
Description: Two-seat tractor monoplane. Wooden structure, fabric covered.
Manufacturers: Martin and Handasyde Ltd., Hendon, London, N.W.9.
Power Plant: 225 h.p. Sunbeam.
Dimensions: Span, 66 ft. Length, 45 ft. Wing area, 770 sq. ft.
Журнал Flight
Flight, June 5, 1914.
EDDIES.
The Martinsyde trans-Atlantic "liner" is growing apace. The wings are ready to be covered, in fact, by the time these lines appear they should be nearly finished; and last week the fuselage was nearing completion. A faint idea of the size of the wings can be obtained from the accompanying photograph. Each wing is built up in two sections, of which the inner section is rigid whilst the outer one can be warped. The workmanship is, as one expects from a firm enjoying such a reputation as Messrs. Martin and Handasyde, of the very highest quality. In its general shape the fuselage resembles those of previous Martinsydes, but constructionally it differs in that cross-wiring is employed instead of the three-ply panels which have always formed one of the characteristics of these machines. I saw the empennage marked out on the floor, and it gave one the impression of having nearly as large area as the wings of some small monoplanes. In addition to the two extra hangars which they have taken in view of all the parts being duplicated, the Martinsyde firm are building a large shed a short distance beyond the Bleriot works in which to erect the new machine.
Flight, August 7, 1914.
EDDIES.
Following on the great monoplane which was built by Martin and Handasyde for the trans-Atlantic flight, and the small scouting biplane now in course of construction at this firm's Brooklands works, I learn that the drawings are being got out for a huge new monoplane. In its general arrangement the latest Martinsyde will follow the lines of its predecessors, but it is understood that the occupants' seats will be differently arranged. The pilot will sit very far back in order to get a good view in all directions, while the passenger's seat will be placed sufficiently far forward to enable him to look beyond the leading edge of the wings.
