DONOVAN monoplane (Donovan Aeroplane Co., West Hartlepool. Built by the Howcroft Carriage Co., Oxford Rd., West Hartlepool)

   This machine was built by the Howcroft Company as a result of the initiative of Capt. Joseph Donovan, who interested a group of friends in the project, and who formed a company in May 1909. It was to be a two-seater based on Patent No.21618/1909 taken out by Donovan.
   The engine was designed and tested in two-cylinder form by Mr. Harry Fothergill, a trained engineer of Richardson, Westgarth Ltd. The six-cylinder version was completed by Gale's, a local garage.
   The machine was an annular wing pusher monoplane with the additional feature of twin contra-rotating lifting screws, a type later described as a 'convertiplane'. The main framework of struts and spars, made of sycamore wood, contained a central platform, above which was mounted the circular canvas wing. The platform provided the mounting for the engine and the operator's station. Power was taken by belts and shafts to the contra-rotating pusher propellers and, at right angles, by a similar arrangement to the lifting blades. The pairs of screws were not coaxial, but were offset from one another, the final drive being by spur gearing to provide contra-rotation.
   A tall rudder behind the pusher propeller was pivoted between the top and bottom members of the frame. An elevator, identified as a 'scaling rudder', ahead of the operator, was to be set at an angle of forty-five degrees for takeoff and, with the lifting screws engaged, the machine was intended to take to the air, by a combination of vertical thrust and wing induced lift. When airborne, a clutch could then release the drive to the lifting screws leaving full power available for propulsion. The machine rested on three wheels, the front pair being mounted on two flexible skids, and were designed to be jettisoned after takeoff to save weight. It was envisaged that the wing would act as a parachute to cushion the landing.
   Unfortunately Capt. Donovan and his associates had no real appreciation of the design requirements and the aircraft proved to be excessively heavy. It was housed in a shed at Rift House Farm and when brought out for trials on 25 October 1909, failed even to taxi. It was eventually sold for ?35 at auction a year later.

   Power: 30hp Fothergill six-cylinder inline water-cooled.
   Data
   Span 28ft
   Weight 1,000lb