WILLIAMS monoplane (William Ellis Williams, Bangor University, North Wales. Flight trials at Llanddona, Anglesey)

   Ellis Williams began theoretical work on aeronautics at the University in conjunction with Professor G.H. Bryan, and early in 1904, published certain results in a paper entitled The Longitudinal Stability of Aeroplane Gliders. After further study the design and construction of a monoplane commenced in 1909.
   The machine, which was expected to weigh 700 lb., was made of ash and bamboo. The fuselage was of triangular section, with the single longeron at the top and had twin skids attached to the two lower members. The undercarriage consisted of a single sprung wheel adjacent to each skid, together with a long tail skid. The wing was of Eiffel section, eight inches deep, with flat lower and contoured upper surfaces, and with sharp leading and trailing edges. A large triangular tailplane provided additional lift area and there was a rectangular rudder mounted above. Wing tip ailerons were provided for lateral control; two vertical fins were fitted above the wings to aid stability.
   The expense of providing an engine was to delay the project throughout, but with financial assistance from a wealthy benefactor in October 1909, Williams acquired a second-hand 35hp six-cylinder air-cooled engine, of unknown make, for ? 100 from a Mr. P. Pillion.
   The machine was transported by boat to the remote Red Wharf Bay at Llanddona, where a hangar had been built, and the first tests were earned out there along the beach in the late summer of 1910. These proved to be unsuccessful and flight was not achieved, the attempts being discontinued with the onset of winter.
   In the period before further trials could commence, changes were made to the machine and a replacement engine, a 35hp JAP, was hired from A.V. Roe for the months of August and September 1911, during which time flight was achieved, before the engine was wrecked and the trials were discontinued.
   It is probable that the changes made for the 1911 season were the major modifications to save weight shown in the surviving illustrations. The triangular fuselage was discarded and replaced by a single tail boom and the twin skids were replaced by a single member. The streamlined fuel and oil tank fitted ahead of the pilot was probably also supplied by A.V. Roe.
   For the summer of 1912 Williams hired a 40hp Clement-Bayard from Weston Hurlin Ltd. for three months. This engine, which replaced a hired REP, did not arrive until the 20th of July, and little progress was made with the trials. The Weston Hurlin company was in liquidation by September and Williams was able to buy the engine for ?25.
   More successful results were achieved in 1913, and it is recorded that on 3 September 1913 a flight took place at aheight of seven feet, at a speed of 37 mph., in which an experiment to obtain pressure distribution data over the wing was carried out, for correlation with wind tunnel data.
   No further flights were carried out in 1914 and the machine was presumably broken up, for the hangar was taken over in August by a Mr. Albert Roberts.
   The various reports are not specific as to the type of engine used and in cases the details conflict with records of early engine types. The photograph of the front view of the monoplane shows a fantype engine apparently with three-cylinders such as an Anzani. The 1908-1909 fantype Anzani was rated at 25hp and weighed 143 lb., and may have been the engine used in 1910. There were several sizes of fantype Anzanis made between 1907 and 1910 with ratings up to 50hp.

   Power:
   1910 35hp six-cylinder weighing 180 lb.
   35hp JAP air-cooled presumed to be the eight-cylinder type.
   REP air-cooled, either 25hp five-cylinder weighing 121 lb or 35hp seven-cylinder weighing 132 lb.
   40hp Clement-Bayard vee type. This type is not recognizable from contemporary records. It may have been a four-cylinder inline type.
   Data
   Span 32ft
   Length 37ft
   Area 200 sq. ft
   Tailplane 45 sq. ft