Avro Type F

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Type F
Avro Type F.jpg
General information
Type Experimental aircraft
Manufacturer A.V.Roe and Company
Number built1
History
First flight1 May 1912

The Avro Type F was an early single seat British aircraft from Avro. On 1 May 1912 it became the first aircraft in the world to fly with a completely enclosed cabin for the pilot as an integral part of the design. [1]

Contents

Design and development

It was a wire-braced mid-wing monoplane with a tailskid undercarriage. The fuselage was teardrop-shaped with flat sides and cellon windows. Oil leakage from the engine had been anticipated to obscure pilot view by coating cabin windows; so two circular windows at the pilot's head level could be opened for the pilot's head to protrude when flying, but their use proved unnecessary. Ingress and egress was via a sheet-aluminum trapdoor in the fuselage top. [1] The cabin was quite cramped, being only 2 ft (60 cm) across at its widest point.

The Type F made a few test flights in mid-1912 until damaged beyond repair in a hard landing on 13 September, after which it was not repaired. Its Viale 35 hp engine is on display at the Science Museum in London; and the rudder was preserved by the Royal Aero Club. [1]

Replica of the Avro Type F displayed at the Avro Heritage Museum, Woodford, Manchester Avro Type F replica BAPC.328.jpg
Replica of the Avro Type F displayed at the Avro Heritage Museum, Woodford, Manchester

A replica, BAPC.328. is displayed at the Avro Heritage Museum in Woodford, Greater Manchester.

Specifications

Data from [1]

General characteristics

Performance

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 King, H.F. (1969). Milestones of the Air (McGraw-Hill ed.). New York: Jane's All the World's Aircraft Publishing Company. pp. 24&25.