Blackburn Mercury

Last updated

Mercury
Service of Squadron Leader H Buss With 16 Naval (216 RAF) Squadron in England, Imbros and France, First World War Q115215.jpg
A Mercury at Hendon, 1912
RoleTrainer
Manufacturer Blackburn Aeroplane Company
Designer Robert Blackburn
First flight17 May 1911
Number built9
Developed from Blackburn Second Monoplane

The Blackburn Mercury was an early British aircraft designed as a pilot trainer for the Blackburn Flying School, Filey, in 1911. It was an enlarged, two-seat version of the Second Monoplane that flew earlier that year. It was a mid-wing monoplane of conventional configuration that accommodated pilot and student in tandem, open cockpits. This prototype was displayed at the Olympia Aero Show in March 1911, and led to orders being placed for two racers to participate in the Daily Mail Circuit of Britain race. The first of these crashed on takeoff, and the second was first rebuilt into a two-seat trainer, then into a single-seat trainer known as the Type B. [1] Another six Mercuries were built for various private buyers.

Contents

Replica at the Yorkshire Air Museum Blackburn Mercury 1 (Nigel Coates).jpg
Replica at the Yorkshire Air Museum

A full-scale non-flying replica of Mercury II configuration was constructed for the Yorkshire Television series Flambards and is now displayed at the Yorkshire Air Museum.

Variants

Specifications (Mercury I)

Data from Blackburn aircraft since 1909 [2]

General characteristics

Performance

Notes

  1. "The Blackburn School Monoplane", p.1051. Though Flight refers to this aircraft as the Blackburn School monoplane, it is the Type B.
  2. Jackson, A.J. (1 April 1989). Blackburn aircraft since 1909. Naval Institute Press. pp. 60–71. ISBN   978-0870210242.

Related Research Articles

Blackburn Aircraft 1914-1960 aircraft manufacturer in the United Kingdom

Blackburn Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer that concentrated mainly on naval and maritime aircraft during the first part of the 20th century.

Miles Master

The Miles M.9 Master was a British two-seat monoplane advanced trainer designed and built by aviation company Miles Aircraft Ltd. It was inducted in large numbers into both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) during the Second World War.

Blackburn Skua British WWII aircraft

The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft operated by the British Fleet Air Arm which combined the functions of a dive bomber and fighter. It was designed in the mid-1930s and saw service in the early part of the Second World War. It took its name from the sea bird.

Sopwith Tabloid

The Sopwith Tabloid and Sopwith Schneider (floatplane) were British biplanes, originally designed as sports aircraft and later adapted for military use. They were among the first successful types to be built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. The "Tabloid", so named because of its small size, caused a sensation when it made its first public appearance.

Blackburn B-54

The Blackburn B-54 and B-88 were prototype carrier-borne anti-submarine warfare aircraft of the immediate post-Second World War era developed for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA). They shared a conventional monoplane design with a mid-mounted inverted-gull wing and tricycle undercarriage. The pilot and observer sat in tandem under a long canopy atop the fuselage. The B-54 had a piston engine while the B-88 had a gas turbine driving large contra-rotating propellers. The radar scanner was mounted in a retractable radome in the rear fuselage, behind a long internal weapons bay. The program was cancelled in favour of the Fairey Gannet aircraft.

Blériot XI French airplane

The Blériot XI is a French aircraft of the pioneer era of aviation. The first example was used by Louis Blériot to make the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air aircraft, on 25 July 1909. This is one of the most famous accomplishments of the pioneer era of aviation, and not only won Blériot a lasting place in history but also assured the future of his aircraft manufacturing business. The event caused a major reappraisal of the importance of aviation; the English newspaper The Daily Express led its story of the flight with the headline "Britain is no longer an Island".

Dewoitine D.371

The Dewoitine 37 was the first of a family of 1930s French-built monoplane fighter aircraft.

Boulton Paul Balliol

The Boulton Paul Balliol and Sea Balliol are monoplane advanced trainer aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Boulton Paul Aircraft. On 17 May 1948, it became the world's first single-engined turboprop aircraft to fly. The Balliol was operated primarily by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA).

Blériot Aéronautique French aircraft manufacturer

Blériot Aéronautique was a French aircraft manufacturer founded by Louis Blériot. It also made a few motorcycles between 1921 and 1922 and cyclecars during the 1920s.

Blackburn Bluebird

The Blackburn L.1 Bluebird was a British single-engine biplane light trainer/tourer with side-by-side seating, built in small numbers by Blackburn Aircraft in the 1920s.

Blackburn B-2

The Blackburn B-2 was a British biplane side-by-side trainer aircraft of the 1930s. Designed and built by Blackburn Aircraft, 42 were built.

Bristol Coanda Monoplanes

The Bristol Coanda Monoplanes were a series of monoplane trainers designed by the Romanian designer Henri Coandă for the British company British and Colonial Aeroplane Company.

Bristol Prier monoplane

The Bristol Prier monoplane was an early British aircraft produced in a number of single- and two-seat versions.

Heinkel HE 5

The Heinkel HE 5, produced in Sweden as the Svenska S 5 and nicknamed the "Hansa", was a reconnaissance floatplane built during the 1920s. It was a further development of the HE 1, sharing its same basic configuration as a low-wing, strut-braced monoplane. The HE designation also refers to the monoplane construction, standing for Heinkel Eindecker.

Blackburn Type D

The Blackburn Type D, sometimes known as the Single Seat Monoplane, was built by Robert Blackburn at Leeds in 1912. It is a single-engine mid-wing monoplane. Restored shortly after the Second World War, it remains part of the Shuttleworth Collection and is the oldest British flying aeroplane.

Blackburn Type I

The Blackburn Type I was a single-engine civil two-seat monoplane built in the United Kingdom in 1913. Three were produced and used for flying demonstrations and training including seaplane pilotage.

The Blackburn Type E was a development of the earlier Blackburn Mercury single-engined monoplanes, but was innovative in its use of steel tubing to construct the fuselage. It was built during 1912 to compete in the Military Aeroplane Trials. A single-seat version flew, but the military two-seater did not.

Bernard 70

The Bernard 70 was a 1920s design for a French single-seat monoplane fighter aircraft by the Société des Avions Bernard. It was not built but was developed into a racing monoplane designated the Bernard S-72,. It was further developed into single-seat fighters, the Bernard 74-01 and Bernard 74-02, although only two of the fighters were built.

The Mersey Monoplane was a prototype two-seat British pusher configuration monoplane of the early 1910s. A single example was built and entered into the 1912 British Military Aeroplane Competition but crashed during the trials and was destroyed.

Deperdussin 1910 monoplane 1910s French light aircraft

The 1910 Deperdussin monoplane, is a general term for a variety of Deperdussin aircraft models built between 1910 and 1911. Initially released in August 1910, it was the first aircraft to be built in significant quantities by Aéroplanes Deperdussin. Many variations of the aircraft were produced, differing in size, engine type and horsepower and tail configuration. These were loosely labelled as the "Deperdussin monoplane", but were sometimes more specifically classified either by function or by seating-type. A number of Deperdussin monoplanes were flown successfully in air races and gained several speed and endurance records during 1911–1912. Several have survived, including an airworthy example in the Shuttleworth Collection in England.

References