| Eagle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A preserved airworthy B.A. Eagle 2, 2015 | |
| Role | Tourer |
| Manufacturer | British Klemm / British Aircraft Manufacturing |
| Designer | G.H. Handasyde |
| First flight | 1934 |
| Primary user | private owners |
| Number built | 43 |
The B.A. Eagle was a light aircraft manufactured in the United Kingdom during the 1930s. It was a three-seat low-wing monoplane built by the "British Klemm Aeroplane Company" (which later became known as the British Aircraft Manufacturing Co.) Production was limited, with 43 aircraft built.
The British Klemm Aeroplane Company developed the B.K.1 Eagle, a three-seat light aircraft as a follow-up to the British Klemm Swallow, its licensed copy of the Klemm L.25. While similar to the Klemm Kl 32, it was an entirely independent design by G. Handasyde, the chief designer of British Klemm, first flying in early 1934. [1] The Eagle was a low-wing wooden monoplane with a retractable undercarriage. It had an enclosed cabin for the pilot and two passengers. Six of this initial version of the Eagle were built. [1]
As was the case with the Swallow, a revised version was introduced in 1935 when British Klemm was renamed the British Aircraft Manufacturing Co. This version, the B.A. Eagle II had a revised rudder and a deepened rear fuselage. A total of 37 Eagle IIs were built, including a single example fitted with a fixed undercarriage.
Eagles were mainly sold to private owners, with a few also being used by flying clubs or as executive transports. In India, the Nawab of Sachin operated an Eagle as his personal aircraft. [2] Eagles were also used for air racing, with several being entered into the King's Cup Races between 1935 and 1937. Single examples were also entered into the MacRobertson Air Race of 1934 between Britain and Australia and the 1936 Schlesinger Race between England and South Africa. Neither aircraft completed the races. [1]
At the outbreak of the Second World War, seven Eagles were pressed into RAF service in the UK, with two in Australia and one in Kenya, [3] but the undercarriages proved vulnerable in RAF service, with most airframes being written off due to undercarriage failure. [1] Two aircraft survived the war to be flown by civil owners in Australia.
Two Eagles currently survive.
Data from British civil aircraft, 1919-1972 Volume I [1]
General characteristics
Performance
The Miles M.14 Magister is a British two-seat monoplane basic trainer aircraft built by the Miles Aircraft for the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm. Affectionately known as the Maggie, the Magister was based on Miles' civilian Hawk Major and Hawk Trainer and was the first monoplane designed specifically as a trainer for the RAF. As a low-wing monoplane, it was an ideal introduction to the Spitfire and Hurricane for new pilots. Its sister design, the Miles Master was an advanced trainer also built by Phillips & Powis at Woodley.
The Valmet L-70 Vinka is a Finnish-designed piston-powered military basic trainer aircraft of the 1970s. A production run of 30 aircraft were built for the Finnish Air Force in the early 1980s, and although the type was not exported, it formed the basis of the turboprop-powered Aermacchi M-290 RediGO.
The Klemm Kl 35 is a German sporting and training aeroplane developed as a successor to the Kl 25. A product of Klemm Leichtflugzeugbau Gmbh it shared the same single-engine, cantilever low-wing configuration as the earlier machine, the major difference being the introduction of an inverted gull wing.
The Parnall Heck was a 1930s British four-seat cabin monoplane built by Parnall Aircraft Limited at Yate, Gloucestershire. Originally a Hendy design, few were built. It combined the strength and comfort of a cabin aircraft with the speed of a racer.
The Spartan Clipper was a British light touring aeroplane of the 1930s. It was a single-engine, two-seat, low-wing monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage.
The Miles M.28 Mercury was a British aircraft designed to meet the need for a training and communications plane during the Second World War. It was a single-engined monoplane of wooden construction with a twin tail and a tailwheel undercarriage with retractable main units.
The ANEC I and ANEC II were 1920s British single-engine ultralight aircraft designed and built by Air Navigation and Engineering Company Limited at Addlestone Surrey. One was privately constructed in Brisbane, Australia.
The Avro Avian was a series of British light aircraft designed and built by Avro in the 1920s and 1930s. While the various versions of the Avian were sound aircraft, they were comprehensively outsold by the de Havilland Moth and its descendants.
The Bristol T.B.8, or Bristol-Coanda T.B.8 was an early British biplane built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company and designed by the Romanian Henri Coandă. Fifty four Bristol T.B.8s were built, being mainly used as a trainer. A small number of Bristol T.B.8s were briefly used as bombers at the start of the World War I by the Royal Naval Air Service.
The B.A Swallow was a British light aircraft of the 1930s. It was a license-built version by the British Klemm Aeroplane Company of the German Klemm L.25. A total of 135 were built.
The Klemm Kl 107 was a two-seat light aircraft developed in Germany in 1940. It was a conventional low-wing cantilever monoplane of wooden construction with fixed tailwheel undercarriage. Wartime production totalled only five prototypes and some 20 production machines before the Klemm factory was destroyed by Allied bombing. Following World War II and the lifting of aviation restrictions on Germany, production recommenced in 1955 with a modernised version, the Kl 107B, of which Klemm built a small series before selling all rights to the design to Bölkow. This firm further revised the design and built it as the Kl 107C before using it as the basis for their own Bo 207.
The Morane-Borel monoplane was an early French single-engine, single-seat aircraft. It was flown in several European air races.
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.
Klemm L 25, later Klemm Kl 25 was a successful German light leisure, sports and training monoplane aircraft, developed in 1928. More than 600 aircraft were built, and manufacturing licenses were sold to the United Kingdom and the United States.
The British Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited was a 1930s British aircraft manufacturer based at London Air Park, Hanworth, Middlesex, England.
The Fieseler Fi 158 was a civilian research aircraft designed and built in Germany from 1938.
The British Aircraft Cupid was a two-seat, single-engined monoplane, a smaller version of the B.A. Eagle designed for touring and training. Only one was built.
The Ago Ao 192 Kurier was a small German twin-engined aircraft designed and built by AGO Flugzeugwerke in the 1930s. A small production run of six aircraft followed three prototypes, these being used as transports.
The Spartan C2 is a light aircraft produced in the United States in the early 1930s as a low-cost sport machine that would sell during the Great Depression.
The Pegna-Bonmartini Rondine, or Pegna Rondine, is a single-seat ultralight sport aeroplane designed by Giovanni Pegna and built by Piaggio in Italy during 1923.
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to British Aircraft Eagle 2 . |