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The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in Hertfordshire.
The de Havilland Gipsy Major or Gipsy IIIA is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline engine used in a variety of light aircraft produced in the 1930s, including the famous Tiger Moth biplane. Many Gipsy Major engines still power vintage aircraft types.
The de Havilland DH.88 Comet is a British two-seat, twin-engined aircraft built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was developed specifically to participate in the 1934 England-Australia MacRobertson Air Race from the United Kingdom to Australia.
The National Museum of Flight is Scotland's national aviation museum, at East Fortune Airfield, just south of the village of East Fortune, Scotland. It is one of the museums within National Museums Scotland. The museum is housed in the original wartime buildings of RAF East Fortune which is a well preserved World War II airfield. As a result of this the entire site is a scheduled monument with no permanent structures added by the museum. The hangars, control tower and stores were designated as Category B listed buildings by Historic Scotland, but this designation was removed in 2013 as they were already covered by the stricter scheduling.
Tom Campbell Black was an English aviator.
The Cirrus and Hermes or Cirrus-Hermes are a series of British aero engines manufactured, under various changes of ownership, from the 1920s until the 1950s. The engines were all air-cooled, four-cylinder inline types, with earlier ones upright and later designs inverted.
The Percival Gull was a British single-engined monoplane, first flown in 1932. It was successful as a fast company transport, racing aircraft and long-range record breaker. It was developed into the Vega Gull and the Proctor.
Alexander Adolphus Dumphries Henshaw, was a British air racer in the 1930s and a test pilot for Vickers Armstrong during the Second World War.
Sometimes dubbed the Golden Age of Aviation, the period in the history of aviation between the end of World War I (1918) and the beginning of World War II (1939) was characterised by a progressive change from the slow wood-and-fabric biplanes of World War I to fast, streamlined metal monoplanes, creating a revolution in both commercial and military aviation. By the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the biplane was all but obsolete. This revolution was made possible by the continuing development of lightweight aero engines of increasing power. The jet engine also began development during the 1930s but would not see operational use until later.
The Percival Vega Gull was a 1930s British, four-seater touring aircraft built by Percival Aircraft Limited. It was a single-engine, low-wing (Folding), wood-and-fabric monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage.
The de Havilland Gipsy Queen is a British six-cylinder aero engine of 9.2 litres (560 cu in) capacity that was developed in 1936 by the de Havilland Engine Company. It was developed from the de Havilland Gipsy Six for military aircraft use. Produced between 1936 and 1950 Gipsy Queen engines still power vintage de Havilland aircraft types today.
The Percival Mew Gull was a British racing aircraft of the 1930s. It was a small, single-engine, single-seat, low-wing monoplane of wooden construction, normally powered by a six-cylinder de Havilland Gipsy Six piston engine. During its racing career it set many records and was considered a significant, efficient design, one that eventually reached a top speed of 265 mph (425 km/h) on a modest 205 hp (153 kW) in its final 1939 form. A modern-day observer has characterised the Mew Gull as "the Holy Grail of British air racing". During the second half of the 1930s, Mew Gulls were dominant in air-racing in the UK and consistently recorded the fastest times until the outbreak of war stopped all civilian flying in late 1939.
The de Havilland Gipsy Six is a British six-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline piston engine developed for aircraft use in the 1930s. It was based on the cylinders of the four-cylinder Gipsy Major and went on to spawn a whole series of similar aero engines that were still in common use until the 1980s.
Edgar Wikner Percival was a noted Australian aircraft designer and pilot whose aircraft were distinguished by speed and grace. Percival went on to set up the Percival Aircraft Company, a British aircraft company in his own name.
The King's Cup air race is a British handicapped cross-country event, which has taken place annually since 1922. It is run by the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association.
Gravesend Airport, located 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south-east of Gravesend town centre, Kent and 7.0 miles (11.3 km) west of Rochester. It was operated from 1932 until 1956. It was initially a civil airfield, and became a Royal Air Force station known as RAF Gravesend during the Second World War, when it was under the control of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain. It was the first RAF station to operate the North American Mustang III. The airport returned to civilian use at the conclusion of the Second World War, although it remained under the ownership of the Air Ministry until its closure in 1956. It is notable that a decision had to be made in 1954, by the Air Ministry, as to whether this civil airport should be retained and substantially enlarged, or the extensions east of Thong Lane be released for residential development. Kent County Council had made it clear that the land west of Thong Lane, was identified as a Civil Airport. Additionally, Kent County Council also informed the Air Ministry, that it would neither support nor oppose enlargement, acknowledging, however, that it would as a result of any such enlargement, the site becoming designated as a fully operational international airport.
The Hiduminium alloys or R.R. alloys are a series of high-strength, high-temperature aluminium alloys, developed for aircraft use by Rolls-Royce ("RR") before World War II. They were manufactured and later developed by High Duty Alloys Ltd. The name Hi-Du-Minium is derived from that of High Duty Aluminium Alloys.
Wingfield Aerodrome was first the Cape Town Municipal Aerodrome, then Air Force Station Wingfield under the SAAF, before being used as a Fleet Air Arm base by the Royal Navy. After World War II, the aerodrome reverted to being the municipal airport for a while. The history of Wingfield is synonymous with the history of flight in South Africa, including pioneering attempts at commercial aviation.
Air Commodore Arthur Edmond Clouston, was a British test pilot and senior Royal Air Force officer who took part in several air races and record-breaking flights in the 1930s.
The Miles Hawk Speed Six was a 1930s British two-seat light monoplane, developed by Miles Aircraft from the Miles Hawk Major by fitting the longer and more powerful Gipsy Six engine and removing the forward crew member.
References
Citations
- 1 2 3 4 5 Turner (2000)
- 1 2 Ord-Hume (2007)
- 1 2 3 4 London (2018)
- ↑ Ogilvy, David; DH88: de Havilland's Racing Comets, 2nd Edn, Airlife, 1988.
- 1 2 3 Henshaw (1980)
- ↑ Essex Aero advertisement, Flight, 29 August 1946
- ↑ McGaffin, William; "New Magnesium Car is Lighter than Plastic", Popular Science, June 1953, pp.165-7.
- ↑ "Heritage Classics Workshop Visit", Porsche Club of Great Britain, March 2016. (Retrieved 18 August 2020).
Bibliography
- Henshaw, Alex; The Flight of the Mew Gull, 1980. ISBN 0-7195-3740-1
- London, Alan; "The Essex Coupe", The Allard Register, 8 March 2018. (Retrieved 18 August 2020).
- Ord-Hume, Arthur; "Butterfly from Essex", Air Enthusiast, 131, September/October 2007, pp. 22–25.
- Turner, Frank R.; Essex Aero Limited. Gravesend., Gravesend at war Series, No. 7. Self-published, 2000. ISBN 1901132-16-1