Folland Midge

Last updated

Midge
RoleFighter
National originUnited Kingdom
Manufacturer Folland Aircraft
Designer W.E.W. Petter
First flight11 August 1954
Number built1
Developed into Folland Gnat

The Folland Midge was a small, swept-wing British subsonic light fighter aircraft prototype originally developed as a concept demonstrator for the successful Folland Gnat.

Contents

Design and development

The Midge and Gnat were the creation of W.E.W. "Teddy" Petter, a British aircraft designer who had gained wide recognition for his design of the English Electric Canberra bomber and Lightning supersonic interceptor. Petter had grown suspicious of the trend towards bigger and more expensive combat aircraft, and he felt that a small, simple fighter would offer the advantages of low purchase and operational costs. New lightweight turbojet engines were being developed that would be able to power such small fighters. [1]

Petter was unable to pursue this vision at English Electric, so he left to become managing director and chief designer of Folland Aircraft. In 1951, using company funds, he began work on his lightweight fighter concept, which was designated the "Fo-141 Gnat". The Gnat was to be powered by a Bristol BE.22 Saturn turbojet with 3,800 lbf (17 kN) thrust. However, the Saturn was cancelled, and so Petter's unarmed proof-of-concept demonstrator for the Gnat was powered by the less powerful Armstrong Siddeley Viper 101 with 1,640 lbf (7.3 kN) thrust. The demonstrator was designated Fo-139 "Midge". The Midge, serial number G-39-1, first flew on 11 August 1954 from Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, with Teddy Tennant at the controls, and proved to be an excellent aircraft. [1]

The Midge had a number of advanced features, such as hydraulically powered "flaperons", main landing gear that could be used as airbrakes, and a one-piece canopy that hinged over an inner armoured windscreen. Despite the low-powered engine, the little jet could break Mach 1 in a dive and was very agile. [1]

The Midge was evaluated by pilots from Canada, India, Jordan, New Zealand, and the US Air Force, and was almost universally praised. The Midge had performed a total of 220 flights when it was destroyed in a fatal crash on 26 September 1955, with a Swiss pilot at the controls. [2] However, the Midge had demonstrated that Petter's lightweight fighter concept had much going for it. Folland went on to develop a full-scale Gnat prototype, also using company funds. [1]

Original film footage of the Midge can be seen in the 1956 British science fiction film Satellite in the Sky . The Midge portrays a fictional jet fighter used to test an experimental rocket fuel.

Specifications

Data from The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft [3]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 The Folland Gnat / HAL Ajeet Archived 12 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine , Greg Goebel's Vectorsite.
  2. "The Midge Accident" Flight 7 October 1955
  3. General Editor: David Donald. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada: Prospero Books, 1998. ISBN   1-894102-24-X.
  4. Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folland Aircraft</span> British aircraft manufacturing company

Folland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturing company which was active between 1937 and 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northrop YF-17</span> Prototype fighter aircraft for the US military

The Northrop YF-17 is a prototype lightweight fighter aircraft designed by Northrop aviation for the United States Air Force's Lightweight Fighter (LWF) technology evaluation program. The LWF was initiated because many in the fighter community believed that aircraft like the F-15 Eagle were too large and expensive for many combat roles. The YF-17 was the culmination of a long line of Northrop designs, beginning with the N-102 Fang in 1956, continuing through the F-5 family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folland Gnat</span> Type of aircraft

The Folland Gnat is a British compact swept-wing subsonic fighter aircraft that was developed and produced by Folland Aircraft. Envisioned as an affordable light fighter in contrast to the rising cost and size of typical combat aircraft, it was procured as a trainer aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as well as by export customers, who used the Gnat in both combat and training capacities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HAL HF-24 Marut</span> 1961 fighter aircraft family by Hindustan Aircraft Limited

The HAL HF-24 Marut was an Indian fighter-bomber aircraft of the 1960s. Developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), with Kurt Tank as lead designer. The Project Engineer from HAL was George William Benjamin. It is the first Indian-developed jet aircraft, and the first Asian jet fighter to go beyond the test phase and into successful production and active service. On 17 June 1961, the type conducted its maiden flight; on 1 April 1967, the first production Marut was officially delivered to the IAF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell X-14</span> Experimental vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet aircraft

The Bell X-14 is an experimental VTOL aircraft flown in the United States in the 1950s. The main objective of the project was to demonstrate vectored thrust horizontal and vertical takeoff, hover, transition to forward flight, and vertical landing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Siddeley</span> British aero engine manufacturer

Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd (BSEL) was a British aero engine manufacturer. The company was formed in 1959 by a merger of Bristol Aero-Engines Limited and Armstrong Siddeley Motors Limited. In 1961 the company was expanded by the purchase of the de Havilland Engine Company and the engine division of Blackburn Aircraft. Bristol Siddeley was purchased by Rolls-Royce Limited in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northrop XP-79</span> Prototype flying wing fighter aircraft

The Northrop XP-79, USAAF project number MX-365, was rocket and jet-powered flying wing fighter aircraft, designed by Northrop. The pilot operated the aircraft in a prone position, permitting him to withstand much greater g-forces in pitch. It also used a welded magnesium monocoque structure instead of riveted aluminum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. E. W. Petter</span> British aircraft designer (1908 – 1968)

William Edward Willoughby "Teddy" Petter was a British aircraft designer. He is noted for Westland's wartime aeroplanes, the Canberra, the early design of the Lightning, and his last plane, the Folland Gnat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bréguet 960 Vultur</span> French carrier-based attack/ASW aircraft prototype

The Bréguet Br 960 Vultur was a prototype two-seat carrier-based attack and anti-submarine aircraft (ASW) built for the French Navy during the early 1950s. Meeting contradictory endurance and speed requirements, it was designed as a "mixed-power" aircraft with a turboprop engine in the front and a turbojet in the rear. Only two examples were built, but the second aircraft was rebuilt as the prototype of the Bréguet 1050 Alizé ASW aircraft after the Navy dropped the idea of a turboprop attack aircraft in the mid-1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Electric J85</span> Turbojet aircraft engine

The General Electric J85 is a small single-shaft turbojet engine. Military versions produce up to 2,950 lbf (13.1 kN) of thrust dry; afterburning variants can reach up to 5,000 lbf (22 kN). The engine, depending upon additional equipment and specific model, weighs from 300 to 500 pounds. It is one of GE's most successful and longest in service military jet engines, with the civilian versions having logged over 16.5 million hours of operation. The United States Air Force plans to continue using the J85 in aircraft through 2040. Civilian models, known as the CJ610, are similar but supplied without an afterburner and are identical to non-afterburning J85 variants, while the CF700 adds a rear-mounted fan for improved fuel economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawker P.1072</span> Experimental British aircraft

The Hawker P.1072 was a 1949 experimental British aircraft acting as a test bed for the Armstrong Siddeley Snarler rocket booster engine. It was the prototype Hawker Sea Hawk modified to install the rocket in the tail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armstrong Siddeley Viper</span> 1950s British turbojet aircraft engine

The Armstrong Siddeley Viper is a British turbojet engine developed and produced by Armstrong Siddeley and then by its successor companies Bristol Siddeley and Rolls-Royce Limited. It entered service in 1953 and remained in use with the Royal Air Force, powering its Dominie T1 navigation training aircraft until January 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HAL Ajeet</span> Type of aircraft

The HAL Ajeet was a jet-powered fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Indian aerospace manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It was operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF) between 1977 and 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Siddeley Orpheus</span> 1957 turbojet aircraft engine family by Bristol Siddeley

The Bristol Siddeley Orpheus is a single-spool turbojet developed by Bristol Siddeley for various light fighter/trainer applications such as the Folland Gnat and the Fiat G.91. Later, the Orpheus formed the core of the first Bristol Pegasus vectored thrust turbofan used in the Harrier family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helwan HA-300</span> Egyptian interceptor aircraft prototype

The Helwan HA-300 was a single-engine, delta-wing, light supersonic interceptor aircraft developed in Egypt during the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Electric YJ101</span> 1970s American prototype turbojet aircraft engine

The General Electric YJ101 was an afterburning turbojet engine, as signified by its "J" designation, in the 15,000 lbf class. It was designed for the Northrop P-530 Cobra but its initial application was the Northrop YF-17 entry in the Lightweight Fighter (LWF) competition. It was subsequently developed into the widely used General Electric F404.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SNCASE Baroudeur</span> 1953 lightweight fighter aircraft

The SNCASE S.E.5000 Baroudeur was a French single-engined lightweight fighter designed by SNCASE (Sud-Est) for the NATO NBMR-1 "Light Weight Strike Fighter" competition. An unusual design without a conventional landing gear, it used a wheeled trolley for take-off and three retractable skids to land. The Baroudeur did not enter production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avro 720</span> Type of aircraft

The Avro 720 was an in-development British single-seat interceptor of the 1950s. It was designed and being developed by Avro in competition with the Saunders-Roe-built SR.53. While at least one prototype was partially-constructed, the order for the Avro 720, and quickly thereafter the project entirely, was terminated prior to any aircraft having been completed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northrop N-102 Fang</span> Type of aircraft

The Northrop N-102 Fang was a fighter aircraft design created by Northrop Corporation and proposed to the United States Air Force in 1953.

Squadron Leader Edward Alan Tennant DFC was a Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot who later became chief test pilot of Folland Aircraft.

References

The initial version of this article was based on a public domain article from Greg Goebel's Vectorsite.