Hendy 302 | |
---|---|
Role | Two-seat cabin monoplane |
Manufacturer | Hendy Aircraft Company |
Designer | Basil Henderson |
First flight | 1929 |
Introduction | 1929 |
Retired | 1938 |
Produced | 1929 |
Number built | 1 |
The Hendy 302 was a British twin-seat cabin monoplane designed by Basil B. Henderson and produced by George Parnall & Company Limited at Yate in 1929. Only one aircraft was built, registered G-AAVT.
The Hendy 302 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed tailskid landing gear, powered by a 105 hp (78 kW) Cirrus Hermes I engine. It was flown by Edgar Percival in the 1930 King's Cup Race. It was rebuilt in 1934 to become the Hendy 302A, which was powered by an inverted 130 hp Cirrus Hermes IV and was fitted with a revised cabin. It achieved an average speed of 133.5 mph during the 1934 Kings Cup Race. The aircraft was used as a testbed for the Cirrus Major II engine before being withdrawn from use in 1938.
The Hendy 302 was a twin-seat low-wing cantilever monoplane. The occupants were enclosed by the hinged cabin roof. [1] The aircraft’s cabin was relatively roomy, the seats were fairly comfortable. Ample room for both the legs and elbows was provided. [2] Furthermore, the external visibility from either of these seats was favourable; unusually, the chord of the wing allegedly appeared to reduce after the aircraft reached an altitude of roughly one hundred feet, improving visibility. [1] From the rear seat, it was possible to look over the leading edge as well as to look directly downwards. Aspects that improved visibility included the use of a relatively narrow upper surface for the engine cowling and the generous window panel area. [3]
Much of the airframe was constructed of three-ply wood, the fuselage having been planked with this material; it also served many purposes across the wing structure. [3] While almost every structural element of the aircraft was composed of wood, there were exceptions; these included the landing gear, engine mounting, and a small number of metal fittings elsewhere. [1] The legs of the landing gear, which had a relatively wide track, were telescopic and were fitted with spiral springs that functioned as shock absorbers and dampened bouncing. The engine mounting was composed of steel tubing that was secured to the fuselage via forked plates. [4]
The engine cowling was somewhat unusual, the upper surface having been equipped with scoops that, via tubing, directed air onto the hottest parts of the cylinder heads. [5] This feature helped keep the aircraft’s Cirrus Hermes IV engine, despite it being entirely enclosed, atypically cool. [6] Due to effectively cooling, the oil temperature would not normally exceed 50 degrees. Even when the engine was operating at as high a rate as was possible, such as during the King’s Cup Race, the temperature reportedly never exceeded 70 degrees. [7] Fuel was housed within either one or both of wings; each wing could accommodate a single tank that held up to 16 gallons. In addition to a single gravity tank within the fuselage, which contained 9 gallons, the total capacity was 41 gallons, which enabled the aircraft to fly for up to roughly 750 miles. [7]
The aircraft incorporated a novel form of wing construction. [4] Specifically, the two primary spars were I-section beams that were built up of a single central web of three-ply; these met with rectangular-section strips on each side that formed the flanges. Wooden strips arranged in the form of a lattice, which formed the drag bracing, were present on both the top and bottom planes of the spar flanges; these were attached via three-ply gussets. [8] This construction approach was relatively simplistic, possessed exceptional strength in terms of torsion, and could be readily translated into metal construction. The wing section had a non-stationary centre of pressure, although the amount of movement was fairly restricted. [4] This aspect of the wing greatly impacted the aircraft’s speed range and rate of climb. After taking the slipstream effect into account, the lift/drag ratio of the whole aircraft was roughly 8.3. [4]
Data fromBritish Civil Aircraft since 1919, [9] National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics [10]
General characteristics
Performance
The Latécoère 28 was a long distance monoplane aircraft designed and produced by the French aircraft manufacturer Latécoère.
The Saro A17 Cutty Sark was a British amphibious aircraft from the period between World War I and World War II, built by the British firm Saunders-Roe. The aircraft was named after the ship Cutty Sark, rather than the garment or the fictional witch.
The Spartan Cruiser was a 1930s British three-engined transport monoplane for 6 to 10 passengers built by Spartan Aircraft Limited at East Cowes, Isle of Wight. It was a development of the Saro-Percival Mailplane for passenger use.
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" Production was limited, with 43 aircraft built.
The Dewoitine D.332 was an eight-passenger airliner designed and built by the French aircraft manufacturer Dewoitine.
The Comte AC-3 was a bomber and transport aircraft designed and produced by the Swiss aircraft manufacturer Flugzeugbau A. Comte.
The General Aircraft Monospar was a family of touring and utility aircraft designed and built by the British aviation company General Aircraft Ltd (GAL).
The Fiat AS.1 was a light touring monoplane aircraft designed and produced by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Fiat.
The Wibault 280-T was a monoplane trimotor airliner designed and produced by the French aircraft manufacturer Wibault. Designed to accommodate up to 12 passengers in its largest variant, development of the aircraft was financially backed by the Penhoët shipyards, which led to the aircraft alternatively being referred to as 'Penhoët Wibault'.
The Nieuport-Delage NiD 640 was a four-passenger transport monoplane designed and produced by the French aircraft manufacturer Nieuport-Delage.
The BFW M.29 was a single-engine twin-seat low-wing aircraft produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). It was designed by Willy Messerschmitt to participate in the 1932 Circuit of Europe races.
The Peyret-Mauboussin PM XI was a high-wing touring aircraft that was designed and produced by the French aircraft manufacturer Peyret-Mauboussin.
The Avia 51 was a trimotor monoplane commercial transport. It was designed by Robert Nebesář and built by the Czechoslovakian aircraft manufacturer Avia. The type proved to be uneconomical in use and thus only three aircraft were ever built.
The Bernard 20 was a single-seat monoplane fighter aircraft designed and built by the French aircraft manufacturer Société des Avions Bernard.
The Breda Ba.32 was a prototype airliner designed and built by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Breda.
The SPCA 40T, also designated the SPCA VII, was a mailplane designed and produced by the French aircraft manfacturer Société Provençale de Constructions Aéronautiques (SPCA).
The Loire 11 was a French three-seat general purpose monoplane designed and built by Loire Aviation of St. Nazaire. It was the first original design by the company.
The Bernard H.V.120 was a racing seaplane designed and built by the French aircraft manufacturer Bernard. It was developed specifically to compete in the Schneider Trophy race.
The SABCA S.11 or SABCA S.XI was a prototype Belgian airliner designed and produced by the Belgian aircraft manufacturer Sociétés Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques (SABCA). It was a three-engined high-winged monoplane intended for service in the Belgian Congo, but only a single example was built.
The Raab-Katzenstein RK.25 was a two-seat, low wing cantilever monoplane aircraft designed and built in Germany in the 1920s for fast touring. Three were built and one had some success in a 1928 international contest. Another was later re-engined and provided with cabin accommodation.