 The last surviving Spartan aircraft, an Arrow, still airworthy as of 2016 | |
| Company type | Limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aircraft manufacturing |
| Predecessor | Simmonds Aircraft |
| Founded | Woolston, Hampshire, UK 1930 |
| Founder | Oliver Simmonds |
| Fate | Merged with Saunders Roe, 1935 |
| Products | Civil aircraft |
Spartan Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1930 to 1935. It was formed by reinvestment in Simmonds Aircraft which had suffered financially.
In 1928 Oliver Simmonds designed and built a prototype aircraft, the Simmonds Spartan, in a factory at Woolston, Hampshire. [1] The design was a success with over 50 aircraft built. [2] Following financial difficulties and investment from Whitehall Securities Corporation Ltd [3] Simmonds Aircraft Limited changed name in 1930 to Spartan Aircraft Limited.
The first aircraft from the renamed company was the Spartan Arrow a two-seat biplane of which 15 were built. [4] The next design was a three-seat open-cockpit biplane the Spartan Three Seater. The company ceased to build aircraft in 1935.
In January 1931 Flight magazine revealed that Whitehall Securities had acquired a substantial holding in Saunders Roe Ltd. and arising out of this investment Spartan was effectively merged into Saunders Roe. Spartan Aircraft's final product was the Spartan Cruiser a three-engined light airliner developed from the Saro-Percival Mailplane.
Airspeed Limited was established in 1931 to build aeroplanes in York, England, by A. H. Tiltman and Nevil Shute Norway. The other directors were A. E. Hewitt, Lord Grimthorpe and Alan Cobham. Amy Johnson was also one of the initial subscribers for shares.
Parnall was a British aircraft manufacturer that evolved from a wood-working company before the First World War to a significant designer of military and civil aircraft into the 1940s. It was based in the west of England and was originally known as George Parnall & Co. Ltd.
A Spartan is a person from the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta.
Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight.
British Airways Ltd was a British airline company operating in Europe in the period 1935–1939. It was formed in 1935 by the merger of Spartan Air Lines Ltd, United Airways Ltd, and Hillman's Airways. Its corporate emblem was a winged lion.
The Gloster Aircraft Company was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1917 to 1963.
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 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 Spartan Arrow is a British two-seat biplane aircraft of the early 1930s, built by Spartan Aircraft Limited.
The Spartan Three Seater was a British three-seat biplane touring and pleasure-flying aircraft built by Spartan Aircraft Limited.
The Simmonds Spartan is a 1920s British two-seat biplane trainer/tourer aircraft built by Simmonds Aircraft Limited.
The Airspeed AS.4 Ferry was three-engined ten-seat biplane airliner designed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Airspeed Limited. It was the company's first powered aircraft to be produced.
The Arrow Active is a British aerobatic aircraft built in the 1930s.
The Blackburn Bluebird IV was a single-engine biplane light trainer/tourer biplane with side-by-side seating designed by the British aviation manufacturer Blackburn Aircraft. It was an all-metal development of the wooden Blackburn Bluebird I, II and III aircraft.
Stanley Park Aerodrome was an airfield located in the Stanley Park area of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It was also known as Blackpool Municipal Airport, and was in use for civil and military flying from 1929 until closure of the airfield in 1947. The site is now used by Blackpool Zoo.
Sir Oliver Edwin Simmonds, FRAeS was a British aviation pioneer, aircraft engineer and Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Duddeston from 1931 to 1945.
United Airways Ltd was a British airline operating in 1935, ending as part of British Airways Ltd.
Spartan Air Lines Ltd was a British private airline company, in the period 1933–1935. In 1933, it started operating passenger services from the London area to the Isle of Wight. In late 1935 it merged with United Airways Ltd to form British Airways Ltd.
Whitehall SecuritiesCorporationLtd was formed in 1907 by Weetman Pearson MP and his son Harold Pearson MP. Sir Weetman was nominated as President as well as being a founding director. The company was capitalised at £1,000,000. On 12 December 1990 the company name was changed to Pearson Management Services Ltd. The company formed part of what is now the Pearson PLC group of business interests.
