Martinsyde Buzzard

The Martinsyde Buzzard was one of the fastest aircraft developed during World War 1, being able to reach 146 mp/h / 235 kp/h.

Information
Manufacturer:	Martinsyde
First flight:	1918
Propulsion:	Hispano-Suiza 8Fb piston engine
Withdrawn:	1938
Number built:	370

The F.4 Buzzard was based on the earlier F.3 which had a superb performance but the Rolls Royce Falcon engines it needed were all earmarked for the Bristol F.2. The F.4 was instead powered by a Hispano-Suiza engine but again was fast and manoeuvrable.

Large numbers were ordered for the Royal Air Force and also for export to the French and United States. Unfortunately for Martinsyde the end of the war meant most of these orders were cancelled. Instead of the thousands expected only around 370 were built instead. No fighters entered RAF service, who instead opted for the Sopwith Snipe as their postwar fighter though some were sold to other airforces including Ireland and Spain [2]. Two were used by the RAF for carrying despatches between London and Paris in 1919 during the peace conference.

Martinsyde bought back many aircraft for resale. Two seater (the F.6 which also had revised wings and different engines) and floatplane versions were built but it wasn't enough to prevent Martinsyde going bankrupt in 1922. Some continued to be used for many years, both in overseas air forces and for civil owners often as racing aircraft. The last Buzzards to be used are thought to have been a small number in Latvia in 1938.

Martinsyde F.6 [1]

[1] "The King's Cup Race", Flight Magazine, September 7 1922 p. 514
[2] Martin J.H. Taylor, Warplanes of the world 1918-1939 (Ian Allan, 1981) p. 178

de Havilland DH89 Dragon Rapide

The de Havilland Dragon Rapide was a successful short range British airliner of the Interwar Period.

Three views of G-ADAH preserved at MOSI Manchester

Information
Manufacturer:	de Havilland
First flight:	1934
Propulsion:	de Havilland Gypsy 6 piston engine (2)
Number built:	727

The DH89 Dragon Rapide was a development of the earlier DH84 Dragon and the DH86 Express. The Dragon Rapide was a scaled down version of the Express and used the same Gypsy 6 engines, tapered biplane wings and fuselage design largely made from plywood. Although a fairly simple aircraft it had few vices and was durable and reliable.

The prototype, which was known as the Dragon 6, first flew in early 1934 with customer deliveries commencing in the Summer. At the commencement of the Second World War the type was accepted into RAF service in a number of roles including communications and wireless training, the type being known as the Dominie in military service.

After the war hundreds of war surplus Dragon Rapides were supplied to rebuilding allied air forces and air lines. It was also used by British European Airlines and other British airlines on domestic services in the 1950s. A number of Dragon Rapides are still airworthy.

Bristol Ten-seater / Brandon

The Bristol Ten-seater was an early civilian airliner though only three were built, one of which served with the RAF as the Bristol Brandon.

The Type 75 [1]

Information
Manufacturer:	Bristol Aeroplane Company
First flight:	1921
Propulsion:	Napier Lion or Bristol Jupiter IV radial piston-engine
Withdrawn:	1926
Number built:	3

The Ten-seater was designed to carry up to ten people (no surprise there) and was a biplane with a single engine. The first aircraft was fitted with a Napier Lion engine as the Bristol Jupiter IV originally intended was not ready in time for the first flight. The other two aircraft built both had the Bristol engine.

The first aircraft, known as the Type 62, entered service in 1922 and was used on the London-Paris air route. It was configured to carry a pilot and nine passengers in a luxurious cabin [1]. The second aircraft, the Type 75, was used for cargo flights on the London-Cologne route. The third aircraft, known as the Type 79, entered service with the RAF as an air ambulance.

[1] "The Kings Cup Air Race", Flight Magazine Sept 7 1922 p. 513

Boulton Paul P. 9

The Boulton and Paul P. 9 was a civilian utility plane with two seats. It was a development of the earlier P. 6 being larger and with an increased range. Both aircraft used components and experience which Boulton and Paul had gained from building Sopwith Camels.

Image [1]

Information
Manufacturer:	Boulton and Paul Limited
First flight:	1919
Propulsion:	RAF 1a V8 piston-engine
Withdrawn:	1930s
Number built:	8

To keep costs down it was fitted with a low power engine though had a reasonable performance with a cruise speed of over 130km/h and a range near five hundred kilometres. Despite the relatively lost cost of the P. 9 it could not compete with the glut of war surplus aircraft on the market and only eight were built.

Half of them went to Australia, one aircraft being used on newspaper and mail delivery flights between Hobart and Melbourne [2]. Others saw some use in air races popular in Britain in the early post-war years.

[1] "The Circuit of Britain", Flight Magazine Sept 7 1922 p. 513
[2] "Boulton Paul P.9", Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Aircraft (Orbis Publishing, 1985), p. 834

British Army Aeroplane No 1 (Cody Flyer)

The British Army Aeroplane No. 1 was the first British aeroplane to achieve sustained flight.

Cody Flyer replica at the FAST Museum

Information
Manufacturer:	Army Balloon Factory
First flight:	1908
Propulsion:	Antoinette 8-cyl piston-engine
Withdrawn:	1910
Number built:	1

The aircraft was designed in 1907 by the American Samuel Franklin Cody, and under the supervision of Colonel Capper, who worked at the British Army Balloon Factory at Farnborough. Cody had been working for the government on tethered balloons and man-carrying kites for artillery spotting [1]. In 1907 work began on an aeroplane inspired by the Wright Brothers' Flyer. The resulting British Army Aeroplane No. 1 was a similar biplane with a pair of tractor propellers.

After many modifications and brief hops, the aeroplane made the first recognised and sustained flight by a British aeroplane on October 16th 1908 travelling nearly half a kilometre at Farnborough. The flight being cut short by a crash! The aeroplane, after repairs and more modifications [2], made a series of other flights later in 1908 and into 1909. By now however the Army had lost interest and Cody left government service [3] but he was able to keep the aeroplane and continued to fly and improve it. By late 1909 Cody was able to keep airborne for over an hour, his flight only ended by running out of fuel. The final flights were in early 1910 when Cody switched his attention to newer aircraft.

In 2008 a full-size non-flying replica of the British Army Aeroplane No. 1 was built by volunteers and is now on display, aptly, at the FAST Museum at Farnborough.

8 cylinder petrol engine

Front view of the replica

Side view

Three quarter view

[1] Percy B. Walker, Early Aviation at Farnborough: Balloons, Kites and Airships (Macdonald, 1971) p. 105
[2] "British Army Aeroplane", Flight Magazine (January 9 1909) p. 25
[3] Walker p. 92