Hawker Cygnet
The Hawker Cygnet was a biplane light aircraft of the British manufacturer Hawker Engineering from the 1920s.
History
Sidney Camm, who had come in 1923 in the HG Hawker Engineering Company, constructed the Cygnet as his first work for the new employer. The chief designer of Hawker George Carter oversaw the design work and gave Camm for the maxim before, to be guided by the Sopwith Tabloid and their flight performance, to keep the weight and engine performance but lower by 50%. The Air Ministry announced on 10 January 1924 that there is a price of 3000 engl. Pounds for a competition two-seater light aircraft auslobe. The engines were allowed to have a maximum displacement of 1100 cm3. Thereafter, a number of companies began to develop appropriate competitive aircraft.
Hawker announced a few weeks before the competition date in August 1924 as its contribution to two cygnets. Hawker was in the development of the long experience with the predecessor companies Sopwith, about the construction of lightweight fighters, fall back. The finally built machine weighed only 170 kg with a span of 8.54 m.
The competition in the Lympne Anzani -powered machine went to the # 14 and the pilot Fred Raynham. The other Cygnet with start number 15 and the Scorpion motor was flown by Squadron Leader Longton. In the first flights were a number of problems with both engines; as needed, a cylinder head and a plurality of valves are replaced in another case. Nevertheless, Raynham and Longton reached the third and fourth place. Raynham also won £ 100 for the best takeoff and landing performance. The performances at the competition in Lympne were as follows:
- No.14: ( Longton ), reaching minimum speed: 43.95 mph, takeoff distance: 269 yd, landing distance: 66.7 yd, Flight duration: 8 hrs, Distance: 400 mi
- No.15: ( Raynham ), reaching minimum speed: 34.42 mph, takeoff distance: 250 yd, landing distance: 72.5 yd, Flight duration: 10 hours 29 minutes, distance: . 437.5 mi
After Lympne Competition both aircraft took part in the Grosvenor Challenge Race, but where they already had to give up in the early stages of the race. The Directorate of Technical Development was subsequently issued a report in which the Cygnet, however, was assessed as positive. Only for low ground clearance of the low chassis was objected to it came up the finding that the design for the hard training operation is not robust enough.
Both machines were given shortly after the comparison flights civilian license plate, No.14 received G- EBJH and No.15 G- EBMB. Despite the difficulties with the Anzani engine, the G- EBJH occurred in August 1925 at Lympne meeting on, the pilot PWS Bulman won the International Handicap Race at an average speed of over 100 mi of 75.6 mph
For that took place in September 1926 Lympne Light Plane meeting both aircraft received the tested Bristol- cherub - III engine. The drive problems were able to be resolved, so that over a distance of 1994 mi, with a total flight time of 30 hours 41 minutes, an average of 64.9 mph was achieved and with the pilot Bulman of the Daily Mail prize was won over 3000 pounds. After the competition was taken down the machine before an audience and was able to show that no important parts had to be replaced or repaired.
Whereabouts
The G- EBMB was still used until the expiry of the certificate of airworthiness in March 1929 at races and then stored at Brooklands and virtually forgotten. It was not until the late 1940s it was discovered her again and Hawker restored it. In the 1970s, the RAF Museum in Hendon, the aircraft received as a gift and it could be seen in the Sidney Camm Memorial Hall. Today it is in the RAF Museum Cosford. The G- EBJH crashed in November 1927 from the start, as a non-stop flight from Lympne to Bucharest was attempted. A reconstruction is no longer carried out.
Early 1990s created Don Cashmore a full-scale replica of the Cygnet, which first flew in March 1993. As a tribute to Sidney Camm, the machine was initially the registration G - CAMM, then G- EBJI and is on display at the Shuttleworth Collection Old Warden ( Bedfordshire ).
Construction
The cells of the two aircraft were identical, however, two different engines were used. There both the British Anzani and the 34 hp from its twin cylinder ABC Scorpion engine were used.
The Cygnet was a biplane with staggered wings einstieliger, the upper wing was significantly greater. The hull was constructed from four Longerons that were diagonally braced and braced. The hull sides and the floor was flat, the upper torso rounded by moldings. The wooden box spar of the wing was wrapped with fabric, reinforced the rear auxiliary spar with screwed Duraluminprofilen. The connection of the two wings consisted of I- stems. Both wings had ailerons, which ranged over the entire span. The wings were folding to the fuselage. The solid, very low chassis had the then customary in light aircraft elastic damper and spring units. The pendulum rudder (without rudder fin ) had the same structure as the wings.
During development much attention was paid to the lowest possible weight, for example, only a few metal fittings were used, so that fully loaded only a total weight of 331 kg was found.