Short Solent
The Short Solent is a passenger flying boat, produced by Short Brothers in the late 1940s. It was developed from the Short Seaford, itself a development of the Short Sunderland military flying boat design, too late to serve in World War II; the first Solent flew in 1946. New Solents were used by BOAC and TEAL, production ending in 1949. Second-hand aircraft were operated until 1958 by a number of small airlines such as Aquila Airways; the Short S.45 Solent was a high-wing monoplane flying boat of aluminium construction. Power was provided by four Bristol Hercules engines; the aircraft could be fitted for 24 passengers with day and night accommodation or 36 day passengers. The cabins could be used to sleep seat six; the upper deck included a lounge/dining area next to kitchen. The flight crew was five and there were two stewards to attend to the passengers; the Solent 2 introduced by BOAC could carry 7 crew. Between 1948 and 1950, BOAC operated their Solents on the three-times weekly scheduled service from Southampton to Johannesburg taking a route down the Nile and across East Africa.
The journey took four days, including overnight stops. The Solents replaced Avro Yorks running the service; the last Solent-operated service on the route departed from Berth 50 at Southampton on 10 November 1950, bringing BOAC's flying-boat operations to an end. Tasman Empire Airways Limited operated a total of five Solent 4s between 1949 and 1960 on their scheduled routes between Sydney, Fiji and Wellington; the last TEAL Solent service was flown between Fiji and Tahiti on 14 September 1960 by ZK-AMO "Aranui", now preserved. The TEAL Solents could carry 45 passengers and all versions of the type provided a great deal of space and luxury compared with contemporary or modern land-based aircraft. Several Solents served Aquila Airways on their routes from Southampton to Madeira and the Canary Islands using ex BOAC and TEAL aircraft. On 15 November 1957, Aquila Airways G-AKNU, a Solent 3, crashed near Chessell, Isle of Wight, after it experienced loss of power to two engines; the crash killed 45 out of the 58 on board.
British commercial flying-boat operations ceased on 30 September 1958 when Aquila Airways withdrew its Madeira service. Short Solent ZK-AMO Aranui, a Mk IV used by TEAL firstly between Mechanics Bay on Auckland Harbour and Rose Bay Sydney Australia until superseded on scheduled services by the land based propliners. ZK-AMO was redeployed on the iconic Coral Route, from Auckland New Zealand to Fiji, Cook Islands and Tahiti, until once again superseded by propliners in September 1960. ZK-AMO has been restored and preserved at the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland. Overhauled outside when the Keith Park Memorial Aviation Display at MOTAT was enlarged 2010/2011. An ex-BOAC Solent 3 owned by Howard Hughes, has been rescued and is in the United States at the Oakland Aviation Museum in Oakland, California.. Solent 2civilian version for BOAC of the Short Seaford, 12 aircraft built at RochesterSolent 3converted S.45 Seaford. 7 aircraft - 6 at Queen's Island, Belfast, 1 at HambleSolent 4powered by Bristol Hercules 733, four aircraft built at Belfast AustraliaTrans-Oceanic Airways New ZealandTasman Empire Airways Limited United KingdomAquila Airways British Overseas Airways Corporation United StatesSouth Pacific AirlinesThe only military use of the Solent was for trials at the United Kingdom Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment in 1951, the former BOAC Solent 3 was scrapped after the trials.
Data from Barnes and JamesGeneral characteristics Crew: 7 Capacity: 34 passengers Length: 87 ft 8 in Wingspan: 112 ft 9 in Height: 34 ft 3 1⁄4 in Wing area: 1,487 sq ft Empty weight: 47,760 lb Gross weight: 78,000 lb Powerplant: 4 × Bristol Hercules 637 14-cylinder radial engines, 1,690 hp eachPerformance Maximum speed: 273 mph Cruise speed: 244 mph Range: 1,800 mi Service ceiling: 17,000 ft Rate of climb: 925 ft/min Notes BibliographyBarnes, C. H.. N.. Shorts Aircraft since 1900. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-819-4. Jackson, A. J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 3. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-818-6. Short Flying Boats in New Zealand Tasman Empire Airways Limited Century of Flight
Airliner
An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is defined as an aeroplane intended for carrying multiple passengers or cargo in commercial service; the largest of them are wide-body jets which are called twin-aisle because they have two separate aisles running from the front to the back of the passenger cabin. These are used for long-haul flights between airline hubs and major cities. A smaller, more common class of airliners is the single-aisle; these are used for short to medium-distance flights with fewer passengers than their wide-body counterparts. Regional airliners seat fewer than 100 passengers and may be powered by turbofans or turboprops; these airliners are the non-mainline counterparts to the larger aircraft operated by the major carriers, legacy carriers, flag carriers, are used to feed traffic into the large airline hubs. These regional routes form the spokes of a hub-and-spoke air transport model.
The lightest of short-haul regional feeder airliner type aircraft that carry a small number of passengers are called commuter aircraft, commuterliners and air taxis, depending on their size, how they are marketed, region of the world, seating configurations. The Beechcraft 1900, for example, has only 19 seats; when the Wright brothers made the world’s first sustained heavier-than-air flight, they laid the foundation for what would become a major transport industry. Their flight in 1903 was just 11 years before what is defined as the world’s first airliner; these airliners have had a significant impact on global society and politics. In 1913, Igor Sikorsky developed the first large multi-engine airplane, the Russky Vityaz, refined into the more practical Ilya Muromets with dual controls for a pilot plus copilot and a comfortable cabin with a lavatory, cabin heating and lighting; the large four-engine biplane was derived in a bomber aircraft, preceding subsequent transport and bomber aircraft.
Due to the onset of World War I, it was never used as a commercial airliner. It first flew on December 10, 1913 and took off for its first demonstration flight with 16 passengers aboard on February 25, 1914. In 1915, the first airliner was used by Elliot Air Service; the aircraft was a Curtiss JN 4, a small biplane, used in World War I as a trainer. It was used as a tour and familiarization flight aircraft in the early 1920s. In 1919, after World War I, the Farman F.60 Goliath designed as a long-range heavy bomber, was converted for commercial use into a passenger airliner. It could seat 14 passengers from 1919, around 60 were built. Several publicity flights were made, including one on 8 February 1919, when the Goliath flew 12 passengers from Toussus-le-Noble to RAF Kenley, near Croydon, despite having no permission from the British authorities to land. Another important airliner built in 1919 was the Airco DH.16. In March 1919, the prototype first flew at Hendon Aerodrome. Nine aircraft were built, all but one being delivered to the nascent airline, Aircraft Transport and Travel, which used the first aircraft for pleasure flying, on 25 August 1919, it inaugurated the first scheduled international airline service from London to Paris.
One aircraft was sold to the River Plate Aviation Company in Argentina, to operate a cross-river service between Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Meanwhile, the competing Vickers converted its successful WWI bomber, the Vickers Vimy, into a civilian version, the Vimy Commercial, it was redesigned with a larger-diameter fuselage, first flew from the Joyce Green airfield in Kent on 13 April 1919. The world's first all-metal transport aircraft was the Junkers F.13 from 1919, with 322 built. The Dutch Fokker company produced the Fokker F. II and the F. III; these aircraft were used by the Dutch airline KLM when it reopened an Amsterdam-London service in 1921. The Fokkers were soon flying to destinations across Europe, including Bremen, Brussels and Paris, they proved to be reliable aircraft. The Handley Page company in Britain produced the Handley Page Type W as the company's first civil transport aircraft, it housed two crew in 15 passengers in an enclosed cabin. Powered by two 450 hp Napier Lion engines, the prototype first flew on 4 December 1919, shortly after it was displayed at the 1919 Paris Air Show at Le Bourget.
It was the world's first airliner to be designed with an on-board lavatory. Meanwhile in France, the Bleriot-SPAD S.33 was a great success throughout the 1920s serving the Paris-London route, on continental routes. The enclosed cabin could carry four passengers with an extra seat in the cockpit. By 1921, aircraft capacity needed to be larger for the economics to remain favourable; the English company de Havilland, therefore built the 10-passenger DH.29 monoplane, while starting work on the design of the DH.32, an eight-seater biplane with a less powerful but more economical Rolls-Royce Eagle engine. Owing to the urgent need for more capacity, work on the DH.32 was stopped and the DH.34 biplane was designed, accommodating 10 passengers. The Fokker trimotor was an important and popular transport, manufactured under license in Europe and America. Throughout the 1920s, companies in Britain and France were at the forefront of the civil airliner industry considerably aided by governme
Shuttleworth Collection
The Shuttleworth Collection is an aeronautical and automotive museum located at the Old Warden Aerodrome, Old Warden in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of the most prestigious in the world due to the variety of old and well-preserved aircraft; the collection was founded in 1928 by aviator Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth. While flying a Fairey Battle at night on 2 August 1940, Shuttleworth fatally crashed, his mother, in 1944, formed the Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth Remembrance Trust "for the teaching of the science and practice of aviation and of afforestation and agriculture." Restoration and maintenance work is carried out by a staff of nine full-time and many volunteer engineers. These volunteers are all members of the 3,000-strong Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society; these dedicated enthusiasts are crucial to the restoration of the collection. In addition to the aircraft, the collection houses a number of veteran cars. Events include model-flying days, once a year, there is a special flying day for schools in the area.
The Shuttleworth Collection puts an emphasis on restoring as many aircraft as possible to flying condition, in line with the founder's original intention. There are about twelve air shows per year, including evening displays, which offer the opportunity to see aircraft which in many cases are the last of their type to survive, let alone existing in flyable condition; some of the most notable aircraft in the collection are the five Edwardian aeroplanes, of which one is the oldest British aeroplane still in flying condition. What makes these exceptional is that they still fly; the oldest, with British civil registration G-AANG, is the Bleriot XI, which dates back to 1909 - six years after the Wright brothers' aircraft and the world's oldest airworthy aeroplane, the next oldest being, at only three weeks newer by date of manufacture, the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome's own restored original Bleriot XI in the United States. Resident, but owned: Avro Anson Miles M14a Hawk Trainer N3788 G-AKPF Westland Wallace replica fuselage De Havilland DH89A Rapide G-AGSH painted as British European Airways There is a collection of tractors.
Shuttleworth College Other large collections of flying historic aircraftBattle of Britain Memorial Flight, at RAF Coningsby, United Kingdom Cole Palen's Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, directly inspired by the Shuttleworth collection, located in Red Hook and Rhinebeck, New York. Royal Navy Historic Flight, at RNAS Yeovilton, United Kingdom Commemorative Air Force, in Midland, Texas Fantasy of Flight, in Polk City, Florida The Fighter Collection, at Duxford Aerodrome, United Kingdom Champlin Fighter Collection at the Seattle Museum of Flight Lone Star Flight Museum, in Galveston, Texas Yankee Air Museum, in Ypsilanti, Michigan Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum, in St Louis, Missouri Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum, at Paine Field, Washington Notes Bibliography Official site
Blackburn Firebrand
The Blackburn Firebrand was a British single-engine strike fighter for the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy designed during World War II by Blackburn Aircraft. Intended to serve as a pure fighter, its unimpressive performance and the allocation of its Napier Sabre piston engine by the Ministry of Aircraft Production for the Hawker Typhoon caused it to be redesigned as a strike fighter to take advantage of its load-carrying capability. Development was slow and the first production aircraft was not delivered until after the end of the war. Only a few hundred were built before it was withdrawn from front-line service in 1953. In general, the Fleet Air Arm had required fighters that were capable of navigating long ranges over sea and speed differential over attackers was not critical. Defence of British naval bases was a RAF commitment but provision had not been made for this and so the Admiralty accepted that it would have to take on the duty. For this it needed an interceptor fighter and experience in the Norwegian Campaign of early 1940 had shown a high-performance, carrier-based, single-seat fighter would be an advantage.
Blackburn tendered their B-37 design using the Napier Sabre 24-cylinder H-type engine, this was accepted by June 1940 with a proposal to order "off the drawing board". Air Ministry Specification N.11/40—stating a minimum top speed of 350 knots —was raised to cover this design and an order placed in January 1941 for three prototypes. The B-37, given the service name "Firebrand" on 11 July 1941, was a all-metal monoplane. Aft of the cockpit the fuselage was an oval-shaped stressed-skin semi-monocoque, but forward it had a circular-section, tubular-steel frame that housed the 169-imperial-gallon main fuel tank and the 71-imperial-gallon auxiliary fuel tank behind the engine; the radiators for the neatly cowled Sabre engine were housed in wing-root extensions. The large wing consisted of a two-spar centre section with manually folded outer panels to allow more compact storage in the hangar decks of aircraft carriers. To increase lift and reduce landing speed the wing was fitted with large, hydraulically powered Fairey-Youngman flaps that extended to the edges of the Frise ailerons.
The fixed armament of four 20 mm Hispano autocannon was fitted in the outer wing panels with 200 rounds per gun. The fin and rudder were positioned forward of the elevator to ensure spin recovery and that the rudder would retain its effectiveness; the mainwheels of the conventional landing gear were mounted at the ends of the centre wing section and retracted inwards. The Firebrand was unusual in the fact that there was an airspeed gauge mounted outside of the cockpit so that during landing the pilot would not have to look down into the cockpit to take instrument readings, foreshadowing the modern heads-up display; the unarmed first prototype first flew on 27 February 1942 using the Sabre II, the first of two armed prototypes following on 15 July. The initial flight trials were a disappointment as the aircraft could only reach 32 mph below Blackburn's estimated maximum speed. Replacement of the Sabre II with a Sabre III improved its top speed to 358 mph at 17,000 ft; the second prototype, DD810, conducted deck-landing trials, with Commander Dennis Cambell at the controls, aboard the fleet carrier HMS Illustrious in February 1943.
The Sabre engine was used in the Hawker Typhoon, a fighter in production and the Ministry of Air Production decided that the Typhoon had priority for the Sabre. The Sabre was experiencing production problems and so a new engine was needed, along with the necessary airframe adaptations. To use the time and effort invested in the design, the MAP decided to convert the Firebrand into an interim strike fighter, to meet a Fleet Air Arm requirement for a single-seat torpedo bomber capable of carrying bombs and being capable of air-to-air combat. Nine production F. Mk I aircraft were built to the original specifications and were retained for trials and development work. After it was badly damaged during an emergency landing, DD810 was converted into a prototype of the first strike variant, the Firebrand T. F. Mk II, that flew on 31 March 1943, it was an adaptation of the Mk I with the wing centre section widened by 1 foot 3.5 inches to make room for the torpedo on the centreline between the mainwheels.
Like the Mk I, the TF Mk II only saw a limited production run of 12 aircraft and they were allocated for development work, including those assigned to 708 Naval Air Squadron, a shore-based trials unit. Blackburn proposed several versions of the Sabre-powered aircraft including one for the RAF as the B-41, a version with a high-lift wing as the B-42, the B-43 floatplane, none of which were accepted for further development. A new specification was issued as S.8/43 to cover the development of the Firebrand T. F. Mk III with the 2,400-horsepower Bristol Centaurus VII radial engine. Two prototypes were converted from incomplete F Mk Is and 27 additional aircraft were delivered, completing the first batch of 50 aircraft; the first prototype flew on 21 December 1943, but construction of the new aircraft was slow with the first flight not being made until November 1944. Most changes were related to the installation of the larger-diameter Centaurus engine, including air intakes for the carburetor and oil cooler in the wing-root extensions that housed the engine's radiators.
Spring-loaded trim tabs were fitted to all control surfaces. Production aircraft after the first 10 were fitted with the improved Centaurus IX engine; the Mk II
Science Museum, London
The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and today is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United Kingdom, the Science Museum does not charge visitors for admission. Temporary exhibitions, may incur an admission fee, it is part of the Science Museum Group, having merged with the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester in 2012. A museum was founded in 1857 under Bennet Woodcroft from the collection of the Royal Society of Arts and surplus items from the Great Exhibition as part of the South Kensington Museum, together with what is now the Victoria and Albert Museum, it included a collection of machinery which became the Museum of Patents in 1858, the Patent Office Museum in 1863. This collection contained many of the most famous exhibits of. In 1883, the contents of the Patent Office Museum were transferred to the South Kensington Museum.
In 1885, the Science Collections were renamed the Science Museum and in 1893 a separate director was appointed. The Art Collections were renamed the Art Museum, which became the Victoria and Albert Museum; when Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone for the new building for the Art Museum, she stipulated that the museum be renamed after herself and her late husband. This was applied to the whole museum, but when that new building opened ten years the title was confined to the Art Collections and the Science Collections had to be divorced from it. On 26 June 1909 the Science Museum, as an independent entity, came into existence; the Science Museum's present quarters, designed by Sir Richard Allison, were opened to the public in stages over the period 1919–28. This building was known as the East Block, construction of which began in 1913 and temporarily halted by World War I; as the name suggests it was intended to be the first building of a much larger project, never realized. However, the Museum buildings were expanded over the following years.
The Science Museum now holds a collection of over 300,000 items, including such famous items as Stephenson's Rocket, Puffing Billy, the first jet engine, a reconstruction of Francis Crick and James Watson's model of DNA, some of the earliest remaining steam engines, a working example of Charles Babbage's Difference engine, the first prototype of the 10,000-year Clock of the Long Now, documentation of the first typewriter. It contains hundreds of interactive exhibits. A recent addition is the IMAX 3D Cinema showing science and nature documentaries, most of them in 3-D, the Wellcome Wing which focuses on digital technology. Entrance has been free since 1 December 2001; the museum houses some of the many objects collected by Henry Wellcome around a medical theme. The fourth floor exhibit is called "Glimpses of Medical History", with reconstructions and dioramas of the history of practised medicine; the fifth floor gallery is called "Science and the Art of Medicine", with exhibits of medical instruments and practices from ancient days and from many countries.
The collection is strong in clinical medicine and public health. The museum is a member of the London Museums of Medicine; the Science Museum has a dedicated library, until the 1960s was Britain's National Library for Science and Technology. It holds runs of periodicals, early books and manuscripts, is used by scholars worldwide, it was, for a number of years, run in conjunction with the Library of Imperial College, but in 2007 the Library was divided over two sites. Histories of science and biographies of scientists were kept at the Imperial College Library in London until February 2014 when the arrangement was terminated, the shelves were cleared and the books and journals shipped out, joining the rest of the collection, which includes original scientific works and archives, in Wroughton, Wiltshire; the Imperial College library catalogue search system now informs searchers that volumes held there are "Available at Science Museum Library Swindon Currently unavailable". A new Research Centre with library facilities is promised for late 2015 but is unlikely to have book stacks nearby.
The Science Museum's medical collections have a global coverage. Strengths include Clinical Medicine and Public Health; the new Wellcome Wing, with its focus on Bioscience, makes the Museum a leading world centre for the presentation of contemporary science to the public. Some 170,000 items which are not on current display are stored at Blythe House in West Kensington. Blythe House houses facilities including a conservation laboratory, a photographic studio, a quarantine area where newly arrived items are examined. In November 2003, the Science Museum opened the Dana Centre; the centre is an urban café annexed to the museum. It was designed by MJP Architects. In October 2007, the Science Museum cancelled a talk by the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, James D. Watson, because he claimed that IQ test results showed blacks to have lower intelligence than whites; the decision was criticised by some scientists, including Richard Dawkins, as well as supported by other scientists, including Steven Rose.
Around 450,000 young people visit the Science Museum on educational trips or benefit from i
IMI plc
IMI plc Imperial Metal Industries, is a British-based engineering company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index; the Company was founded by Scottish entrepreneur George Kynoch who opened a percussion cap factory in Witton, West Midlands in 1862, trading as Kynoch. The business soon diversified, manufacturing goods ranging from soap and bicycle components to non-ferrous metals, but by the early 20th century it had developed particular expertise in metallurgy. After World War I it merged with Nobel Industries. In 1926 the Company acquired an ammunition business; the Company, by known as Nobel Explosives, was one of the four businesses that merged in 1927 to create Imperial Chemical Industries. The Witton site became the head office of ICI Metals. During the Second World War the Witton site was used for the development and production of uranium for the Tube Alloys project. In the 1950s the company's researchers perfected the process for producing titanium on a commercial basis.
In 1958 ICI Metals bought 50% of Yorkshire Imperial Metals: it acquired the other 50% four years later. The name Imperial Metal Industries Limited was adopted on the 100th anniversary of the firm in 1962; the Company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1966. ICI retained a majority holding, but in 1978 IMI became independent. In the 1990s the Company disposed of its more basic businesses such as metal smelting and metal founding. In 2003, IMI moved from the Witton site to new headquarters close to Birmingham Airport; the company announced in October 2013 that a decade-long programme of transformation had been completed with the disposal of two non-core subsidiaries to Berkshire Hathaway for £690m. The disposal of the Cornelius Group, a beverage-dispensing machine business, together with the disposal of a marketing intelligence business, would enable the company to focus on its control valve making business; the company now has three business divisions: Critical engineering: Critical engineering division Precision engineering: Precision engineering division Hydronic engineering: Hydronic engineering division Official website An Unofficial History of Kynoch Works
Aerospace Museum of California
The Aerospace Museum of California is an aviation museum located in North Highlands, California on the grounds of the former McClellan Air Force Base. It features displays of authentic civilian aircraft as well as space vehicle replicas, it preserves the history and mission of this former base as well as those of neighboring bases like Beale and Mather Air Force Bases. McClellan Air Force Base became McClellan Airfield, a civil aviation airport; the museum was established as the McClellan Aviation Museum in 1986. It was chartered by the National Museum of the United States Air Force. In 2001 it incorporated as a non-profit organization. In 2005 its name was changed to the Aerospace Museum of California. In 2004 the museum moved to 3200 Freedom Park Drive, McClellan Park and in February 2007 opened its new 35,000-square-foot Hardie Setzer Pavilion enabling some of the aircraft to be displayed indoors; the museum has over 40 aircraft in its collection from a restored Fairchild PT-19 to one of the last Grumman F-14D Tomcat retired from U.
S. Navy service in 2006. In addition to aircraft, the collection includes many other historic artifacts relating to Sacramento's aerospace heritage, it houses an extensive collection of historic aircraft engines. These include examples ranging from a World War I-era Gnome and Rhone rotary piston engines, large radial piston engines, jet engines. Jet engines in the exhibit hall are GE I-16, J-57 #35, J-58 “turbo-ramjet”, used on the SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3+ spyplane; the museum features an art gallery containing more than 50 original works, many from the Air Force Art Collection and the United States Coast Guard Art Collection. Lockheed F-104B Starfighter Douglas C-53D Skytrooper Grumman F-14D Super Tomcat HH-3E Jolly Green Giant Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II The Aerospace Museum of California has 10 a state of the art, STEM, realistic flight simulators. Where you can learn to fly under the instruction of experienced volunteer flight instructors. List of aerospace museums McClellan Air Force Base National Museum of the United States Air Force Aerospace Museum of California California Aerospace Academy
