|
The Blackburn Type I was a single-engine civil two-seat monoplane built in the United Kingdom in 1913. Three were produced and used for flying demonstrations and training including seaplane pilotage. ==Development== The first Type I〔''Flight'' 27 December 1913〕 was built to the order of Dr. M.G. Christie as a two-seat version of the Type D. Dr. Christie was a student at the Blackburn School〔''Flight'' 12 October 1912〕 at Hendon but failed to obtain his Royal Aero Club pilot's brevet. He nonetheless remained deeply committed to aviation and the result was the brief for the Type I. The Type I was of identical construction to its predecessor but naturally longer to accommodate the extra seat, of greater span and with a modified fin and undercarriage. Both the passenger and pilot sat in a common extended cockpit, the former in front and over the centre of gravity so the aircraft could be flown by the pilot alone. For the first time, a Blackburn aircraft had the standard modern control combination of rudder bar and a column that moved fore and aft for pitch control. This column carried a wheel to control wing warping. The wings, braced from the undercarriage and from an inverted-V kingpost had the slightly rounded form of the modified Type D. The fin was shorter and less swept, not reaching the forward edge of the tailplane. The forward struts of the undercarriage were now forward sloping.〔 The extra weight required more power, so an 80 hp (60 kW) Gnome rotary was fitted, with an aluminium cowling surrounding all but the lower 135° of the engine.〔 The Type I was first flown on or shortly after 14 August 1913 from the Yorkshire Aerodrome, Lofthouse Park, by Harold Blackburn.〔Harold Blackburn was no relation to the constructor, but was the instructor at the Blackburn School of Flying after it moved from Filey to Hendon in September 1912. He became M.G.Christie's personal pilot after the school closed in early 1913.〕 After the “Roses Race” described below, the cowling was modified with holes for carburettor air, and in December 1913 the double cockpit was converted into two by sheet-metal decking.〔 A second Type I was built as a single-seater with a freight compartment in place of the passenger’s seat. It was externally distinguished by a single streamlined king post and by the absence of cowling in front of the engine. Surprisingly, this aircraft reverted to the “triple steering wheel” control of the Blackburn Second Monoplane.〔 It was first flown by Harold Blackburn on 14 December 1913.〔M.H. Goodall & A.E. Tagg (2001). ''British Aircraft Before the Great War'', p.48. Schiffer Military History.〕 Since these two Type I machines had flown rather well, Blackburn produced the Improved Type I first seen〔''Flight'' 28 March 1914〕 at the Olympia Aero show in March 1914. Its forward fuselage was deeper, the engine almost fully cowled and the leading edge of the tailplane cut back to meet the fin. It flew sometime before 9 July 1914.〔 This machine was modified in 1915 as a seaplane trainer, just 1 ft (31 cm) longer than the landplane. It now had a 100 hp (75 kW) uncowled Anzani radial engine and dual control. Twin main floats were supplemented with a small tail float. It was known as the Land/Sea monoplane, and could have exchanged its floats for wheels in a few minutes but was never called to do so. It first flew in this guise on 26 October 1915.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Blackburn Type I」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|