Westland Dreadnought
Westland Dreadnought
An experimental fixed-wing monoplane
The Westland
Dreadnought was
an experimental
single-engine
fixed-wing
monoplane design
for a mail plane
created to trial
the aerodynamic
wing and
fuselage design
ideas of
Woyevodsky. It
was designed and
built by British
aircraft
manufacturer
Westland
Aircraft for the
Air Ministry.
Only a single
aircraft was
ever built, and
it crashed on
its initial
flight, badly
injuring the
test pilot.
The Dreadnought
was distinct for
its futuristic
design and
method of
construction,
based on the
theories of the
Russian inventor
N Woyevodsky.
After
preliminary
tests of the
idea were tried
in a wind tunnel
and met with
some degree of
success, the
design was given
to Westland
Aircraft to
construct an
aircraft. The
design at the
time was for a
70 ft wingspan
twin-engine
aircraft.
The design was aerodynamically advanced, featuring a continuous aerofoil section over all parts of the aircraft, including the fuselage and, unusually for British aircraft at that time, had no form of wing bracing. Construction was all-metal, comprising drawn channeling with a skin of corrugated sheet panels. The method may be compared to the modern stressed skin construction. Another advanced feature was the fail-safe ejection system.
Although conceived as a twin-engined type with retractable undercarriage, the design that emerged was fitted with a single 450 horsepower Napier Lion II 12 cylinder engine that allowed the Dreadnought speeds of up to 102 miles per hour and fixed undercarriage.
On completion of the Dreadnought, pilot Arthur Stewart Keep carried out taxi trials and short airborne hops. On 9 May 1924, he took off for its first flight test. While the aircraft was initially stable, it soon became clear that Keep was losing control, and not long after, at a height of approximately 100 feet (30 m), the Dreadnought stalled and crashed. Thrown from the aircraft, Keep sustained severe injuries, and later had both legs amputated. He remained with the company and did not retire until 1935. After this failure, the Dreadnought design was abandoned, although the ideas that were conceived and used in its making were visibly an advancement in aircraft and are appreciated as such in the present day.
General characteristics | |
Crew: | Two |
Passengers: | Eight |
Length: | 56 ft 0 in (17.08 m) |
Wingspan: | 69 ft 6 in (21.19 m) |
Height: | 16 ft 4 in (4.98 m) |
Wing area: | 840 ft2 (78.1 m²) |
Empty weight: | 5,623 lb (2,556 kg) |
Loaded weight: | 6,900[8] lb (3,136 kg) |
Powerplant: | 1 × Napier Lion II, 450 hp (336 kW) |
Production | |
Number built: | 1 |
First flight: | 9 May 1924 |
All the above text based on / 'borrowed' from Wikipedia.
gallery
The Westland Dreadnought under construction.
.... and seen on the airfield.
The side view of the Westland Dreadnought highlights its smooth lines.
The Westland Dreadnought during its one, and only, flight.