History
At the end of 1935 Airspeed was invited to tender for a high
speed fighter to specification F35/35. The firm submitted a
highly unconventional design with a pilot egg-shaped nacelle
positioned behind the machine itself. The main reason for such
layout was giving the pilot extremely good view in the air and
on landing approach in particular.
The well proven 745hp Kestrel engine combined with clean
aerodynamic shape was to give the aircraft an exceptional
performance. This was proved by testing a wind-tunnel model.
Unfortunately, this revolutionary design was too ahead of its
time and was soon cancelled. One of the reasons was
that due to the position of the nacelle a pilot would hardly
withstand high g-loads on tight manoeuvres.
Specifications:
Length....................29ft 6in
Span........................33ft
Wing area..............195sq.ft
Estimated speed...450mph
Armament...8 x .303" Browning machine guns
|
