Felixstowe Porte Baby

infobox Aircraft
name = Felixstowe Porte Baby
type = military flying boat
manufacturer = May, Harden & May


caption =
designer = John Cyril Porte
first flight = 1916
introduced =
retired =
status =
primary user = RNAS
more users =
produced =
number built = 11
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =

The Felixstowe Porte Baby was a British reconnaissance flying boat of the First World War first flying in 1916.

Design and development

The Porte Baby was designed by John Cyril Porte at the Royal Naval Air Station at Felixstowe, where the prototype was also built; ten additional aircraft were built by May, Harden and May of Southampton. [The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 1777]

The Porte Baby was an unequal span, three bay biplane of wood and fabric construction, the hull being mounted below the lower wing. The engines, three Rolls-Royce Eagle VII of 325 hp (243 kW) each, were mounted between the wings; two in tractor configuration and the central one in pusher.The two pilots were in an enclosed cockpit but three gunners had open stations armed with machine guns.

As the image shows, the incongruously-named Baby was used to prove the concept of a larger aircraft carrying aloft and launching a lighter aircraft (in this case a Bristol Scout), a technique which came to be known as parasitic.

Operators

;UK
*Royal Naval Air Service

pecifications

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=British Aircraft Directory [ [http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=846 britishaircraft.co.uk - Felixstowe Porte Baby] ]

crew= 5
capacity=
length main= 63 ft 0 in
length alt= 19.2 m
span main= 124 ft
span alt= 37.8 m
height main= 25 ft 0 in
height alt= 7.6 m
area main= 2,364 ft²
area alt= 219.6 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 14,700 lb
empty weight alt= 6,667.8 kg
loaded weight main= 18,600 lb
loaded weight alt= 8,164.7 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=

engine (prop)= Rolls-Royce Eagle VII
type of prop= V12 inline piston
number of props=3
power main= 325 hp
power alt= 242.5 kW
power original=

max speed main= 92 mph at sea level
max speed alt= 148.1 km/h
max speed more=
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main=
range alt=
ceiling main= 8,000 ft
ceiling alt= 2,440 m
climb rate main= 5 min 20 sec to 2,000 ft
climb rate alt= m
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
* Endurance:
armament=
* Guns: 3 × Lewis guns (1 in nose, 2 amidships)
avionics=

References

* [http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=846 British Aircraft Directory] accessed 1 February 2007.

ee also

aircontent
related=Felixstowe F5L

similar aircraft=

sequence=

lists=

see also= Parasite aircraft