Hawker Cygnet

infobox Aircraft
name =Cygnet
type =light competition aircraft
manufacturer =Hawker Engineering Co.



caption ="G-EBMB" (Photo copyright BAE Systems)
designer =Sydney Camm
first flight = 1924
introduced =
retired =
status =
primary user =
more users =
produced =
number built =2
unit cost =
variants with their own articles=
developed from=The Hawker Cygnet was a British ultralight biplane aircraft of the 1920s.

Background

In 1924 the Royal Aero Club organized a Light Aircraft Competition. £3000 was offered in prizes. An entry was made by Hawker Aircraft, which was a design by Sydney Camm, the Cygnet. Camm had joined Hawker the previous year. Two aircraft were built ("G-EBMB" and "G-EBJH") and were entered in the competition, held in 1924 at Lympne, by T. O. M. Sopwith and Fred Sigrist. The aircraft were flown by Longton and Raynham and came in 4th and 3rd places respectively. The next year, 1925, "G-EBMB" was entered again in the 100-mile International Handicap Race, this time flown by George Bulman, who won at a speed of 75.6 mph. At the same meeting, the Cygnet came 2nd in the 50-mile Light Aeroplane Race. In 1926, both aircraft were entered in the competition piloted by Bulman and Flying Officer Ragg, taking first and second place respectively.

Design

The aircraft were of wood and fabric construction, the fuselage being four longerons strutted in the fashion of a Warren girder. The wing was two box spars with Warren truss ribs. Initially the two aircraft were powered one by an Anzani and the other by an ABC Scorpion (both opposed twin cylinder engines). In 1926 the engines in both Cygnets were changed to Bristol Cherub III another two-cylinder engine. The airframe weighed a remarkably low 270 lb, and its weight when empty was only 373 lb.

History

"G-EBMB" was kept by Hawkers in storage until 1946 when it was refurbished and reassembled at Hawker's Langley Aerodrome. It was later transferred to their new facility at Dunsfold, where it stayed, coming out for various displays and airshows, until 1972, when it was transferred to the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon. More recently it has been transferred to their site at RAF Cosford in Shropshire, where it can now be seen. [ " [http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford/collections/aircraft/hawker-cygnet.cfm Hawker Cygnet airplane pictures & aircraft photos - RAF Museums] " "RAF Museum". Retrieved 16 August 2008.] An airworthy replica is on display at the Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden, Bedfordshire. [ [http://www.shuttleworth.org/shuttleworth_aircraft_details.asp?ID=16 Aircraft: 1924-Hawker Cygnet] . "Shuttleworth Collection". Retrieved 16 August 2008.]

pecifications

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?= plane
jet or prop?= prop
ref=Hawker Aircraft since 1920 Mason 1991, p.111.]
crew= Two
capacity=
length main= 20 ft 5 in
length alt= 6.22 m
span main= 28 ft 0 in
span alt= 8.52 m
height main= 5 ft 10 in
height alt= 1.78 m
area main= 165 ft²
area alt= 15.3 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 373 lb
empty weight alt= 170 kg
loaded weight main= 950 lb
loaded weight alt= 432 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=

engine (prop)=Bristol Cherub III
type of prop=2 cylinder piston engine
number of props=1
power main= 34 hp
power alt= 25 kW
power original=

max speed main= 71 knots
max speed alt= 82 mph, 132 km/h
max speed more=at sea level
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= 8,900 ft [ Absolute ceiling.]
ceiling alt= 2,700 m
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main= 5.75 lb/ft²
loading alt= 28.2 kg/m²
power/mass main= 0.036 hp/lb
power/mass alt= 0.058 kW/kg
more performance=*Climb to 5,000 ft (1,520 m): 11 min 20 sec

ee also

aircontent
related=

similar aircraft=*De Havilland Humming Bird

sequence=

lists=
* List of civil aircraft
see also=

References

*Mason, Francis K. "Hawker Aircraft since 1920". London:Putnam, 1991.ISBN 0 85177 839 9.

External links

* [http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=441 British Aircraft Directory]