Canadian Vickers Vedette

infobox Aircraft
name = Canadian Vickers Vedette
type = amphibious general aviation survey
manufacturer = Canadian Vickers

---

caption =
designer = R. K. Pierson
first flight = 4 November 1924
introduced = 1925
retired = 1941
status =
primary user = Royal Canadian Air Force
more users = Ontario Provincial Air Service
Manitoba Government Air Services
Servició de Aviación Militar de Chile
produced = 1924 - 1930
number built = 60 (plus one that was rebuilt and renumbered)
unit cost = $15,000 less engine.
variants with their own articles = The Canadian Vickers Vedette was the first aircraft in Canada designed and built to meet a specification for Canadian conditions. It was a single-engine biplane flying boat purchased to meet a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) demand for a smaller aircraft than the Vickers Viking with a much greater rate of climb, to be suitable for forestry survey and fire protection work. The type went on to have a long and distinguished career in civil operations in Canada. Most of the topographical maps in use in Canada today are based on photos taken from one of these aircraft.

Design and development

The Canadian Vickers Vedette was a two/three-seat single-engine pusher forestry protection biplane whose design was commenced in the United Kingdom by R.K. Pierson in early 1924 for development in Canada. Built by Canadian Vickers Limited of Longueuil, Quebec (formed in 1911), the prototype Vedette I was first flown on 4 November 1924, powered by a 200 hp Rolls-Royce Falcon III. It was then fitted with 210 hp Wolseley Viper, 200 hp Wright J-4 and 215 hp Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engines for testing. Several versions of the Vedette were produced, including two amphibious versions and one with an enclosed cabin on an all-metal hull. With the exception of these major changes, most of the remaining differences between versions were relatively minor and not externally visible. Each version was produced with a range of optional engine types.

Canadian Vickers Limited developed and produced a series of follow-up designs intended for use in the Canadian north (none were related design-wise to the Vedette):
* Canadian Vickers Vista A small monoplane pusher, almost a Vedette without the top wing.
* Canadian Vickers Varuna Twin engine seaplane, essentially a scaled up Vedette.
* Canadian Vickers Vancouver Similar to the Varuna, but with detail improvements.
* Canadian Vickers Vanessa Biplane floatplane.

Operational history

The first production example was provided to Fairchild Aerial Surveys (c/n 31 G-CAFF) before they started designing their own survey aircraft. The majority of the production run was purchased by the RCAF where the aircraft proved popular and versatile, if somewhat temperamental due to leaky hulls that required constant maintenance (a problem afflicting all wooden hulled flying boats). The Vedette undertook photographic and forestry patrols satisfactorily and provided a backbone for RCAF flying operations through the lean peace time years. Vedettes started a coast-to-coast photographic survey that was needed to map out the large areas of the country still unmapped. These missions lasted until the outbreak of the Second World War, and would be completed after the war with newer types. Vedettes stationed on both coasts were also used for fishing and smuggling patrols, both with the RCAF and with Western Canada Airways.

The Vedette featured prominently in a number of mercy missions, while some airmen discovered it was nearly ideal for aerial goose hunting, at least until a pilot was hit by a goose. The first Canadian to join the Caterpillar Club by using a parachute to escape from an aircraft did so from RCAF Vedette "ZF" on 17 May 1929. The pilot, C.S. (Jack) Caldwell, while testing the aircraft at the Canadian Vickers factory, entered an uncontrollable spin after the engine failed and bailed out successfully over the St. Lawrence River.

The RCAF acquired one Wright J-4 engined Vedette I in 1925 and 18 Armstrong-Siddeley Lynx IV (210 hp) engined Vedette IIs from 1926 onwards; all of these were out of service before the Second World War began. Starting in 1929, the RCAF acquired 13 Vedette Vs with higher gross weight, and 11 Vedette VAs featuring Handley Page wing slots. The single Vedette VI, with Wright J-6 engine, featured a metal hull and an enclosed cockpit. A mark V was refurbished by the factory and as the sole Vam was given a new metal hull, as well as a new serial number (the last), but it retained its RCAF call sign as "ZD." Seven Vedette VAs and the Mk VI survived into wartime service, flying with No 4(BR) Sqn and the Seaplane and Bomber Reconnaissance Training School (later No 13 OT Sqn) in Vancouver, BC until May 1941.

In addition to the RCAF, The Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan governments used Vedettes extensively for scouting out forest fires in the heavily wooded areas of those provinces.

The company exported six Wright J-5 powered Vedette Vs to Chile, where they were based at Puerto Montt (which is on an inlet off the Pacific coast) with the Escuadrilla de Anfibios N° 1 (now known as the Grupo de Aviación N° 5). They were used to forge an air link between there and the capital Santiago, 569 miles up the coast. At least one of the Vedettes, and possibly all six were lost due to hurricane force winds, which also caused the loss of two lives when one of the aircraft overturned while on the water.

Operators

;CAN
*Royal Canadian Air Force (45 used)
*Fairchild Aerial Surveys (1 used)
*Manitoba (Government) Air Service (7 used)
*Ontario Provincial Air Service (2 used)
*Government of Saskatchewan (5 used)
*Western Canada Airways (1 used)
*Canadian Airways (1 used)

*flag|Chile
*Servicio de Aviacion Naval de Chile
**Escuadrilla de Anfibios N° 1 (6 used)

Variants

;Vedette I:Prototype (c/n 9) tested variously with Rolls-Royce Falcon III, Wolseley Viper, Wright J-4 and Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engines.;Vedette II:Production version, modified rudder and other minor changes from prototype.;Vedette III & IV:Not built, but may have included an enclosed cabin transport.;Vedette V:Improved amphibian version, but most not equipped with wheels.;Vedette Va:Mk.V fitted with Handley-Page leading edge slots.;Vedette Vam:One off Mk.V (c/n 123/170) refurbished with metal hull.;Vedette VI:One off (c/n 163) with metal hull and Handley-Page leading edge slots.;Vassal I:Proposed variant using Clark Y airfoil section wings, not built.

Survivors

A replica of a Vedette V is at the Western Canada Aviation Museum, Winnipeg, Manitoba. The replica project which took a group of more than 100 dedicated volunteers 22 years to complete. The remains of three Vedettes recovered from crash sites formed the basis of a meticulous templating of aircraft components, aided by hand drawn plans created by one of the WCAM volunteers who had been employed by Canadian Vickers as a junior draughtsman.

Until the official unveiling on 24 May 2002, there was no known intact surviving examples of a Vickers Vedette anywhere. While the replica is airworthy, the museum has no intention to ever fly its one-of-a-kind exhibit.

pecifications (Mk II)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=The Canadian Vickers Vedette, Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal, October 1964. [Molsen 1964 ]

crew=two/three
capacity=
payload main= 1258 pounds (including pilot, fuel and oil)
payload alt= 571 kg
length main= 32ft 10"
length alt= 10.0 m
span main= 42 ft
span alt= 12.80 m
height main= 11 ft 1/4 in
height alt= 3.359 m
area main= 495.6 square feet
area alt= m
airfoil=Royal Aircraft Factory R.A.F. 15
empty weight main= 1,942 lb
empty weight alt= 882 kg
loaded weight main= 3,200 lb (1454 kg) for Wright J-4 powered Mk.II's this increased to 3575 lb
loaded weight alt= 1625 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= 4,000 lb
max takeoff weight alt= 1,816 kg
more general=
engine (prop)= 200 hp Wright J-4, 220 hp Wright J-5 or 215 hp Armstrong-Siddeley Lynx IV.
type of prop=
number of props=1
power main=
power alt=
power original=
max speed main= 92 mph
max speed alt= 153 km/h
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 5 hours
range alt=
ceiling main= 13,000 feet
ceiling alt= 4,000 m
climb rate main= 650 feet per min
climb rate alt= 198 m/min
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
armament=none
avionics=

References

* Milberry, Larry. "Aviation in Canada". Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-07-082778-8.
* Molsen, Kenneth M. "The Canadian Vickers Vedette." "Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal", October 1964.
* Siminic, Iván. "Accidentes aéreos en el sur de Chile" 23 May 2005. [http://ivansiminic.blogspot.com/2005/05/accidentes-areos-en-el-sur-de-chile.html Chilean accidents] Access date: 19 August 2007.

External links

* [http://www.jaapteeuwen.com/ww2aircraft/html%20pages/CANADIAN%20VICKERS%20VEDETTE.htm World War Two aircraft]
* [http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/16wing/news/releases_e.asp?cat=89&id=293 Canadian Air Force]