General Aircraft Owlet

infobox Aircraft
name = GAL.45 Owlet
type = two-seat trainer
manufacturer = General Aircraft Ltd


caption =
designer =
first flight = 1940
introduced = 1941
retired = 1942
produced =
number built = 1
status = written off
unit cost =
primary user = Royal Air Force
more users =
developed from = General Aircraft Cygnet
variants with their own articles =The General Aircraft GAL.45 Owlet was a 1940s British single-engined trainer aircraft built by General Aircraft Limited and Hanworth Aerodrome.

History

The Owlet was a training version of the Cygnet II built as an attempt to produce a cheap primary trainer for the Royal Air Force. The main change was a modified fuselage with a tandem open cockpit (the cygnet had an enclosed cockpit with side-by-side seating). The same outboard wing panels were used, but due to the slimmer fuselage, the resulting wingspan was reduced by 24 inches (61 cm) and wing area was reduced.

The Owlet prototype (registered G-AGBK) first flew on 5 September 1940. It did not attract any orders but ironically it was impressed into service (with serial number "DP420") with the Royal Air Force as a tricycle undercarriage trainer for the Douglas Boston, which was the primary use to which unmodified Cygnets were also being put.

The only Owlet crashed near Arundel, Sussex in 30 August 1942.

Military operators

;UK
* Royal Air Force
** No. 23 Squadron RAF

pecifications

aircraft specification
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
crew=1
cargo=1 passenger
length main= 24 ft 7 in
length alt= 7.5 m
span main=32 ft 5 in
span alt= 9.88 m
height main=
height alt=
area main=
area alt=
empty weight main= 1,563 lb
empty weight alt= 710 kg
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
max takeoff weight main= 2,300 lb
max takeoff weight alt = 1,045 kg
engine (prop)=Blackburn Cirrus Major I
type of prop=4-cylinder inverted inline piston
number of props=1
power main=150 hp
power alt=112 kW
max speed main=125 mph
max speed alt= 109 kt, 203 km/h
range main=
range alt=
ceiling main=
ceiling alt=
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
armament=

References

*
*

ee also

aircontent
related=
General Aircraft GAL.42 Cygnet II
similar aircraft=

lists=
* List of aircraft of the RAF
see also=