- Planet Satellite
infobox Aircraft
name = Satellite
type = Light aircraft
manufacturer = Planet Aircraft Ltd.
caption =Planet Satellite during testing
designer =Major Dundas Heenan
first flight = April 1949
introduced =Cancelled
retired =1958
produced =
number built = 1 (second prototype abandoned)
status = Experimental
unit cost =
primary user =
more users =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =Firth Helicopter (fuselage used)The Planet Satellite was a British light aircraft of the late 1940s. Designed to exploit new technology, the aircraft was abandoned after two crashes although the innovative fuselage was later incorporated into a helicopter prototype.Design and development
The Planet Satellite designed by Major J.N. Dundas Heenan was a futuristic looking four-seater built of magnesium alloy in a true monocoque "teardrop" shaped fuselage with no internal reinforced structureMiddleton 1983, p. 528.] . The Satellite was powered by a 250 hp de Havilland Gipsy Queen 31 mounted amidships driving a two-blade Aeromatic "pusher" airscrew in the tail. Other notable features included "butterfly" tails and a retractable tricycle undercarriage, with the nosewheel retracting into a reinforced keel that ran the length of the underside of the fuselageMiddleton 1983, p. 528.] .
Breaking with conventional design and manufacturing conventions, Heenan declared in the July 1948 "Aviation News" issue, that the 400 drawings made were in stark contrast with the standard of approximately 3,000 drawings required for a project of that complexityMiddleton 1983, p. 529.] . Financing for the Satellite was equally novel with a partnership established with the Distillers Company Ltd. (makers of Gordon's Gin and Black Label Whisky) wherein the Planet Aircraft Company operated as a subsidiary of a liquor company.Middleton 1983, p. 530.]
Built in the Robinson Redwing factory at Croydon, Purley Way, Surrey in 1947, the first prototype was taken to Redhill in 1948. The sleek light aircraft appeared at the S.B.A.C show at Farnborough in September 1948 and received the registration "G-ALOI" in April 1949.
Testing and evaluation
The Chief Test Pilot at RAE Farnborough, Group Captain H.J. Wilson (holder of the World speed Record in the Gloster Meteor), after several long runs down the runway, managed to get the Satellite airborne at Blackbushe. The first "hop" was followed by the collapse of the undercarriage. After repairs, the prototype was flown off the ground and after reaching an altitude of barely 20 ft was put down on the ground gently but nonetheless, the main keel had been cracked by the force of the landing. The conclusion of the Air Registration board investigating the "accident" was that the aircraft was badly understressed and would necessitate a complete redesign. Middleton 1983, p. 530.]
The manufacturers had already begun the production of a second prototype and despite an investment of £100,000, chose to wind down the program with no further attempts to fly the Planet Satellite.
The second prototype, registered "G-ALXP" was abandoned but the completed fuselage was incorporated into the
Firth Helicopter , built in 1952 at Thame. The single "flying" Satellite languished at Redhill until 1958 when it was unceremoniously broken up.Middleton 1983, p. 531.]pecifications (Planet Satellite)
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