Airspeed Queen Wasp

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AS.30 Queen Wasp
Type	Pilotless Target Aircraft
Manufacturer	Airspeed (1934) Ltd
Maiden flight	1937
Introduced	1937
Primary user	Royal Air Force
Produced	1937
Number built	5

The Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp was a British pilotless target aircraft built by Airspeed (1934) Limited at Portsmouth.

Contents 1 History 2 Operators 3 Specifications (Landplane) 4 References 5 External links 6 Related content

[edit] History

The Queen Wasp was built to meet an Air Ministry Specification Q.32/25 for a pilotless target aircraft to replace the de Havilland Tiger Moth based de Havilland Queen Bee. Two protoypes were order in May 1936, one to have a wheeled landing gear for use by the Royal Air Force and the other as a floatplane for Royal Navy use for air-firing practice at sea.

The aircraft was a single-engined biplane constructed of wood with sharply-tapered wings and fabric-covered control surfaces. An enclosed cabin with one-seat was provided so the Queen Wasp good be flown manually with the radio control system turned off. The landplane first flew on the 11 June 1937, and the floatplane on the 19 October 1937. The floatplane was succesfully catapulted of HMS Pegasus in November 1937. In tests the aircraft was found to be underpowered and only three more aircraft were built and delivered to the Royal Air Force.

[edit] Operators

•  United Kingdom
  • Royal Air Force
  • Royal Navy

[edit] Specifications (Landplane)

General characteristics

• Length: 24 ft 4 in (7.42 m)
• Wingspan: 31 ft 0 in (9.45 m)
• Height: 10 ft 1 in (3.07 m)
• Max takeoff weight: 3,500 lb (1588 kg)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 172 mph (277 km/h)

[edit] References

• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing. 

[edit] External links

[edit] Related content

 

 

Designation sequence

Airspeed AS.10 Oxford • Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp • Airspeed AS.39 Fleet Shadower

Related lists

• List of aircraft of the RAF