Beardmore Inflexible

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Inflexible

Type	Experimental Transport
Manufacturer	Beardmore
Designed by	W.S Shackleton
Maiden flight	1928
Retired	1930
Status	Retired
Primary user	Royal Air Force
Number built	1

The Beardmore Inflexible was a British three-engined all-metal prototye bomber aircraft built by William Beardmore and Company.

1 History
2 Specifications
3 Reference
4 External links
5 Related content

[edit] History

William Beardmore and Company had acquired a licence for the use of the Rohrbach principle for stressed-skin construction. Using these principles, the company designed what was then a massive all-metal three-engined transport the Beardmore Inflexible.

The aircraft (Serial Number J7557) was built at Dalmuir between 1925 and 1927 and was roaded to Martlesham Heath Airfield where it first flew on the 5 March 1928. The aircraft appeared at the Hendon RAF Display in 1928. The aircraft was structurally advanced for its time but was underpowered. The aircraft was dismantled at Martlesham Heath in 1930 and used as test airframe to investigate the effects of corrosion.

[edit] Specifications

General characteristics

Length: 75 ft 6 in (23.1 m)
Wingspan: 157 ft 6in (48.01 m)
Height: ()
Max takeoff weight: 37,000 lb (16783 kg)
Powerplant: 3× Rolls-Royce Condor II , 650 hp (485 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 109 mph (175 km/h)

[edit] Reference

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.
Jackson, A.J. (1974). British Civil Aircraft since 1919. London: Putnam. ISBN 0 370 10014 X.