Boulton Paul P.111

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

P.111

Profile of Boulton Paul P111A
Type	research aircraft
Manufacturer	Boulton Paul
Maiden flight	10 October 1950,
Number built	1

The Boulton Paul P.111 (also called Boulton Paul BP.111) was a British experimental aircraft of the 1950s.

In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s the British aircraft industry was engaged in many projects to confirm and develop the design ideas captured from the Germans at the end of the second world war. As part of this activity the P111 was built for the Air Ministry to specification E.27/46 by Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd to investigate the possibilities of the delta planform wing.

The P111 was designed to be the smallest airframe which could couple an engine (Rolls-Royce Nene), an ejector seat (Martin Baker), and a delta wing. The latter could be fitted with a variety of extensions to investigate the aerodynamic effect of different tip profiles. The construction was all-metal with the exception of the wing extensions which were of glass-fibre.

1 History
2 Specifications (P.111)
3 Related content
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

The P.111 made its first flight on the 10 October 1950, at Boscombe Down with Squadron Leader Bob Smyth at the controls. Later test flying was carried out by the legendary test pilot, Alexander "Ben" Gunn, who described the aeroplane as "touchy" and "like flying a razor's edge". Because of this, and its bright colour scheme, the P.111 became known as the "Yellow Peril" – a pun on the nickname used for the Japanese threat during the war.

After a wheels-up landing the P.111 was modified to improve the flight characteristics, and re-appeared in its new guise as the P111A. After a last flight in 1958 it went to Cranfield. From there it was transferred in 1985 to the Midland Air Museum, in the south of Coventry, England, where the P111A is currently exhibited.^[1] The P.111 was followed by another delta-winged experimental aircraft, the P.120.