Hawker Heron

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The Hawker Heron was the first fighter Hawker designed for a basically metal structure. Sydney Camm was the chief designer that introduced what became the typical structure for all Hawker aircraft until the introduction of the jet-powered Hawker P.1040. This structure consisted of metal tubes (steel or aluminium) with their ends swaged so that they could be connected to each other by means of "fishplates" and bolts (sometimes with ferrules to protect the tubes). The design was produced in 1924 as a private venture.

[edit] Design

The Heron was a single bay Biplane with a metal structure as described above and fabric covered. It was powered by a Bristol Jupiter VI, 455 hp engine driving a two-bladed wooden propeller. (A metal propeller was also flown but showed no improvement of performance). There was provision for two Vickers machine guns. The first flight, flown by George Bulman was made in 1925. Due to little interest from the Air Ministry, only one aircraft was built. However, it was praised by the pilots that flew it for its excellent handling properties.

[edit] Specification

  • Span - 31 ft 10 in (9.70 m)
  • Length - 22 ft 3 in (6.78 m)
  • Height - 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
  • Wing Area - 291 sq ft (27.03 m²)
  • Weight Empty - 2120 lb (961.6 kg)
  • Weight Loaded - 3126 lb (1458.8 kg)
  • Max speed - 156 mph at 9800' (251 km/h at 2987 m)
  • Service Ceiling - 23300' (7102 m)

[edit] References

  • "Hawker Aircraft since 1920" By Francis K Mason - pub by Putnam, 1961
  • "Sydney Camm & the Hurricane" - editor John W Fozzard, Pub by AirLife ISBN 1853102709
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