Central Centaur IIA

The Central Centaur IIA was a British civil six-passenger joyriding biplane aircraft produced by Central Aircraft Company Limited of London.

Design and development

Following the success of the earlier Centaur IV for joyriding, A.A. Fletcher designed a larger twin-engined aircraft. Designated the Centaur IIB the first aircraft, registered G-EAHR, first flew during July 1919.^[1] The fuselage had an open cockpit for the two crew and six passengers. A second example, registered G-EAPC, was built. It had the same designation Centaur IIB but had an enclosed cabin for seven passengers. The second aircraft first flew in May 1920.^[1]

The second aircraft was tested by the Air Ministry in the 1920 Commercial Aeroplane Competition.^[1] It was described at the time as old-fashioned and low-powered, another problem was that loaded with all the fuel required for the three and half hour test flight meant it was unable to carry passengers or pilots. The aircraft did not win the competition. The prototype was destroyed in an accident at Northolt Aerodrome in July 1919,^[1] shortly after the competition. The second aircraft crashed in October 1920 at Hayes, Middlesex, with a loss of six lives.^[1] No further examples were built.

Aircraft

• Centaur IIA - G-EAHR - open cockpit version for six passengers, destroyed 1919.
• Centaur IIA - G-EAPC - enclosed cabin version for seven passengers, destroyed 1920.

Operators

 United Kingdom

• Central Aircraft Company Limited

Specifications (Centaur IIA)

Data from British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 1^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 2 (6 passengers)
• Length: 29 ft 3 in (11.96 m)
• Wingspan: 63 ft 8 in (19.41 m)
• Height: ()
• Empty weight: 4996 lb (2271 kg)
• Max. takeoff weight: 7,250 lb (3289 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × Beardmore 160 hp inline piston, 160 hp (119 kw) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 90 mph (145 km/h)

References

Notes

Bibliography

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

External links

• "The Central Aircraft Co.'s 9-Seater Biplane" (PDF). Flight XI (39): 1285–1289. September 25, 1919. No. 561. Retrieved January 13, 2011.  Contemporary technical description of the open-cockpit version with photographs and drawings.