The aircraft was a single-enginedbiplane constructed of wood with sharply-tapered wings and fabric-covered control surfaces. An enclosed cabin with one seat was provided so the Queen Wasp could be flown manually with the radio control system turned off. The radio control system was complex with a number of backup safety devices to ensure radio and battery operation was uninterrupted. A trailing receiver aerial was winched out after takeoff and served as an automatic landing device which was activated when the trailing aerial weight hit the runway. The sensitivity of the system in turbulent weather meant that an alternative landing signal was used to initiate a landing procedure.[2]
The landplane first flew on 11 June 1937, and the floatplane on 19 October 1937. The floatplane was successfully catapulted from HMS Pegasus in November 1937.
Operational history
In flight tests, the aircraft was found to be underpowered and water handling difficulties necessitated a redesign of the floats by their manufacturer, Short Brothers. Although the production run of 10 aircraft was begun (P5441–P5450), only three more aircraft were completed and delivered to the Royal Air Force.[2]
Airspeed proposed a number of unsuccessful designs derived from the Queen Wasp including the AS.38 communications aircraft and the AS.50 trainer developed to meet Specification T.24/40.[2]
^Taylor, H.A. (1970). Airspeed Aircraft since 1931. London: Putnam. pp. 89–94. ISBN978-0-370-00110-4.
Bibliography
Green, Peter (September–October 2001). "Round-Out". Air Enthusiast. No. 95. p. 79. ISSN 0143-5450.
"Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp." Control Column, Official Organ of the British Aircraft Preservation Council, Volume 12, No. 2, February/March 1978.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.
January 10, 2023
airspeed, queen, wasp, airspeed, queen, wasp, british, pilotless, target, aircraft, built, airspeed, limited, portsmouth, during, second, world, although, intended, both, royal, force, royal, navy, aircraft, never, went, into, series, production, queen, wasp, . The Airspeed AS 30 Queen Wasp was a British pilotless target aircraft built by Airspeed Limited at Portsmouth during the Second World War Although intended for both Royal Air Force and Royal Navy use the aircraft never went into series production AS 30 Queen WaspAirspeed Queen Wasp c 1939Role Pilotless target aircraftManufacturer Airspeed 1934 LtdDesigner Hessell Tiltman N S NorwayFirst flight 11 June 1937Introduction 1937Primary user Royal Air ForceProduced 1937 1940Number built 7 Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 3 Operators 4 Specifications AS 30 Landplane 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Notes 6 2 BibliographyDesign and development EditThe Queen Wasp was built to meet an Air Ministry Specification Q 32 35 for a pilotless target aircraft to replace the de Havilland Tiger Moth based de Havilland Queen Bee 1 Two prototypes were ordered 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 Powered by the Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah engine a total of 65 aircraft were ordered contingent on the success of the flight test programme 2 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 could be flown manually with the radio control system turned off The radio control system was complex with a number of backup safety devices to ensure radio and battery operation was uninterrupted A trailing receiver aerial was winched out after takeoff and served as an automatic landing device which was activated when the trailing aerial weight hit the runway The sensitivity of the system in turbulent weather meant that an alternative landing signal was used to initiate a landing procedure 2 The landplane first flew on 11 June 1937 and the floatplane on 19 October 1937 The floatplane was successfully catapulted from HMS Pegasus in November 1937 Operational history EditIn flight tests the aircraft was found to be underpowered and water handling difficulties necessitated a redesign of the floats by their manufacturer Short Brothers Although the production run of 10 aircraft was begun P5441 P5450 only three more aircraft were completed and delivered to the Royal Air Force 2 Airspeed proposed a number of unsuccessful designs derived from the Queen Wasp including the AS 38 communications aircraft and the AS 50 trainer developed to meet Specification T 24 40 2 Operators Edit United KingdomRoyal Air Force Royal NavySpecifications AS 30 Landplane EditData from Airspeed Aircraft since 1931 3 General characteristicsCrew 1 optional Length 23 ft 4 in 7 11 m Wingspan 31 ft 0 in 9 45 m Width 12 ft 0 in 3 66 m wings folded Height 10 ft 1 in 3 07 m Gross weight 3 500 lb 1 588 kg Powerplant 1 Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX 7 cylinder air cooled radial piston engine 350 hp 260 kW Propellers 2 bladedPerformance Maximum speed 172 mph 277 km h 149 kn at 8 000 ft 2 438 m Cruise speed 151 mph 243 km h 131 kn at 10 000 ft 3 048 m Service ceiling 20 000 ft 6 100 m See also EditAircraft of comparable role configuration and era Culver CadetRelated lists List of aircraft of the RAFReferences EditNotes Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Airspeed Queen Wasp Norway Neville Shute 1954 Slide Rule London William Heinemann pp 230 231 a b c d Airspeed AS 30 Queen Wasp 1978 p 40 Taylor H A 1970 Airspeed Aircraft since 1931 London Putnam pp 89 94 ISBN 978 0 370 00110 4 Bibliography Edit Green Peter September October 2001 Round Out Air Enthusiast No 95 p 79 ISSN 0143 5450 Airspeed AS 30 Queen Wasp Control Column Official Organ of the British Aircraft Preservation Council Volume 12 No 2 February March 1978 The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft Part Work 1982 1985 London Orbis Publishing 1985 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Airspeed Queen Wasp amp oldid 1101438288, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
