The Bristol Babe was a British-built light single-seat biplane, intended for the private flyer and produced immediately after the First World War. Only two flew.
The Bristol Babe[1][2] was the creation of Frank Barnwell, a flying enthusiast as well as Bristol's chief designer. It was aimed at the private owner flyer and was a small single-engined single-seat biplane with unswept staggered single-bay wings of unequal span. Full-span ailerons were fitted on the top wing only. The fuselage was plywood-skinned, with fabric covering it for protection.[3] The cockpit was below the upper wing trailing edge with rounded decking aft to the tail. The fin and rudder were generous and rounded, the undercarriage a conventional single-axle plus tailskid arrangement.
The uncovered Babe frame
Finding a suitable small engine proved difficult. The original intention was to use the 60 hp (50 kW) ABC Gadfly radial, but in April 1919 ABC pulled out of aero-engine manufacture. A possible alternative was the 40 hp (30 kW) flat-twin Siddeley Ounce currently being developed, so a third Babe was begun as a testbed. In the meantime, Barnwell resurrected a 1911 Viale 35 hp five-cylinder radial engine of 45 hp (34 kW) that had been installed in an Avro Type F and which had been put into storage following a crash. This engine ran satisfactorily for up to half an hour, after which it tended to overheat. This was installed in the second Babe which made its first flight on 28 November 1919. The pilot, Cyril Uwins reported that it was an easy aircraft for an experienced pilot but rather unstable for a novice. Though it was useful for testing, the old Viale was not reliable enough for sale, so following discussions at the Paris Aero Show in November 1919, two seven-cylinder 60 hp (50 kW) Le Rhône Type 7B2 rotary engines were ordered for the first two Babes. The third Babe appeared at this show with an incomplete Ounce engine.[1]
The second Babe built was referred to as the Babe I when it had the Viale engine and then as the Babe III with the Le Rhône engine. The Le Rhône-powered first machine was the other Babe III. The Ounce-powered third machine, designated Babe II, never flew, but the two Babe IIIs did and were registered over the winter of 1919-20.[1]
The first Babe underwent a drastic modification in May 1920 when it received a thick cantilever monoplane wing. Safety concerns prevented its testing and by February 1921 both aircraft were off the Civil Register. The Viale engine is now in the Science Museum, London. In the retrospective allocation of Bristol type numbers made in 1923, the Babe I was labelled Type 30, the Babe IIs as Type 46 and the unflown Babe III the Type 46A.[1]
Barnes, C. H. (1964), Bristol Aircraft since 1910, London: Putnam Publishing, ISBN0-370-00015-3
Flight (1919), "Bristol Babe", Flight (18 December 1919): 1612–3
Flight (1920), "Bristol Babe at Paris Salon 1919", Flight (1 January 1920): 15
April 14, 2024
bristol, babe, british, built, light, single, seat, biplane, intended, private, flyer, produced, immediately, after, first, world, only, flew, babereplica, babe, irole, sports, biplanenational, origin, united, kingdommanufacturer, british, colonial, aeroplane,. The Bristol Babe was a British built light single seat biplane intended for the private flyer and produced immediately after the First World War Only two flew BabeReplica of the Babe IRole sports biplaneNational origin United KingdomManufacturer British amp Colonial Aeroplane Co Ltd Designer Frank BarnwellFirst flight 28 November 1919Number built 3This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Bristol Babe news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Contents 1 Development 2 Specifications Babe III 3 References 3 1 Citations 3 2 BibliographyDevelopment editThe Bristol Babe 1 2 was the creation of Frank Barnwell a flying enthusiast as well as Bristol s chief designer It was aimed at the private owner flyer and was a small single engined single seat biplane with unswept staggered single bay wings of unequal span Full span ailerons were fitted on the top wing only The fuselage was plywood skinned with fabric covering it for protection 3 The cockpit was below the upper wing trailing edge with rounded decking aft to the tail The fin and rudder were generous and rounded the undercarriage a conventional single axle plus tailskid arrangement nbsp The uncovered Babe frameFinding a suitable small engine proved difficult The original intention was to use the 60 hp 50 kW ABC Gadfly radial but in April 1919 ABC pulled out of aero engine manufacture A possible alternative was the 40 hp 30 kW flat twin Siddeley Ounce currently being developed so a third Babe was begun as a testbed In the meantime Barnwell resurrected a 1911 Viale 35 hp five cylinder radial engine of 45 hp 34 kW that had been installed in an Avro Type F and which had been put into storage following a crash This engine ran satisfactorily for up to half an hour after which it tended to overheat This was installed in the second Babe which made its first flight on 28 November 1919 The pilot Cyril Uwins reported that it was an easy aircraft for an experienced pilot but rather unstable for a novice Though it was useful for testing the old Viale was not reliable enough for sale so following discussions at the Paris Aero Show in November 1919 two seven cylinder 60 hp 50 kW Le Rhone Type 7B2 rotary engines were ordered for the first two Babes The third Babe appeared at this show with an incomplete Ounce engine 1 The second Babe built was referred to as the Babe I when it had the Viale engine and then as the Babe III with the Le Rhone engine The Le Rhone powered first machine was the other Babe III The Ounce powered third machine designated Babe II never flew but the two Babe IIIs did and were registered over the winter of 1919 20 1 The first Babe underwent a drastic modification in May 1920 when it received a thick cantilever monoplane wing Safety concerns prevented its testing and by February 1921 both aircraft were off the Civil Register The Viale engine is now in the Science Museum London In the retrospective allocation of Bristol type numbers made in 1923 the Babe I was labelled Type 30 the Babe IIs as Type 46 and the unflown Babe III the Type 46A 1 nbsp Bristol Museum Babe replicaSpecifications Babe III edit nbsp Babe with Ounce engineData from Barnes 1964 p 150General characteristicsCrew one Length 14 ft 11 in 4 55 m Wingspan 19 ft 8 in 6 00 m Height 5 ft 9 in 1 75 m Wing area 108 sq ft 10 0 m2 Empty weight 460 lb 209 kg Gross weight 840 lb 381 kg Powerplant 1 Le Rhone Type 7B2 60 hp 45 kW Performance Maximum speed 107 mph 172 km h 93 kn Service ceiling 15 000 ft 4 570 m References edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bristol Babe Citations edit a b c d Barnes 1964 pp 148 50 Flight 1919 Flight 1920 Bibliography edit Barnes C H 1964 Bristol Aircraft since 1910 London Putnam Publishing ISBN 0 370 00015 3 Flight 1919 Bristol Babe Flight 18 December 1919 1612 3 Flight 1920 Bristol Babe at Paris Salon 1919 Flight 1 January 1920 15 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bristol Babe amp oldid 1109362087, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
