Introduction

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 by Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd to investigate the possibilities of the Delta planform wing. Boulton Paul Defiant Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer that operated between 1914 and 1961. ...

Basic Description

The P111 was designed to be the smallest airframe which could couple the engine, a Rolls-Royce Nene, an ejector seat (Martin Baker), and a delta wing, which was fitted with variety of extensions to investigate different tip profiles. The construction was all metal with the exception of the wing extensions which were of glass-fibre. The Nene or RB.41, was Rolls-Royces third jet engine to enter production, designed and built in an astonishingly short five month period in 1944, first running on October 27th, 1944. ... // Introduction Martin-Baker Aircraft is a manufacturer of aircraft seats and is the oldest existing maker of ejection seats. ... The delta-wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. ...

Specifications

• Dimensions: Span 25ft 8in to 33ft 6in; length 26ft 1in without nose probe; height 12ft 6in.
• Weight: 7,517lb empty, 10,127lb loaded
• Maximum speed: 648mph
• Service ceiling 35,000ft

Brief History

The P111 made its first flight on the 10th October 1950, at Boscombe Down with Sqn Ldr 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 razors edge” and because of this became known as the "Yellow Peril". Boscombe Down is a British Ministry of Defence site in Wiltshire, England, currently operated by QinetiQ as a station for trials aircraft. ...

After a wheels up landing the P111 was modified to improve the flight characteristics, and re-appeared in its new guise as the P111a. After a last flight in 1958, and some time at Cranfield, it was transferred to the Midlands Aircraft Preservation Society at Bagington, Coventry, where the P111a is currently exhibited.

Boulton Paull P111a

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x1024, 54 KB) Summary Author: Laurence Marks, drawn from actual aircraft Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x1024, 54 KB) Summary Author: Laurence Marks, drawn from actual aircraft Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...

References

• British Experimental Turbojet Aircraft, Barry Jones, ISBN 1 86126 621-9
• Boulton Paul Aircraft, Alex Brew, ISBN 0-724-2116-6