Fairey Delta 1
Fairey Delta 1
Type	research aircraft
Manufacturer	Fairey Aviation Company
Maiden flight	10 March 1951
Retired	1953
Number built	1

The Fairey Delta 1 or FD1 was a British research aircraft produced by the Fairey Aviation Company for investigation of delta wing flight characteristics and control at transonic speeds. In testing, the FD1 exhibited unfavourable handling and stability leading to its ultimate cancellation. An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... The Fairey Aviation Company, Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century, notable for a number of important planes, including the Fairey III family and the Fairey Swordfish. ... The Maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. ... March 10 is the 69th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (70th in leap years). ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1951: Events February February 21 - an English Electric Canberra becomes the first jet to make an unrefuelled crossing of the Atlantic, taking 4 hours 37 minutes March March 6 - the Martin aircraft company gains production rights to the English Electric Canberra... The Fairey Aviation Company, Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century, notable for a number of important planes, including the Fairey III family and the Fairey Swordfish. ... The delta-wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. ... Transonic is an aeronautics term referring to a range of velocities just below and above the speed of sound. ...

Design and development

Originally conceived as a vertical take-off fighter, the proposed fighter was intended to be launched from an inclined ramp. Already in the early design stage at Fairey, the Ministry of Supply decided to have the aircraft built as a more conventional jet-powered research vehicle to specification E.10/47. The design was a mid-wing tail-less delta monoplane, with a circular cross-section fuselage and engine air-inlet at the extreme front. The engine was a Rolls-Royce Derwent 8. Although designed as a transonic aircraft, the Delta 1 had a short-coupled, "portly" appearance, completely at odds with Fairey's next design, the sleek and elegant Fairey Delta 2. Three aircraft were ordered with the name "Fairey Delta" applied to the project; subsequently, the name was changed to Fairey Delta 1. ^[1] Rolls-Royce Limited was a British car and aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Henry Royce and C.S. Rolls on 15 March 1906 and was the result of a partnership formed in 1904. ... The Fairey Delta 2 or FD2 was a British supersonic research aircraft produced in response to a specification from the Ministry of Supply for investigation into flight and control at transonic and supersonic speeds. ...

Testing

After a long series of taxi tests, the first FD1 was aircraft VX350 which made its maiden flight on 10 March 1951, flown by Fairey test pilot Group Captain R. Gordon Slade. The FD1 acquired a small horizontal delta wing on the top of the tail-fin which was intended to stop the "serious pitching as it gathered speed^[2]." Continued testing pointed to serious stability problems that were characterized as "dangerous ^[3]." The additional tail surface limited the top speed to a pedestrian 345 mph (555 kmh). March 10 is the 69th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (70th in leap years). ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

After a landing accident in September 1951, the FD1 was modified with the removal of the leading-edge wing slats as well as the removal of the streamlined housings for the anti-spin parachutes that were mounted at the wingtips. The large control surfaces made the FD 1 difficult to control or even fly with precision although a rapid roll rate was achieved. With limited flying after the test program was re-launched in May 1953, and no sign of the resolution of considerable design deficiencies, the FD1 was soon relegated to non-flying status. Only one FD1 was built with the second (VX357) and third (VX364) airframes being cancelled before they entered production.

Cancellation

The Fairey Delta was a proof-of-concept experimental aircraft that was destined to never achieve its design goals and it ignobly ended up as a target in the Shoeburyness, Essex weapons range in 1953. Its lasting claim to fame was as the first British-designed delta wing.

Specifications (Fairey Delta 1)

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 26 ft 3 in (8 m)
• Wingspan: ft (m)
• Height: 19 ft 6.5 in (5.9 m)
• Loaded weight: 38,549 lb (17,485 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Derwent 8 turbojet, 3,600 lb (1,633 kg)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 345 mph (555 km/h)
• Range: mi (km)
• Service ceiling: ft (m)
• Rate of climb: ft/min (m/s)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)

The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... Rolls-Royce Limited was a British car and aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Henry Royce and C.S. Rolls on 15 March 1906 and was the result of a partnership formed in 1904. ... Turbojets are the simplest and oldest kind of general purpose jet engine. ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ... The maximal total range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing as limited by its fuel capacity. ... In aeronautics, the service ceiling is the maximum density altitude where the best rate of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet per minute climb(twin engine) and 50 feet(single engine) at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. ...

References

• Taylor, H. A. Fairey Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-00065-X.
• Twiss, Peter. Faster than the Sun. London: Grub Street Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1-902304-43-8.
• Winchester, Jim. X-Planes and Prototypes. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2005. ISBN 1-904687-40-7.

Related content

Related development

Fairey Delta 2 The Fairey Delta 2 or FD2 was a British supersonic research aircraft produced in response to a specification from the Ministry of Supply for investigation into flight and control at transonic and supersonic speeds. ...

Comparable aircraft

Avro 707c- Boulton Paul P.111A - Convair XF-92A - Avro 707 at Farnborourg 1951 The Avro 707 was a British experimental aircraft built to test the delta wing design of the Avro 698 (later to become the Vulcan), and was a scaled-down version of that aircraft. ... The Convair XF-92 was the first American delta-wing aircraft. ...

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