Evening All,
I know that I have a bit of a reputation, (no not that kind!), for the esoteric and unusual, or for prototypes which were rather less than successful, but on this occasion I would like to introduce you to an esoteric and unusual type which was in its own way very successful. I found this by chance while researching another aeroplane, but having looked at the photos and drawings carefully, I decided that as nobody is likely to make a kit of one of these, I needed one in my collection! Until recently I too knew nothing of this machine which made some small contributions to British aero-history. So for the benefit of most, (all?) readers I will provide a little more background detail than normal.
Claude Grahame-White founded an aeroplane manufacturing company at Hendon in 1911 to cover his interests in heavier-than-air flying machines. His chief designer was John Dudley North who later went to become the chief designer for Boulton and Paul. The company produced a number of original, (and sometimes odd, not to say bizarre), biplanes, many of them pushers, of which the Type X was one. In 1910 Hendon aerodrome was opened to the public for air tatoos and displays, and part of the attraction was flying passengers around the aerodrome.
However most of the aircraft could only carry one or at most two passengers, and White saw an opportunity to meet extra demand by building a larger capacity aeroplane. The Type X was designed by J. D. North to carry 4 passengers in wicker seats behind the pilot and started to offer rides in September 1913. It was quickly dubbed the "Charabanc" by the public after the buses used to take holiday makers on day trips and outings to coastal resorts. It also had a very large silencer fitted to the exhaust and a klaxon on the port side of the nacelle which could be easily heard on the ground as the aircraft flew over the crowds.
On 2nd October a record was set when 9 passengers were carried for nearly 20 minutes: later 10 passengers were taken aloft - a world record for a heavier-than-air machine at the time. On 9 May 1914 W. Newall made the first jump from an aeroplane in Britain using a parachute. Newell sat on a rope seat which had been rigged between the front and diagonal struts on the port side of the undercarriage, with his feet braced against the skid. He had the parachute on his lap with a release cord in his hand. F. Goodden climbed out of the nacelle when the aeroplane had reached 2000 feet and pushed Newell off his seat with his foot! Other stunts carried out with this machine included having two people sit on the lower wing tips holding on to the struts while it was in the air.
The machine was powered by a 120 hp Austro-Daimler engine, but prior to November 1913 this was replaced by a 100 hp Green engine so that the Charabanc could enter the all-British manufatured aircraft race - the Michelin Cup No 1, a 300 mile to and fro route between Hendon, north of London to Brooklands in Surrey, south west of London. The Charabanc won this competition.
The Charabanc was the largest aeroplane to be built in Britain prior to the outbreak of the First World War, and many modifications and changes were made when it was in service. The klaxon was removed and replaced by a long step to allow passengers easier access to the cockpit and a gravity tank was put under the top wing. The camber of the wings was very marked in order to increase the lift but this slowed the machine down to a speed of about 45 mph in the air.
Grahame-White's company designed and built a trainer box-kite biplane in 1916 which was adopted in numbers by the RFC. The company also manufactured 600 Avro 504 trainers, but a contract for 700 DH 6 trainers for the RFC caused problems because there were problems in supplying suitable wood and the contract could not be fulfilled. White borrowed money from his uncle and the Admiralty. After the war he diversified into furniture manufacture and serviced war surplus Rolls Royce Silver Ghost car chassis which had been used for armoured cars. The company continued to design and build aeroplanes for civil uses but because of the fiasco with the DH 6 trainers he could not get sufficient interest in his designs and in 1924 the Treasury appointed a receiver in order to recover some of the unpaid debts incurred during the war years. The Admiralty had requisitioned Hendon aerodrome in 1914 and not returned it, so it became an RAF aerodrome and air pageants were held there during the inter-war years. Grahame-White's hangar now forms part of the exhibition space of the RAF museum at Hendon.
Although this was an original design by J. D. North the influence of the Maurice Farman MF 7 Longhorn is evident to anyone who looks at the aircraft carefully. So that readers can see what I mean here is a photo of the Charabanc and an MF 7 which I scratch built some years ago: the Charabanc is certainly larger and lacks the front elevator but otherwise they are very similar:
There is a build log in the scratch builds section.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
