Westland: Widgeon
Note: This is a sub-section of Westland Aircraft.
The Westland Widgeon was a British light aircraft of the 1920s. A single engined parasol monoplane, the Widgeon was built in small numbers before Westland abandoned production in 1929.[1]
The Widgeon monoplane was a machine of the parasol type; that is to say, its wings were supported at some distance above the fuselage, and did not spring directly therefrom. In plan the wings had a somewhat unusual appearance, largely produced by the fact that the ailerons extended the dull length of the trailing edge and were triangular in outline, with the apex near the middle of their length. There was no separate centre section in the wings, as were in many other designs. The rear spars were shorter than the front spars, and were attached to a tubular structure springing form the fuselage. The front spars meet over the centre line of the fuselage, and were united by a small bolt. By freeing this bolt the wings could be folded back round hinges in line with the rear spar. In the act of folding the wings, the ailerons dropped into vertical position and enabled the wings to come closer together.
In the folded condition the overall width of the machine was 9ft. 9in. The engine was a three-cylinder radial Blackburn of 1100 c.c, capacity, developing about 37 Hp at 37000 revolutions. [2]
Variants
- Widgeon I
Powered by one 35 hp Blackburne Thrush radial engine. One built.
- Widgeon II
Rebuild of Widgeon I with 60 hp Armstrong Siddeley Genet radial.
- Widgeon III
Redesign for production. Powered by ADC Cirrus II or III inline engine, Genet II radial, ABC Hornet or de Havilland Gipsy. 18 built.
- Widgeon IIIA
Variant of Widgeon III with metal fuselage and new undercarriage. Powered by Cirrus or Gipsy engine. Seven built.[3]
See Also
Sources of Information