The Shapley Kittiwake is a 1930s British two-seat gull wing monoplane designed and built by Errol Spencer Shapley at Torquay, Devon.

Kittiwake
Role Two-seat gull wing monoplane
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Shapley Aircraft Limited
Designer Errol Spencer Shapley
First flight 1937
Produced 1937-1938
Number built 2

Development

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The Kittiwake was a monoplane with a gull wing and a fixed landing gear.[1] The first aircraft, a Mark 1 registered G-AEZN,[2] with a single-seat open cockpit was powered by a 50 hp (37 kW) Continental A50 piston engine and first flown at Roborough in June 1937, but was damaged in a crash landing later that year.[3] The second aircraft, a Mark 2 registered G-AFRP,[4] was a larger two-seat cabin monoplane powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Pobjoy Niagara III engine and first flown at Roborough in 1938.

The Mark 1 aircraft was dismantled before the Second World War.[5] The Mark 2 was stored during the war only to crash on Dartmoor in December 1946.[5]

Specifications (Mark 2)

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Data from [5]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 1
  • Length: 20 ft 10 in (6.35 m)
  • Wingspan: 32 ft 0 in (9.76 m)
  • Empty weight: 901 lb (409 kg)
  • Gross weight: 1,600 lb (726 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Pobjoy Niagara III , 90 hp (67 kW)

Performance

  • Cruise speed: 110 mph (176 km/h, 96 kn)

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Shapley". Flight. 24 March 1938. p. 282.
  2. ^ UK Civil Aviation Authority Aircraft Register G-AEZN
  3. ^ Ord-Hume 1976, p. 684.
  4. ^ UK Civil Aviation Authority Aircraft Register G-AFRP
  5. ^ a b c Jackson 1974, p. 296

Bibliography

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  • Jackson, A.J. (1974). British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 3. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-10014-X.
  • Ord-Hume, Arthur (December 1976). "British pre-war ultra-lights: No. 9: Shapley Kittiwake". Aeroplane Monthly. Vol. 4, no. 12. pp. 664–665.