| Swift | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Single-seat sporting aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Comper Aircraft Company |
| Designed by | Nicholas Comper |
| Maiden flight | 1930 |
| Produced | 1930-1933 |
| Number built | 45 |
The Comper C.L.A.7 Swift was a British 1930s single-seat sporting aircraft produced by Comper Aircraft Company of Hooton Park.
Contents |
Design and development
In March 1929 when Flight Lieutenant Nicholas Comper left the Royal Air Force he formed the Comper Aircraft Company to build an aircraft he had designed, the Comper Swift. The Prototype (registered G-AARX) first flew at Brooklands on 17 May 1930. The aircraft was a small but graceful single-seat, braced high-wing monoplane of wooden construction. The prototype was powered by a 40 hp (30 kW) A.B.C Scorpion piston engine. After successful tests seven more aircraft were built in 1930 powered by a 50 hp Salmson A.D.9 radial engine. Trials with Pobjoy P radial engine for use in air racing resulted in all the following aircraft being powered by the Pobjoy R. The last three aircraft (sometimes called the Gipsy Swift) were fitted with de Havilland Gipsy engines - two with 120 hp (89 kW) Gipsy Major III and one with a 130hp (97 kW) Gipsy Major.
Survivors
One flyable aircraft (registered G-ACTF) built in 1932 is displayed at the Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden, England. A second one, registered EC-AAT and painted in the colors used by Fernando R. Loring for his Madrid-Manila raid (March 1933), flyes every first Sunday of the month at Cuatro Vientos airfield, on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain; belonging to the Fundación Infante de Orleans.
Specifications (C.L.A. Swift)
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 17 ft 8½ in (5.4 m)
- Wingspan: 24 ft 0 in (7.32 m)
- Height: 5 ft 3½ in (1.61 m)
- Wing area: 90 ft² (8.36 m²)
- Empty weight: 540 lb (245 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 985 lb (447 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Pobjoy R radial piston, 75 hp (56 kw)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 140 mph (225 km/h)
- Range: 380 miles (611 km)
- Service ceiling 22,000 ft (6705 m)
References
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.
- Jackson, A.J. (1974). British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 1. London: Putnam. ISBN 0 370 10006 9.
External links
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