Heston Phoenix

infobox Aircraft
name = Type 1 Phoenix
type = Five-seat touring monoplane
manufacturer = Heston Aircraft Company Limited


caption =
designer = George Cornwall
first flight = 1935
introduced = 1936
retired = 1952
status =
primary user = Royal Air Force
more users =
produced = 1935-1937
number built = 6
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =

The Heston Type 1 Phoenix was a 1930s British single-engined five-seat light transport monoplane built by the Heston Aircraft Company Limited.

Design and development

The Type 1 Phoenix was the first design of the Heston Aircraft Company Limited formed in 1934. The Phoenix was a single-engined high-wing monoplane of wooden construction. It was powered by a 200hp (149 kW) de Havilland Gipsy VI engine and had a retractable tail-wheel undercarriage. It was the first British high-wing monoplane fitted with a hydraulically operated retractable undercarriage. The prototype, registered "G-ADAD", first flew at Heston Aerodrome on 18 August, 1935. One aircraft was sold in Australia, and the prototype was sold in Greece. The last three aircraft were fitted with an improved 205hp (153 kW) de Havilland Gipsy VI Series II with a de Havilland constant speed airscrew.

Operational history

The one Australian aircraft crashed shortly after delivery but the four British aircraft were used for charter flying. At the outbreak of the war all three surviving aircraft were impressed into service by the Royal Air Force. One aircraft survived military service to be sold in 1946 and mainly used for joyriding until destroyed in 1952.

Variants

;Phoenix I:Fitted with a 200hp de Havilland Gipsy VI Series I engine, three built.;Phoenix II:Fitted with a 205hp de Havilland Gipsy VI Series II engine, three built.

Operators

;UK
*Royal Air Force
** No. 24 Squadron RAF

pecifications (Phoenix II)

aerospecs
met or eng?= eng

crew=One
capacity=Four passengers
length m=9.19
length ft=30
length in=2
span m=12.29
span ft=40
span in=4
swept m=
swept ft=
swept in=
rot number=
rot dia m=
rot dia ft=
rot dia in=
dia m=
dia ft=
dia in=
width m=
width ft=
width in=
height m=2.62
height ft=8
height in=7
wing area sqm=24.15
wing area sqft=260
swept area sqm=
swept area sqft=
rot area sqm=
rot area sqft=
volume m3=
volume ft3=
aspect ratio=
empty weight kg=975
empty weight lb=2,150
gross weight kg=1497
gross weight lb=3,300
lift kg=
lift lb=

eng1 number=1
eng1 type=de Havilland Gipsy VI series II 6-cylinder inline piston engine
eng1 kw= 153
eng1 hp= 205

max speed kmh=241
max speed mph=150
cruise speed kmh=
cruise speed mph=
range km=805
range miles=500
endurance h=
endurance min=
ceiling m=6095
ceiling ft=20,000
glide ratio=
climb rate ms=
climb rate ftmin=850
sink rate ms=
sink rate ftmin=

armament1=
armament2=
armament3=
armament4=
armament5=
armament6=

ee also

aircontent

related=

similar aircraft=

sequence=

lists=
*List of aircraft of the RAF
see also=

References

*cite book |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985)|year= |publisher= Orbis Publishing|location= |issn=
*cite book |last= Jackson|first= A.J.|authorlink= |coauthors= |title= British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 3|year= 1988|publisher= Putnam|location= London|isbn=0 85177 818 6