Blackburn B-2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackburn_B-2

The Blackburn B-2 was a British biplane side-by-side trainer aircraft of the
1930s. Designed and built by Blackburn Aircraft, 42 were built.

The Blackburn B-2 was developed by Blackburn as a successor for its earlier
Bluebird IV trainer, retaining the layout and side-by-side seating of the
earlier aircraft, but having a semi-monocoque all-metal fuselage, instead of the
metal and fabric-covered fuselage used by the earlier aircraft. The single-bay
biplane wings were of similar structure to those of the Bluebird IV and could be
folded for easy storage. Leading edge slots were fitted to the upper wing to
improve low-speed handling, with ailerons on the lower wings only. The
conventional landing gear was fixed, with the mainwheels supported on telescopic
legs and a spung tailskid. The prototype B-2 (registered G-ABUW) first flew on
10 December 1932, powered by a 120 hp (89 kW) de Havilland Gipsy III engine,
although the 130 hp (97 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major and 120 hp Cirrus Hermes IV
engines were also fitted to production aircraft. Testing proved successful, with
the aircraft proving to be very manoeuvrable, and the first production aircraft
flew in 1932.


Role
Trainer

Manufacturer
Blackburn Aircraft

First flight
1931

Introduction
1932

Retired
1942

Primary user
Royal Air Force

Number built
42

Developed from
Blackburn Bluebird IV

The B-2 was aimed mainly at the military trainer market, and the prototype B-2
was shipped to Lisbon in September 1933 for evaluation by Portugal. Although it
performed well in the evaluation, the Portuguese preferred a tandem layout, and
purchased the de Havilland Tiger Moth. Although not successful in competing for
major military orders, the B-2 continued in production to equip civilian flying
schools in the United Kingdom that were busy training pilots for the Royal Air
Force under the RAF expansion scheme, with the B-2 equipping flying schools
owned by Blackburn at Brough Aerodrome and London Air Park, Hanworth. A total of
42 B-2s, including the prototype, were built, with production continuing until
1937.

The last three B-2s were sold to the Air Ministry and issued to the Brough
flying school where they were operated in RAF markings.

On the outbreak of the Second World War, the aircraft at Hanworth were moved to
Brough, where the two training schools merged, becoming No 4 Elementary Flying
Training School. The school at Brough continued to be operated by Blackburn,
with the aircraft remaining with civilian registrations (although they were
repainted with wartime training markings with yellow fuselages, camouflaged
wings and RAF roundels). The remaining aircraft were taken over by the RAF in
February 1942, being handed over to the Air Training Corps, where they were used
as instructional airframes.

Specifications (B-2)

General characteristics
Crew: two
Length: 24 ft 3 in (7.39 m)
Wingspan: 30 ft 2 in (9.20 m)
Height: 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m)
Wing area: 246 ft² (22.9 m²)
Empty weight: 1,175 lb (534 kg)
Loaded weight: 1,850 lb (841 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × de Havilland Gipsy III 4 cylinder in-line engine, 120 hp (90 kW)

Performance
Maximum speed: 97 kn (112 mph, 180 km/h)
Cruise speed: 83 kn (95 mph, 153 km/h)
Range: 278 nmi (320 mi, 515 km)
Rate of climb: 700 ft/min (3.6 m/s)
Wing loading: 7.52 lb/ft² (36.7 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.065 hp/lb (0.11 kW/kg)




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