Handley Page Type F

In layout and general appearance the Type F was similar to the earlier Type D and its contemporary, the Type E. Like them, the wings of the Type F had a strongly curved leading edge and a straight but swept-back trailing edge. They were wire braced above and below with the upper wires attached to a four-strut pyramidal pylon above the cockpit and below to the undercarriage structure, which was very similar to that of the Type E. Lateral control was by wing warping; the outer 40% of each wing was relatively flexible and could be twisted by wires running from the cockpit via the pylon to kingposts at 60% span. The Type F did not have the chord extensions seen on the outer parts of the Type E's wings.^[1]

The Type F had a deep rectangular cross-section fuselage, narrowing to the rear, with fairings above and below for streamlining.^[1] The 70 hp (52 kW) Gnome rotary engine was completely enclosed in a snub-nosed cowling. The two crew sat side by side, as the military specification required, in an open cockpit at mid-wing. The observer, sitting on the left had a downward view through a windowed hatch. Elsewhere the aircraft was fabric-covered. The tailplane had a circular leading edge curving though a little more than 180° and carried split elevators with scalloped trailing edges. There was no fixed fin, only a rudder of irregular six-sided (five of them concave) shape. It had a tailskid formed from a pair of cane hoops.^[1]

In August 1912 it was taken, untested, from the factory at Barking (it was the last Handley Page aircraft built there) to the military trials at Larkhill.^[1] It flew there for the first time on 21 August, coping with the windy conditions quite well though showing the side-to-side wallowing that had also been experienced with the Type E before its wing warping lateral control was replaced by ailerons. The next day the engine failed soon after takeoff and a wing and the undercarriage were seriously damaged in the resulting crosswind landing. The Type F was withdrawn from the trials and returned to the new factory at Cricklewood for repairs. It was in the air again in early November, flown with enthusiasm with a variety of passengers by Wilfred Parke on most days.^[1] The Type F was lost on 15 December 1912 when engine failure led to the death of Parke and his passenger, Alfred Arkell Hardwick.^[2] In the retrospective type redesignation of 1924, the Type F became the H.P.6.^[3]

Data from Barnes & James 1987, pp. 63

General characteristics

• Crew: two
• Length: 30 ft 2 in (9.2 m)
• Wingspan: 43 ft 6 in (13.7 m)
• Height: 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m) ^[4]
• Wing area: 250 sq ft (23.2 m²)
• Empty weight: 850 lb (386 kg)
• Gross weight: 1,450 lb (657 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Gnome rotary , 70 hp (52 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 55 mph (88 km/h, 48 kn)

Description in Flight magazine, 26 October 1912