Handley Page Heyford ideas

[pyro-manic]

JCF's photo back on page 1 (reply #2) shows it. The pic above may have been taken from another Heyford? Looks to be about level with the nose gunner's position.

[Weaver]

The enclosed cockpit version has me thinking of a shoulder wing monoplane development with long legs a la the Stirling. Might not be to difficult

Noticed that while I was doing the double-decker:

From the drawings in SAM the Heyford with the enclosed cockpit (very neat to my mind) had a fairing that went back over the wing to give some shelter for the mid-upper gunner. Try as I might I can't find a photo that shows that but it makes you wonder at the height of the ladder that the photog used too get that pic above! 

If I could only draw cartoons, I'd do this one:

Heyford crew are standing on top of their aircraft looking down at a bunch ground-crew who are standing, arms folded, in front of a ladder which they are very pointedly not giving to them. One of them is holding a placard saying "ON STRIKE". The co-pilot is whispering to the pilot, "Do you think we'd get into trouble if we used our parachutes?"

[jcf]

Good view of the enclosed cockpit:

Based on the position of the radiator housing, behind the oleo-logs, and the top of the engine
cowling being in line with the top of the wing, engine-bearers raised 18 inches, that is K3503.
The pilot's enclosure of K4029 was more humped with longer clear side panels. Both aircraft
the raised decking for the rear gunner.


K4029

As mentioned previously amongst the mods proposed for K3503 was the fitting of Pegasus IV engines.
I wonder how the standard Pegasus nose parts of the Matchbox Wellesley line up to the Heyford nacelles? 
K3503 was also used for trials supporting nose turret designs, eventually both K3503 and K4029 were
rebuilt to Heyford III standard and issued to No.166 Squadron.

The Heyford (H.P. 38 and H.P. 50) chapter of Handley Page Aircraft since 1907 by C.H. Barnes
has excellent coverage of the developmental background and use of the Heyford.

The monoplane Heyford looks French. 

[NARSES2]

The monoplane Heyford looks French. 

I can see your reasoning but it's not quite ungainly enough in my view. Would need a few more struts and angles/greenhouse around the nose 

[Howard of Effingham]

hmm, as a card carrying member of the handley page association i'm not sure what to say to all this HP wiffery, but i do like that all blue heyford floatplane.

very eyecatching indeed.

i wonder if a heyford fitted early merlin engines as a test bed a/c would work, or as a bomber trainer a/c perhaps with an turret of the type fitted to the
airspeed oxford or avro anson. both these ideas need a bit more thought on them on my part.

[aston]

Why were enclosed cockpits not adopted earlier? The advantages must have been obvious. Flying in winter at altitude in open cockpits must have been hard to endure surely, not to mention rain?

[jcf]

Interesting what you can miss in a book you've had for years and then find whilst looking for summat else. 
To whit, a profile pic of K4029 in Heyford II guise in Lumsden's British Piston Aero-engines:


... and from the same book, the starting arrangements for the Kestrels on the Heyford:


Chris, add two more Kestrels as pushers, the nose turret from the B-P Overstrand and add
back the big fixed, panted undercarriage and it would complete the Gaulification. 

[PR19_Kit]

Interesting that the Kestrels in the pic above show totally different exhausts to those in most other pics and in the M'box kit.

[Rheged]

The ground crew struggled to rewind the elastic band, but eventually the machine was ready for take-off

[Weaver]

Everything was big on the Heyford, even the spark plug spanners.....

[ericr]

hmm, as a card carrying member of the handley page association i'm not sure what to say to all this HP wiffery, but i do like that all blue heyford floatplane.

very eyecatching indeed.

thank you, especially from a HP specialist 

The floats arrangement was inspired by other large floatplanes like the Blackburn G.P.



which makes it a nearly "plausible whif"

and the blue is indeed eyecatching, I also use red and yellow 

[NARSES2]

Chris, add two more Kestrels as pushers, the nose turret from the B-P Overstrand and add
back the big fixed, panted undercarriage and it would complete the Gaulification. 

Now we're cooking with gas 

[jcf]

Interesting that the Kestrels in the pic above show totally different exhausts to those in most other pics and in the M'box kit.

The aircraft is the first production Heyford I, the exhaust system went through a variety of forms on the original
H.P. 38 prototype and the early production aircraft.

[Weaver]

Chris, add two more Kestrels as pushers, the nose turret from the B-P Overstrand and add
back the big fixed, panted undercarriage and it would complete the Gaulification. 

Now we're cooking with gas 

Shouldn't that be "cooking with garlic"? 

[Howard of Effingham]

Chris, add two more Kestrels as pushers, the nose turret from the B-P Overstrand and add
back the big fixed, panted undercarriage and it would complete the Gaulification. 

Now we're cooking with gas 

Shouldn't that be "cooking with garlic"? 

aren't we drifting oh ever-so slightly off topic here?