C. F. Caunter
Encyclopedia
Cyril Francis Caunter, b. March 22, 1899, Ilford, Essex, d. April 10, 1988, was a British aviation historian and author.
of the Miles Aeroplane Company built a test prototype of the Caunter engine. Successful tests were carried out at Reading Aerodrome during the late 1930s.
In 1936 Caunter wrote Death of the War God, which was about the Second World War, which he scheduled in the novel to start in 1939. His publishers at that time were afraid of publishing it because of widespread anxiety of another conflict. Caunter mentions in his 1969 unpublished autobiography that his space novels were inspired by those of H.G. Wells but were written too soon to be popular in the 1970s.
The Caunter engine performed well at Reading Aerodrome with Frederick George Miles
, who proposed initial plans for forming a small engine company to produce it to install in a small, inexpensive design of airplane that would be sold in large numbers like Ford cars. The two-stroke engine design was cheaper to make than the usual four-stroke varieties of light aero engine.
Caunter worked at the Royal Aircraft Establishment
starting in the summer of 1937 in the aero engine department, writing some of the operational text books of the RAF aero engines, including the Rolls Royce
Merlin engine which powered the Hawker Hurricane
and Supermarine Spitfire
fighters.
The F.G. Miles firm at Reading was diverted to war production in 1938 and the Caunter engine was put aside. He sold the prototype which had done tests to Alvis
Ltd., Coventry
, for 2,000 pounds after the war.
Caunter eventually became the Chief Technical Librarian for the Establishment for the R.A.E. after a 1943 transfer.
In 1950, he joined the Science Museum
as keeper of the Road Transport Collections, beginning ten years of work documenting one of the finest collections in existence at the time. He began the process of restoring the collection. An 1888 1½ h.p. Benz three-wheeled car which had been purchased by the Science Museum in 1913 for 5 pounds and was one of the oldest cars in the world, was driven in the 1957 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
, as the No. 1 car, but its poor braking meant it did not finish. He fitted a second brake to it in 1958 and successfully completed the Run. Caunter wrote six HMSO books about Science Museum subjects during the 1950s.
When C.F. Caunter was at school he asked his Head Master, Fr. Ignatius Rice M.A., O.S.B.: "How is a book written?" He answered, with an understanding smile: "Soak yourself in your subject, and then write in the simplest English."
Caunter's first publication was a small handbook, Model Petrol Engines, published in 1920 by Percival Marshall Ltd., followed by Small Electric Lighting Sets, which he described as "bad, although it was published". Madness Opens The Door was written in 1931 in six weeks for 100 pounds. Pitman published Small Two-Stroke Aero Engines and Small Four-Stroke Aero Engines as well as Light Aero Engines and The Two-Cycle Engine. His HMSO official handbooks include The History and Development of Cycles.
The National Film Board of Canada
produced Full Circle, a vignette about Caunter returning to flight and college at the age of eighty.
C. F. Caunter was writer-in-residence at Glendon College
in 1979, completing his degree there that he started in 1916. He received his M.A. in June 1982; the thesis was "Hydrogen : A Transport Aircraft Fuel as Applied to the Ontario Scene."
Life
In 1932 he published the novel Madness Opens The Door, a space novel, and Ex-Gangster and Killers Must Die. Also during that year a book on aero engines entitled The Two-Cycle Engine was published, which describes his 60 hp two-stroke light aero engine. Frederick George MilesFrederick George Miles
Frederick George Miles was an English aircraft designer and manufacturer.-Early life:Miles was born on 22 March 1903 in Worthing Sussex the oldest of four sons of Frederick, a laundry proprietor, and his wife Esther. He left school...
of the Miles Aeroplane Company built a test prototype of the Caunter engine. Successful tests were carried out at Reading Aerodrome during the late 1930s.
In 1936 Caunter wrote Death of the War God, which was about the Second World War, which he scheduled in the novel to start in 1939. His publishers at that time were afraid of publishing it because of widespread anxiety of another conflict. Caunter mentions in his 1969 unpublished autobiography that his space novels were inspired by those of H.G. Wells but were written too soon to be popular in the 1970s.
The Caunter engine performed well at Reading Aerodrome with Frederick George Miles
Frederick George Miles
Frederick George Miles was an English aircraft designer and manufacturer.-Early life:Miles was born on 22 March 1903 in Worthing Sussex the oldest of four sons of Frederick, a laundry proprietor, and his wife Esther. He left school...
, who proposed initial plans for forming a small engine company to produce it to install in a small, inexpensive design of airplane that would be sold in large numbers like Ford cars. The two-stroke engine design was cheaper to make than the usual four-stroke varieties of light aero engine.
Caunter worked at the Royal Aircraft Establishment
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment , was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence , before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions.The first site was at Farnborough...
starting in the summer of 1937 in the aero engine department, writing some of the operational text books of the RAF aero engines, including the Rolls Royce
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
Merlin engine which powered the Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
and Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
fighters.
The F.G. Miles firm at Reading was diverted to war production in 1938 and the Caunter engine was put aside. He sold the prototype which had done tests to Alvis
Alvis
Alvis may refer to:*Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd, British luxury car and military vehicle manufacturer which later became Alvis plc*Alvis plc , a Defence contractor which acquired Alvis Cars and became the UK's largest armoured vehicle manufacturer*Alvis, a family surname in the United...
Ltd., Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, for 2,000 pounds after the war.
Caunter eventually became the Chief Technical Librarian for the Establishment for the R.A.E. after a 1943 transfer.
In 1950, he joined the Science Museum
Science museum
A science museum or a science centre is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in museology have broadened the range of...
as keeper of the Road Transport Collections, beginning ten years of work documenting one of the finest collections in existence at the time. He began the process of restoring the collection. An 1888 1½ h.p. Benz three-wheeled car which had been purchased by the Science Museum in 1913 for 5 pounds and was one of the oldest cars in the world, was driven in the 1957 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is the longest-running motoring event in the world. The first run was in 1896, and has taken place most years since then. To qualify, the cars must have been built before 1905...
, as the No. 1 car, but its poor braking meant it did not finish. He fitted a second brake to it in 1958 and successfully completed the Run. Caunter wrote six HMSO books about Science Museum subjects during the 1950s.
When C.F. Caunter was at school he asked his Head Master, Fr. Ignatius Rice M.A., O.S.B.: "How is a book written?" He answered, with an understanding smile: "Soak yourself in your subject, and then write in the simplest English."
Caunter's first publication was a small handbook, Model Petrol Engines, published in 1920 by Percival Marshall Ltd., followed by Small Electric Lighting Sets, which he described as "bad, although it was published". Madness Opens The Door was written in 1931 in six weeks for 100 pounds. Pitman published Small Two-Stroke Aero Engines and Small Four-Stroke Aero Engines as well as Light Aero Engines and The Two-Cycle Engine. His HMSO official handbooks include The History and Development of Cycles.
The National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
produced Full Circle, a vignette about Caunter returning to flight and college at the age of eighty.
C. F. Caunter was writer-in-residence at Glendon College
Glendon College
Glendon College is one of the two campuses of York University, Canada's third-largest university, in Toronto, Ontario. A bilingual liberal arts college with 84 full-time faculty members and a student population of about 2400, Glendon is located in midtown Toronto's Lawrence Park neighbourhood...
in 1979, completing his degree there that he started in 1916. He received his M.A. in June 1982; the thesis was "Hydrogen : A Transport Aircraft Fuel as Applied to the Ontario Scene."