Saunders Valkyrie
Encyclopedia
The Saunders A.3 Valkyrie was a large three-engined biplane
flying boat
with a wooden hull built to an Air Ministry
specification. It was not found suitable for production and helped to confirm a preference for metal-hulled flying boats.
hull, circular apart from the shallow, curved planing
bottom. The fuselage had no internal bulkheads and was deliberately designed to be flexible so as to absorb the shocks of landing, though there was a rigid section under the wings. As with Saunders' other wooden aircraft, Valkyrie's hull was covered with Consuta
sewn stress-bearing plywood
. It accommodated a crew of five. There was a pair of open tandem cockpits with dual flying controls well forward of the wing leading edge. Below this, aft and in the hull were the navigation and radio operator's position, and further aft, behind the trailing edge there were two gunners' positions, roughly in tandem but offset port and starboard, each fitted with machine guns on Scarff ring
s. The gunner's cockpit in the nose was similarly equipped. There were bunks and living space for all five crew in the rigid part of the hull. The fin was large and angular, carrying the braced rectangular tailplane with unbalanced elevators above the top of the hull. The fin also carried a large and prominently balanced rudder with a rudder servo surface on outriggers.
The wings were of equal span and almost no stagger
, with slight sweep on the section outboard of the engines. These outboard sections each had two sets of simple vertical interplane strut
s, carried balanced ailerons on upper and lower planes and a V-bottomed stabilising float mounted clear of the lower wing. The wings were wooden structures with canvas covering, as was the upper centre section. The lower wing centre section was Consuta covered, mounted on a low pylon on the hull and braced to it with large N shaped struts. The centre sections were joined by three sets of steel V-form struts, from which the Valkyrie's three 680 hp (505 kW) Rolls-Royce Condor
water-cooled engines were mounted midway between the wings.
, Short Singapore and Supermarine Southampton
flying boats. This tour helped the Air Ministry to decide that the future of flying boats was with metal, rather than wooden hulls with their water absorbing properties. The sole Valkyrie was broken up in 1929.
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
with a wooden hull built to an Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
specification. It was not found suitable for production and helped to confirm a preference for metal-hulled flying boats.
Development
The Saunders A.3 Valkyrie was built in response to Air Ministry specification 22/24 for a large general duty and patrol flying boat, Saunders receiving an order for a single prototype for trials in February 1925. It was a three-engined biplane with a two step monocoqueMonocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
hull, circular apart from the shallow, curved planing
Planing (sailing)
Planing is the mode of operation for a waterborne craft in which its weight is predominantly supported by hydrodynamic lift, rather than hydrostatic lift .-History:...
bottom. The fuselage had no internal bulkheads and was deliberately designed to be flexible so as to absorb the shocks of landing, though there was a rigid section under the wings. As with Saunders' other wooden aircraft, Valkyrie's hull was covered with Consuta
Consuta
Consuta was a revolutionary form of construction of watertight hulls for boats and marine aircraft, comprising four veneers of mahogany planking interleaved with waterproofed calico and stitched together with copper wire....
sewn stress-bearing plywood
Plywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...
. It accommodated a crew of five. There was a pair of open tandem cockpits with dual flying controls well forward of the wing leading edge. Below this, aft and in the hull were the navigation and radio operator's position, and further aft, behind the trailing edge there were two gunners' positions, roughly in tandem but offset port and starboard, each fitted with machine guns on Scarff ring
Scarff ring
The Scarff ring was a type of machine gun mounting developed during the First World War by Warrant Officer F. W. Scarff of the Admiralty Air Department for use on two-seater aircraft...
s. The gunner's cockpit in the nose was similarly equipped. There were bunks and living space for all five crew in the rigid part of the hull. The fin was large and angular, carrying the braced rectangular tailplane with unbalanced elevators above the top of the hull. The fin also carried a large and prominently balanced rudder with a rudder servo surface on outriggers.
The wings were of equal span and almost no stagger
Stagger (aviation)
In aviation stagger refers to the horizontal positioning of a biplane, triplane, or multiplane's wings in relation to one another.An aircraft is said to have positive stagger, or simply stagger, when the upper wing is positioned forward of the lower wing, such as the de Havilland Tiger Moth or...
, with slight sweep on the section outboard of the engines. These outboard sections each had two sets of simple vertical interplane strut
Interplane strut
An interplane strut is an aircraft airframe component designed to transmit lift and landing loads between wing panels on biplanes and other aircraft with multi-wing designs. They also maintain the correct angle of incidence for the connected wing panels and are often braced with wires...
s, carried balanced ailerons on upper and lower planes and a V-bottomed stabilising float mounted clear of the lower wing. The wings were wooden structures with canvas covering, as was the upper centre section. The lower wing centre section was Consuta covered, mounted on a low pylon on the hull and braced to it with large N shaped struts. The centre sections were joined by three sets of steel V-form struts, from which the Valkyrie's three 680 hp (505 kW) Rolls-Royce Condor
Rolls-Royce Condor
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.-External links:*...
water-cooled engines were mounted midway between the wings.
Operational history
The Valkyrie flew for the first time around June 1926 in the hands of Frank Courtney and went to Air Ministry trials in the late Spring of 1927 where the overall assessment was unenthusiastic. Nonetheless, in August the Valkyrie joined a Scandinavian tour, organised by the Flying Boat Development Flight, together with Blackburn IrisBlackburn Iris
The Blackburn Iris was a British three-engined biplane flying boat of the 1920s. Although only five Irises were built, it was used as a long-ranged maritime reconnaissance aircraft by the Royal Air Force, where it equipped a squadron for 4 years, being used to carry out a number of notable...
, Short Singapore and Supermarine Southampton
Supermarine Southampton
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914 . London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
flying boats. This tour helped the Air Ministry to decide that the future of flying boats was with metal, rather than wooden hulls with their water absorbing properties. The sole Valkyrie was broken up in 1929.