Parnall 382

Parnall 382

National origin: United Kingdom
Manufacturer: Parnall Aircraft Ltd
Designed by: Basil Henderson
First flight: 1939
Number built: 1
Developed from: Parnall Heck

The Parnall 382 was a 1930s British single-engined monoplane trainer aircraft with two open cockpits, designed and developed by Parnall Aircraft Ltd.

Design and development

The Parnall 382 was designed to meet UK Air Ministry Specification T.1/37 for an 'ab initio' trainer, and was also known as the Parnall Heck III. Its competitors were the Heston T.1/37 and the Miles M.15. The Airspeed AS.36, General Aircraft GAL.32 and Percival P.20 were also proposed against specification T.1/37, but not accepted or built. None of the designs was selected for production orders; it has been suggested that the required performance could not be achieved within the constraints of the Specification.

Construction was primarily wooden, with plywood-skinned spruce frames. The cantilever oleo-pneumatic fixed main undercarriage legs were faired with spats. The undercarriage, tail unit and outer wing panels were adapted from the Parnall Heck 2C. The propeller was a de Havilland fixed-pitch type. Student and tutor sat in open, tandem cockpits, but the rear cockpit was later enclosed.

Operational history

One example of the Parnall 382 was built by Parnall Aircraft Ltd as a private venture project. The first flight was by G.A.C Warren at Yate Aerodrome in February 1939, with B conditions registration J1. In September 1939 it was registered G-AFKF. In June 1941, as the Parnall Heck III, it was allocated serial R9138 under contract 23979/39. In trials at the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at Martlesham Heath, it was assessed as pleasant to fly and generally good as a trainer. Notwithstanding a few modifications, no order was forthcoming, and it was SOC (struck off charge) on 5 March 1943. It was allocated the serial 3600M and ended its days as an Air Training Corps instructional airframe at Jones' West Monmouth School, Pontypool.

Specifications

Data from British Civil Aircraft Since 1919

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 28 ft 8 in (8.74 m)
Wingspan: 33 ft 6 in (10.21 m)
Height: 7 ft 9 in (3.66 m)
Wing area: 155 ft² (14.39 m²)
Airfoil: BH5
Empty weight: 1,655 lb (751 kg)
Loaded weight: 2,450 lb (1,112 kg)
Powerplant: 1x— de Havilland Gipsy Queen I 6-cylinder inverted inline, 200 hp (149 kW)
Propellers: fixed pitch propeller

Performance

Maximum speed: 155 mph (248 km/h)
Cruise speed: 135 mph (216 km/h)

Halley, James J. (1980), Royal Air Force Aircraft R1000-R9999, UK: Air-Britain, ISBN 0851300820
Jackson, A.J. (1974), British Civil Aircraft Since 1919 Volume 3, UK: Putnam & Company Ltd, p. 91, ISBN 037010014X
Revell, D.S. (1978), Under B Conditions, UK: Merseyside Aviation Society, ISBN 0902420240
Lukins, A.H.; Russell, D.A. (1945), The Book of Miles aircraft, Leicester: Harborough

Parnall 382 Pictures

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Source: WikiPedia