Sopwith Gnu

Gnu

Manufacturer: Sopwith Aviation Company
Introduced: 1919
Number built: 13

The Sopwith Gnu was a 1910s British touring biplane designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company of Kingston-upon-Thames. It was one of the first cabin aircraft designed for civil use.

Design and development

Designed for the post-war civil market, the Gnu was a conventional equal-span biplane. It had an open cockpit for a pilot with seating for two passengers under a hinged and glazed roof. Most of the aircraft were powered by a 110hp Le Rhx´ne rotary engine. The enclosed passenger cabin was cramped and unpopular and most production aircraft had an open rear cockpit. One prototype and twelve production aircraft were built. A post-war slump ended production and the company had problems selling the aircraft although two aircraft were sold in Australia.

Operational history

The United Kingdom based aircraft were mainly used to provide joy-rides in the early 1920s. Two aircraft that were used for exhibition and stunt flying in the late 1920s both crashed. Most of the production aircraft were not sold and were dismantled, including four aircraft that remained unsold when the Sopwith Aviation Company folded in 1920. Two Australian aircraft were used by Australian Aerial Services Limited on the Adelaide to Sydney mail route.

Operators

Australia

Australian Aerial Services

Specifications (Gnu)

General characteristics

Crew: One (pilot)
Capacity: 2
Length: 25 ft 10 in (7.88 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 1 in (11.61 m)
Height: 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m)
Gross weight: 3,350 lb (1,520 kg)
Powerplant: 1 x— Le Rhx´ne rotary engine, 110 hp (82 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 93 mph (150 km/h)
Range: 300 miles (483 km)
Rate of climb: 645 ft/min (3.3 m/s)

A.J. Jackson, British Civil Aircraft since 1919 - Volume 3, Putnam, London 1988, ISBN 0 85177 818 6
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), Orbis Publishing.

Sopwith Gnu Pictures and Sopwith Gnu for Sale.

Living Warbirds: The best warbirds DVD series.

Source: WikiPedia