An aeroplane without a tail flies in the 1920s.
This video has no sound
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Short Summary
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Description
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Data
- Film ID:
- 2342.08
- Media URN:
- 75190
- Group:
- Old negatives
- Archive:
- British Pathé
- Issue Date:
- 1920 - 1930
- Sound:
- Silent
- HD Format:
- Available on request
- Stock:
- Black & White
- Duration:
- 00:04:37:00
- Time in/Out:
- 01:15:48:00 / 01:20:25:00
- Canister:
- ON 218 I
steelpillow says
This is the Westland-Hill Pterodactyl Mk IC, one of a series designed by Capt. G.T.R. Hill and built by the Westland company.
The video shows off many of its unusual features, including its tailless swept wing, engine (Armstrong Siddeley Genet five-cylinder radial with two-bladed propeller) in pusher configuration behind the pilot, Pterodactyl nose art, split "electroscope" drag rudders, bicycle main undercarriage with small outrigger wheels and a habit of fore-aft pitching when taxiing on rough ground.
The location is either the Westland factory or RAE Farnborough, with the pilot most probably being Westland test pilot Harald Penrose, who flew it at both locations. The date is almost certainly 1930.