Armstrong Whitworth Ape

Ape
Type	Experimental biplane
Manufacturer	Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft
Maiden flight	1926
Number built	3

The Armstrong-Whitworth Ape was a biplane British experimental aeroplane built by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft in the early 1920s and first flown on 5 January 1926 to "answer all the questions of aerodynamics."

Development

The aircraft was designed to be "infinitely" adjustable: The fuselage could be lengthened or shortened, different fins and tailplanes could be fitted, the incidence angle of both the tailplane and the wings could be altered and the wings could be additionally changed in stagger, rake and dihedral. Curiously, the plane could not be converted to a monoplane configuration, nor could it be fitted with a more powerful engine. Additionally, the entire tail was a single unit and the incidence angle of the tailplane could not be changed without also changing that of the fin. It was equipped with a comparatively small 180hp Lynx engine that did not deliver nearly as much power as the relatively heavy plane needed, and certainly prohibited the Ape from experimenting to its full potential. The second Ape had a bigger engine than the first, but additional gadgets added weight that mostly negated the extra power.

The Ape would continue to see occasional use throughout the 1920s.

External Links

• British Aircraft Directory

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Armstrong Whitworth Ape".