Canadian Vickers Vigil

The Canadian Vickers Vigil was a single-seat patrol aircraft designed to meet a Royal Canadian Air Force requirement for a forest fire patrol aircraft.

Design and development

In 1926 the RCAF issued specifications for an aircraft to replace the Airco DH.4 aircraft used at the time. Canadian Vickers designed the Vigil which had steel wings, aluminum skin, and was a strut-braced sesquiplane. The aircraft was overweight, which impacted the aircraft service ceiling and performance, which in turn made it unsuitable for its role. Only one was ever built.

Operational history

Unfit for its intended role, the aircraft was sent to Rockcliffe Air Station in Ottawa, Ontario. It was used by pilots stationed there for profiency flying. The aircraft was used for airmail deliveries to Maritime Canada between January 1929 until February 1929. About a year later, the need for repair and overhaul became necessary and after assesment it was determined this was not cost effective, so the aircraft was scraped.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 8.23 m (27 ft 0 in)
• Wingspan: 10.8 m (35 ft 5¼ in)
• Height: 3.45 m (11 ft 4 in)
• Wing area: 26.01 sq m (280 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 910 kg (2,005 lb)
• Loaded weight: 1,248 kg (2,750 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IV radial engine radial engine, 134 kW (180 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 186 km/h (116 mph)
• Cruise speed: 153 km/h (95 mph)
• Service ceiling: 3,962 m (13,000 ft)

References

• [1]
• [2]

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Canadian Vickers Vigil".