Canadian Vickers Vedette

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Canadian Vickers Vedette
Role amphibious general aviation survey
Manufacturer
Canadian Vickers
Designer Wilfrid Thomas Reid (preliminary study by R.K.Pierson)
First flight 4 November 1924
Introduction 1925
Retired 1941
Primary users
Ontario Provincial Air Service
Manitoba Government Air Services
Servició de Aviación Militar de Chile
Produced 1924–1930
Number built 60[1] (plus two replicas)

The Canadian Vickers Vedette was the first aircraft designed and built in Canada to meet a specification for Canadian conditions. It was a single-engine biplane flying boat purchased to meet a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) demand for a smaller aircraft than the Vickers Viking with a much greater rate of climb, to be suitable for forestry survey and fire protection work. The type went on to have a long and distinguished career in civil operations in Canada. Most of the topographical maps in use in Canada today are based on photos taken from these aircraft.

Design and development

A historical plaque and a sculpture of a Vickers Vedette are installed at the waterfront in Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba.

Based on a preliminary design in early 1924 for a "flying boat" by

Canadian Vickers Limited of Longueuil, Quebec (formed in 1911) where Wilfrid Thomas Reid served as Chief Engineer.[2]

The prototype Vedette I was first flown on 4 November 1924, powered by a 200 hp (150 kW)

Wright J-4 and 215 hp (160 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engines for testing. Several versions of the Vedette were produced, including two amphibious versions and one with an enclosed cabin on an all-metal hull. With the exception of these major changes, most of the remaining differences between versions were relatively minor and not externally visible. Each version was produced with a range of optional engine types.[2]

Canadian Vickers Limited developed and produced a series of follow-up designs intended for use in the Canadian north (none were related design-wise to the Vedette):

Operational history

The first production example was provided to

Western Canada Airways
.

The Vedette featured prominently in a number of mercy missions, while some airmen discovered it was nearly ideal for aerial goose hunting, at least until a pilot was hit by a goose. The first Canadian to join the Caterpillar Club by using a parachute to escape from an aircraft did so from RCAF Vedette "ZF" on 17 May 1929. The pilot, C.S. (Jack) Caldwell, while testing the aircraft at the Canadian Vickers factory, entered an uncontrollable spin after the engine failed and bailed out successfully over the St. Lawrence River.

The RCAF acquired one Wright J-4 engined Vedette I in 1925 and 18

Wright J-6 engine, featured a metal hull and an enclosed cockpit. A mark V was refurbished by the factory and as the sole Vam was given a new metal hull, as well as a new serial number (the last), but it retained its RCAF call sign as "ZD." The Mk VI and seven Vedette Va flying boats survived into wartime service, flying with No 4(BR) Squadron and the Seaplane and Bomber Reconnaissance Training School (later No 13 OT Sqn) in Vancouver
, BC until May 1941.

In addition to the RCAF, The Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan provincial governments used Vedettes extensively for scouting out forest fires in the heavily wooded areas of those provinces.

The company exported six

Santiago
, 569 miles (916 km) up the coast. At least one of the Vedettes (and possibly all six) was lost due to hurricane-force winds, which also caused the loss of two lives when one of the aircraft overturned while on the water.

Operators

Canada
Chile

Variants

Vedette I
Prototype (c/n 9) tested variously with
Wright J-4 and Armstrong Siddeley Lynx
engines.
Vedette II
Production version, modified rudder and other minor changes from prototype.
Vedette III & IV
Not built, but may have included an enclosed cabin transport.
Vedette V
Improved amphibian version, but most not equipped with wheels.
Vedette Va
Mk.V fitted with
Handley-Page
leading edge slots.
Vedette Vam
One off Mk.V (c/n 123/170) refurbished with metal hull.
Vedette VI
One off (c/n 163) with metal hull and
Handley-Page leading edge slots.[3]
Vassal I
Proposed variant using
Clark Y
airfoil section wings, not built.

Survivors

A Vickers Vedette replica at the Western Canada Aviation Museum, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (now the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada)

There are no original intact surviving examples of the Vickers Vedette known to exist. There are, however two replicas in Canadian museums.

The first is a replica of a Vedette V (CF-MAG) at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Unveiled on 24 May 2002, this replica was built using templates made from analyzing the remains of three separate Vedette wrecks. These fragments from three separate aircraft would form the groundwork for the creation of blueprints. This project took a group of more than 100 dedicated volunteers 22 years to complete. The build was aided by hand drawn plans created by one of the WCAM volunteers who had been employed by Canadian Vickers as a junior draughtsman. The replica was built according to airworthy standards of the 1920s, however the museum has no plans to fly it, and it has not been certified.

While three wrecks were used, the bulk of the information was contributed by CF-MAG. For this reason, it was decided to include this former registration number on the hull for historical authenticity.

The original CF-MAG was built in 1929 and was placed in storage until it was purchased by the Government of Manitoba in 1934, along with five ex-RCAF Vedettes (for $1 each) to be used for forest fire patrols. In 1937, the engine of CF-MAG failed while on a flight to Cormorant Lake, Manitoba. The pilot touched down in a swamp, then walked to an area where he could be rescued. A week later, an attempt was made to retrieve the downed aircraft, but the swamp was too small to permit takeoff. After all the usable parts were salvaged, the hull was soaked with fuel and the Vedette set on fire.[4]

A second wreck was recovered (G-CASW), which had crashed into a mountain on Porcher Island British Columbia while conducting a forest fire survey and was also recovered to aid in the design and blueprinting by WCAM.

Finally, preserved pieces of a third Vedette were loaned to the museum by the National Aeronautical Museum in Ottawa.[5]

The second replica is on display at the

Saskatchewan Western Development Museum In 2003, the WDM acquired part of an original hull, which is displayed as an artifact in condition as found. With plans loaned from the Western Canada Aviation Museum, a group of volunteers from the Vintage Aircraft Restorers undertook the construction. It has been completed as of early 2017.[6]
In 2014, the VAR Vendette Project won a Ninety-Nines Canadian Award in Aviation.

Specifications (Mk II, Lynx engine)

Canadian Vickers Vedette 3-view drawing from L'Air June 1, 1927

Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928,[7] The Canadian Vickers Vedette, Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal, October 1964.[8]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 3
  • Length: 32 ft 10 in (10.0 m)
  • Wingspan: 42 ft 0 in (12.8 m)
  • Height: 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m)
  • Wing area: 483 sq ft (44.9 m2)
  • Airfoil: RAF 15
  • Empty weight: 1,849 lb (839 kg)
  • Gross weight: 3,049 lb (1,383 kg)
  • Fuel capacity: 535 lb (243 kg) fuel and oil
  • Powerplant: 1 ×
    Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IV
    7-cyliner air-cooled radial piston engine, 187 hp (139 kW)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed fixed pitch pusher propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 59 mph (95 km/h, 51 kn) at sea level; 87 mph (76 kn; 140 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
  • Cruise speed: 47 mph (75 km/h, 40 kn) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m)
  • Endurance: 5 hours
  • Service ceiling: 13,000 ft (4,000 m)
  • Rate of climb: 650 ft/min (3.3 m/s)
  • Time to altitude: 10,000 ft (3,000 m) in 30 minutes
  • Wing loading: 6.28 lb/sq ft (30.7 kg/m2)
  • Power/mass: 0.059 hp/lb (0.097 kW/kg)

See also

Related lists

References

  1. ^ "History of Flight#CanadianVickersVedette". Canadian Historical Aircraft Association (old website). Archived from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-920002-11-0
    .
  3. ^ Grey, C.G., ed. (1931). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1931. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. pp. 82c–83c.
  4. ^ "Vickers Vedette, CF-MAG | Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada". www.royalaviationmuseum.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Vedette–Return of a Classic". Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  6. ^ Lowe, Angie (19 February 2017). "1924 Vickers Vedette Flying Boat Full Restoration Complete". Discover Moose Jaw / Golden West Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  7. ^ Grey, C.G., ed. (1928). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. pp. 68c–69c.
  8. ^ Molson, Kenneth M. (October 1964). "The Canadian Vickers Vedette". Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal.

Further reading

External links

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