The Royal Aircraft Factory B. Most production aircraft were constructed under contract by various private companies, both established aircraft manufacturers and firms that had not previously built aircraft. The Be-was an all-metal biplane floatplane, with two open cockpits in tandem for the pilot and observer. The wings were brace but designed to be folded back for storage on a warship.
The float arrangement consisted of a large central float, with two smaller floats on the wings.
When was the Beaircraft invented? How much weight can a Beaircraft carry? What type of aircraft was f. How many aircraft were produced in be-2?
Apart from the power plant, the BEwas hardly different from the BE1. A 70hp Renault in-line engine was fitted to replace to the 60hp version, and. See full list on thevintageaviator.
A short decking was also fitted to the fuselage directly behind the engine which offered protection to the front cockpit. Other modifications were trialed such as an oleo type undercarriage and stabilizers (or fins) were mounted above the upper wing center section and a long span horizontal stabilizer. The wingspan was also later changed back to the original design of equal length. These became the main aircraft of the RFC that flew to France from Swingate Downs, Dover after the declaration of war against Germany. Little was noticeable in design between the BE2a and the BE2b.
Externally, there was a revised decking arrangement on the fuselage around the cockpits and internally, a new control layout and fuel system. The BE2b became a part of war-time legend when 2nd Lt. Rhodes Moorhouse became the first to be awarded the Victoria Cross for aerial action. Moorhouse conducted a bombing raid against the railway outside the Courtrai Station armed with a single 1pound bomb.
He descended to 3feet to ensure accuracy against the narrow railway which presented the BE2b as an easy target for rifle fire from the ground and nearby buildings. Produced in greater numbers than any other of its type, the BE2c introduced several new features to the basic design, leading to a more reliable and stable aircraft for its intended role of visual reconnaisance which included a mounted camera. A triangular vertical fin was added ahead of the rudder (later increased in area and rounded at the top) and the rounded horizontal stabilizer was replaced with a rectangular tailplane.
The first BE2cs kept the undercarriage skids but these were quickly replaced with various types of oleo main landing gear. The main innovation to the 2c was the use of staggered wings and true ailerons installed on both the upper and lower wings. The ailerons replaced the earlier wing-warping controls used on the 2a and the 2b.
Although never intended for armour, as the war escalated the BE2c carried a variety of weapons and soon found a role as a light-medium bomber.
Most of the two-seat aircraft carried a single mounted Lewis Gun for the observer in the front. The BE2d differed externally in that it had a small external mounted gravity tank under the upper port wing. The forward cockpit of the BE2d was different in shape with the side panels cut lower. Dual controls were another feature of this variant and although equal wing span was originally intende a shorter lower wing span was created during production. A number were modifie in factories or at squadron level and given BE2e type wings and tailplanes.
The standard engine for the BE2d was a 90hp RAF engine but many other types were fitted during its production. It is widely reported that the BE2d gained a miserable reputation amongst p. Wings of unequal span were again fitted with only one pair of interplane struts on either side and long extensions to the upper wings were braced by stream-line section wires. Like the BE2 it had dual controls which made it handy for flight training and a revised fuel system. A part of the new design featured horizontal tail surfaces with raked tips and a reduced area, coupled with an enlarged fin and rounded leading edge.
It was first test-flown on February 18. The BEwas a two-seater which became one of the longest serving and multi-functional aircraft of the first world war. With the hopes that the performance of the BE2e. Farman pusher biplane layout. British Army on the Western Front.
Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. Along with the single-seat D. I, when its built-in stability and lack of any defensive armament made it a sitting duck. Royal Aircraft Factory B. Curtiss F8C Helldiver. BEAircraft On The Ground – stock photo An antique biplane aircraft of WWvintage.
Sits on the ground and is silhouetted against a cloudy sky. Painted in the colours of the RFC. BEwas the principal aircraft type (shown opposite). Bleriot Experimental 2) was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland as a development of the B. The BEwas not a practical military design with the pilot at the rear having the best view and the observer sitting forward with his view obstructed by the wing.
The same year, the Spanish and Italian services were added. The lucky airman, named as Matthew Boddington, was rushed to hospital after his replica Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c crashed at Sywell aerodrome in Nottinghamshire.