Blackburn B2 History
Blackburn Aircraft built 42 Blackburn B2
trainers in the early 1930's. The aircraft was very similar in appearance to
the de Havilland Tiger Moth and was even powered by de Havilland's
Gipsy engine. The most obvious operational difference between the
two aircraft was the cockpit. In the B2 both trainer and trainee
pilots were seated side
by side, rather than in tandem with one in front of the other. The main difference
in construction was that the Blackburn B2 used a semi-monocoque all-metal fuselage
rather than the fabric covered wood used in the Moth.
In later years the side by side
seating arrangement used by the Blackburn B2 became favoured, but at the time of
it's introduction there was a preference for the
traditional tandem layout that could be found in all existing
RAF military biplane training
aircraft.
Blackburn B2 Biplane use in WW2
At the outbreak of WW2 both RAF
and privately owned B2 biplane trainers were transferred to the RAF's No
4 Elementary Flying Training School, who operated them until 1942, at
which time the surviving aircraft were designated as instructional
airframes for use by the Air Training Corps.
Various scale
models, model kits and plans of this aircraft have been available in
the market place.
Blackburn B2 Biplane Specifications:
Blackburn B2 Crew: Instructor and trainee
Blackburn B2 Length: 24 ft 3 in (7.39 m)
Blackburn B2 Wingspan: 30 ft 2 in (9.20 m)
Blackburn B2 Height: 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m)
Blackburn B2 Wing area: 246 ft² (22.9 m²)
Blackburn B2 Empty weight: 1,175 lb (534 kg)
Blackburn B2 Loaded weight: 1,850 lb (841 kg)
Blackburn B2 Engine: Single 120 hp (90 kW) de Havilland Gipsy III 4 cylinder
in-line engine
Blackburn B2 Maximum speed: 97 kn (112 mph, 180 km/h)
Blackburn B2 Cruise speed: 83 kn (95 mph, 153 km/h)
Blackburn B2 Range: 278 nmi (320 mi, 515 km)
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