Vickers 61/74 Vulcan
In early 1921 design was initiated of the
Vickers Vulcan transport, a 49 ft 0 in (14.94 m) span biplane with a deep
oval-section fuselage completely filling the space between the equal-span
wings. It accommodated the pilot in an open cockpit forward of the upper
wing, with below and behind him a roomy enclosed cabin for six to eight
passengers. To limit selling price to the minimum the low-cost war-surplus
360 hp (268 kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engine was installed in the first
six aircraft (Type 61) to be completed, but as a number of performance
problems were encountered the last two examples (Type 74) had the 450 hp
(336 kW) Napier Lion. One of the early production aircraft was completed
as a cargo carrier (Type 63) for Air Ministry evaluation, but was
subsequently reconverted as a passenger carrier and used with one other
Eagle-powered and the two Lion-powered aircraft by Imperial Airways on
European service. However, their very limited reliability meant the Vulcan
had only a short useful life, only one or two surviving in service beyond
the mid-1920s.
Power Plant: One 360 h.p. Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII (Type 61)
One 450 h.p. Napier Lion (Type 74) Span: 49 ft 0 in Length: 37 ft 6 in (61) 38 ft 0 in (74)
Height: 14ft 3 in Weight (All-Up): 6,150 lb (61) 6,750 lb (74)
Max Speed: 105 m.p.h. (61) 112 m.p.h. (74) Range: 360 miles (61) 430 miles (74)
Crew: 1 Passengers: 6-8 Cost: £2,500
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