The Sage Type 3 (also known as the Sage N3 School[1]) was a prototype British biplane training aircraft of the First World War. It was unsuccessful, only two examples being built.
| Sage Type 3 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Trainer aircraft |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Frederic Sage & Co. Limited |
| First flight | 5 January 1917 |
| Number built | 2 |
Development and design
editIn 1916, the British Admiralty placed a contract with Frederick Sage & Co, a Peterborough-based woodworking company which had become an aircraft contractor for the Royal Navy, to design and build a primary trainer for the Royal Naval Air Service. It was required to be robust, with a low landing speed and good visibility. The resultant design, the Sage Type 3, was a two-bay tractor biplane powered by a Rolls-Royce Hawk engine. In order to prevent the aircraft overturning during landing, it was fitted with an additional pair of wheels ahead of the mainwheels.[2][3]
The first prototype Type 3 flew on 5 January 1917. It proved to be slow, even for a trainer, and was modified with smaller tail surfaces and reduced weight, becoming the Type 3b (with the original design retrospectively designated Type 3a), which slightly improved performance.[4] However, after a second aircraft was built, the contract was cancelled, and the remaining aircraft of the contract for 30 Type 3s were unbuilt.[1] The type did form the basis for the Sage Type 4 floatplane, which was ordered into production but cancelled due to the end of the war.[5]
Specifications (Type 3b)
editData from British Aeroplanes 1914-18[4]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 32 ft 10 in (10.01 m)
- Wingspan: 34 ft 6 in (10.52 m)
- Height: 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
- Wing area: 330 sq ft (31 m2)
- Empty weight: 1,390 lb (630 kg)
- Gross weight: 1,980 lb (898 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 26 imp gal (31 US gal; 120 L)
- Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Hawk 6-cylinder liquid-cooled inline piston engine, 75 hp (56 kW)
- Propellers: 2-bladed, 8 ft (2.4 m) diameter
Performance
- Maximum speed: 76 mph (122 km/h, 66 kn) at sea level
- Range: 315 mi (507 km, 274 nmi) [6]
- Endurance: 4 hr
- Service ceiling: 9,000 ft (2,700 m)
See also
editRelated development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Notes
editReferences
edit- Bruce, J. M. British Aeroplanes 1914-18. London: Putnam, 1957.
- ""Milestones" The Sage Machines". Flight, 24 July 1919, pp. 971–975.
- Uppendaun, Bob. "Sage-Like Thoughts:The Products of Frederick Sage & Co". Air Enthusiast, No.110, March/April 2004, pp. 68–69.