M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
DUNNE-HUNTINGTON triplane
This unusual machine, variously referred to as a triplane, a biplane or a monoplane, was basically designed by Dunne during the winter of 1907-1908. The layout was passed to Professor Huntington, an active member of the Aero Club, to complete the detailed drawings. The machine was built by Short Bros, at Leysdown, and after a long gestation period, was flying at Eastchurch in April 1910. It went through a number of changes, and was still flying well in April 1913, its original design by this time being quite outdated.
When operating at Eastchurch in early 1910, the open fuselage structure was originally mounted on a three wheeled chassis and skid plus a tailwheel; later the nosewheel was removed and replaced by two semicircular skids at the front. The front wing was mounted at the nose and had considerable sweep back. On the same level, at the rear end, was a wing of parallel chord, with anhedral on the outboard section. This was also split diagonally to form triangular flaps for control in roll and pitch. The top wing was mounted above the central fuselage and braced to it by struts, and to the rear wing by vertical struts at the leading edge; also by raked struts to the front where the anhedral began. The area between the staggered struts was, at one time, filled in to form side curtains. The pilot was seated well forward of the biplane wings in the inner apex of the vee shaped front wing.
The engine was a Wolseley water-cooled unit mounted in the center, with the radiator placed well behind. It drove the twin tractor propellers through chains and shafts. A Gnome rotary replaced this heavy installation in 1912, in which form the machine was reported to reach 43 mph.
Power:
50hp Wolseley eight-cylinder, water-cooled vee driving twin tractor propellers.
70hp Gnome seven-cylinder air-cooled rotary.
Data
Span 59ft
Chord 10ft
Length 50ft
P.Lewis British Aircraft 1809-1914 (Putnam)
Dunne-Huntington Triplane
While the Blair Atholl experiments of 1906-9 were being undertaken, Lt. J. W. Dunne prepared sketches of a powered aircraft of a different lay-out from his sweptback tailless designs. The drawings were made during the winter of 1907-8, permission being granted by the War Office for them to be transferred, together with the patent, to Professor A. K. Huntington, under an agreement that he should prepare the final working drawings and then construct the machine immediately.
Professor Huntington received the designs from Dunne in the spring of 1908, and the aircraft was completed early in 1910. The upper wings were of straight planform, while the lower pair were positioned to the rear and were sweptback. Outboard of the interplane fins, the lower tips were given sharp anhedral with their rear triangular portions hinged to provide flying controls. The fore-planes were mounted in line with the lower wings, being braced to the rear wings and fitted on the nose of the open fuselage. The twin propellers were borne on shafts extending forwards from the lower rear wings, and were driven by chains from the water-cooled engine set behind the pilot, who was seated in an opening in the centre of the fore-planes. The engine's radiator was installed mid-way along the fuselage, and the undercarriage comprised a pair of coil-sprung main wheels with a third wheel at the rear of the machine.
Professor Huntington started testing the aircraft at Eastchurch during April, 1910, and although he managed to get it to take-off, the performance was not altogether satisfactory. For the next three years, during his spare time from his work in metallurgy at Kings College, London, he continued to experiment, altering the rear wings and changing the engine to a 70 h.p. Gnome rotary, so that by April, 1913, the Dunne-Huntington was flying well. Maximum speed, 43 m.p.h.
