R.A.S. monoplane
M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
R.A.S. Monoplane (R.A.S. Aeroplane Co., Gosport, Hampshire)
This tractor monoplane appeared in October 1910, but reports disappeared from the Press soon after and it was presumably unsuccessful on test.
The fuselage was an open braced girder of triangular section, the two top longerons and the struts being of circular section hickory wood; the bottom longeron was of rectangular section forming a keel which extended from below the engine to the tail. The fuselage rested on an undercarriage structure made mainly of steel tubing with two hickory cross members. A combination of air pressure with compression and tension springs provided the suspension of the fork mounted wheels. The tail wheel steered in unison with the rudder and was sprung by air and compression spring.
The tail unit comprised a one piece tailplane, adjustable for incidence, and triangular shaped elevator. Both the fin and the rudder were triangular in shape, with a small rudder below the tailplane on an extension of the rudder post. A further fin was fitted below the pilot's seat.
The wing was built with a main spar which, in combination with the top and bottom bracing, contained the compression loads without loading the fuselage. The full span rear spar could be rocked bodily to provide lateral warping control activated by a system of cables and pulleys to a wheel on the horizontal control shaft; the elevator was operated by the fore and aft movement of this wheel. Foot pedals controlled the rudder and tail wheel.
Power: 35hp Lascelles four-cylinder air-cooled fantype semiradial driving a 7ft diameter propeller
Data
Span 32ft.4in
Chord 7ft tapering to 6ft 6in
Area 210 sq. ft
Length 28ft 6in
Weight allup 700lb.
P.Lewis British Aircraft 1809-1914 (Putnam)
R.A.S. Monoplane
The R.A.S. Monoplane was a single-seat tractor built during 1910 by the R.A.S. Aeroplane Co., of Gosport, Hants, its engine was the four-cylinder 35 h.p. Lascelles, which drove a 7 ft. diameter propeller. An unusual feature was the fin which was mounted below the triangular-section fuselage and underneath the pilot's seat. Span, 32 ft. 4 ins. Length, 28 ft. 6 ins. Wing area, 210 sq. ft. Weight empty, 700 lb.
