Comper Aircraft
An RAF flight lieutenant built a pocket racer with room for one pilot and a set of golf clubs; the Prince of Wales raced one, a Swift flew to Australia in nine days, and the company lasted five years.
Comper Aircraft: the company and the aircraft that made its name
A flight lieutenant’s pocket racer
Flight Lieutenant Nicholas Comper had already designed light aircraft for the Cranwell flying club when he left the RAF in 1929 and formed the Comper Aircraft Company at Hooton Park near Ellesmere Port, with his brother Adrian among the directors. His first product was the Comper Swift, a tiny single-seat high-wing monoplane designed to give the pilot a clear view and two-seater performance on a small engine. The prototype flew at Hooton in January 1930.
Nine days to Darwin
The Swift was a hit with sporting pilots. Arthur Butler flew one from England to Darwin in just over nine days in 1931; another, owned by the Prince of Wales and flown by Edward Fielden, came second in the 1932 King’s Cup, and the young Alex Henshaw won the Siddeley Trophy in a Swift in 1933. Swifts appeared in every King’s Cup from 1930 to 1937 and were still racing in the 1950s. About 45 were built.
An expensive move south
In 1932 Comper built the prototype Cierva C.25 autogyro using Swift parts. In March 1933 the firm moved to Heston near London, where it built single examples of the Mouse, Streak and Kite. Few sold in the Depression, and in August 1934 Nick Comper and most of the board resigned. On 10 August the company became Heston Aircraft.
Comper Aircraft in numbers
Společnost
- Stručně řečeno
- Založeno 1929
- Formed by ex-RAF officer Nicholas Comper
- Based at Hooton Park 1929–1933, Heston 1933–1934
- Renamed Heston Aircraft in August 1934
Výroba
- Nejznámější pro
- Comper Swift
- About 45 Swifts built
- Prototype Cierva C.25 autogyro
- One-offs: Mouse, Streak, Kite
Dnes
- Teď
- Became Heston Aircraft
- Swifts still flying, including G-ACTF with the Shuttleworth Collection
Čísla
- Comper Swifts built
- asi 45
- Aircraft built at Hooton
- about 41
Every notable Comper Aircraft aircraft
| Letadlo | Role | První let | Postavený | Postavení | Poznámka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comper Swift | Single-seat sporting monoplane | January 1930 | asi 45 | V důchodu | Racing and long-distance touring; several survive |
| Cierva C.25 | Autogyro prototype | 1932 | 1 | V důchodu | Joint venture using Swift components |
| Comper Mouse | Three-seat cabin monoplane | September 1933 | 1 | V důchodu | First aircraft built at Heston |
| Comper Streak | Racer | 1934 | 1 | V důchodu | |
| Comper Kite | Two-seat monoplane | 1934 | 1 | V důchodu |
Where Comper Aircraft built, who led it, what it achieved
Továrny
- Hooton Park works · near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire — 1929–1933
- Heston works · Heston Aerodrome, Middlesex — 1933–1934
Lidé
- Nicholas Comper · founder, designer — Former RAF flight lieutenant
- Arthur Butler · pilot — England to Darwin in a Swift in 1931
- Alex Henshaw · pilot — Won the 1933 Siddeley Trophy in a Swift
Rekordy a prvenství
- England to Darwin in just over nine days, Arthur Butler, Swift G-ABRE, 1931
- Second place, 1932 King’s Cup, Prince of Wales’s Swift
Comper Aircraft, year by year
Comper Aircraft Company formed at Hooton Park
Swift prototype first flight
Butler flies a Swift to Darwin
Cierva C.25 prototype built
Move to Heston Aerodrome
Comper Mouse first flight
Renamed Heston Aircraft Company
Before and after Comper Aircraft
Everything people ask about Comper Aircraft
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Around Comper Aircraft
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Ověřeno 2026-10-03.