ヘストン・エアクラフト
Comper’s successor at Heston built a handful of elegant one-offs, including a Napier Sabre-powered racer meant to take the world speed record, then spent the war fitting cameras to reconnaissance Spitfires.
Heston Aircraft: the company and the aircraft that made its name
Out of Comper’s ashes
Heston Aircraft was born on 10 August 1934 when the struggling Comper Aircraft Company at Heston Aerodrome was renamed and handed to a new board under Sir Norman Watson. George Cornwall became chief designer and Edmund Hordern chief test pilot. Its first design, the ヘストン・フェニックス, was a sleek five-seat retractable-undercarriage monoplane for private owners; six were completed between 1935 and 1939. Hordern also designed the twin-engined Autoplane with the Duke of Richmond and Gordon.
Chasing the world speed record
The most spectacular project was the Type 5 Racer, conceived by Napier around its secret 24-cylinder Sabre engine and funded privately by Lord Nuffield to beat the world air speed record, with an estimated 480 mph in prospect. Built of wood with compregnated spars, it first flew on 12 June 1940. After five minutes the engine overheated, test pilot G.L.G. Richmond stalled it at about 30 feet, and it was wrecked. The second machine, 80 per cent complete, was abandoned.
Spitfires, Sea Hornets and steps
The war made Heston a repair and modification firm. From late 1940 it converted Spitfires for photographic reconnaissance, fitting cameras, extra fuel and modified canopies. After the war it turned Hornets into Sea Hornets for de Havilland, then traded as Hestair, building components, Comet passenger steps and servicing docks.
Heston Aircraft in numbers
会社
- 要するに
- 1934年設立
- Renamed from Comper Aircraft on 10 August 1934
- Board led by Sir Norman Watson
- Wartime repair and modification contractor
生産
- 最もよく知られているのは
- ヘストン・フェニックス
- Six Phoenix cabin monoplanes
- Napier-Heston Type 5 Racer
- T.1/37 trainer, JC.6, Boulton Paul P.92/2
今日
- 今
- 廃止
- Later traded as Hestair in ground equipment and components
数字
- Heston Phoenix built
- 61935年～1939年
- Type 5 Racer estimated top speed
- 480 mph
Every notable Heston Aircraft aircraft
| 航空機 | 役割 | 初飛行 | 建設済み | 状態 | 注記 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ヘストン・フェニックス | Five-seat cabin monoplane | 1935 | 6 | 退職 | |
| Hordern-Richmond Autoplane | Twin-engine two-seater | 1936 | 1 | 退職 | |
| Heston T.1/37 | Trainer prototype | 1938 | 2 | 退職 | Not selected for the RAF |
| Napier-Heston Type 5 Racer | 速度記録機 | 12 June 1940 | 1 | 退職 | Crashed on first flight; second 80% complete |
| Boulton Paul P.92/2 | Half-scale research aircraft | 1941 | 1 | 退職 | |
| Heston JC.6 (A.2/45) | 航空観測所 | 1947 | 2 | 退職 | Lost to the Auster AOP.6 |
| Youngman-Baynes High Lift | Flap research aircraft | 5 February 1948 | 1 | 退職 |
Where Heston Aircraft built, who led it, what it achieved
工場
- Heston works · Heston Aerodrome, Middlesex
人々
- George Cornwall · chief designer
- Edmund G. Hordern · chief test pilot — Designed the Autoplane
- G.L.G. Richmond · chief test pilot — Flew and crashed the Type 5 Racer in 1940
Heston Aircraft, year by year
Comper Aircraft renamed Heston Aircraft
Phoenix production begins
New company of the same name takes over the business
T.1/37 trainer flies; Napier orders two racers
Type 5 Racer first flight and crash
Begins photo-reconnaissance Spitfire conversions
Sea Hornet NF.21 conversion first flies
Youngman-Baynes High Lift first flight
Before and after Heston Aircraft
Everything people ask about Heston Aircraft
What was the Heston Type 5 Racer?
How is Heston Aircraft related to Comper?
What did Heston do in the Second World War?
How many Heston Phoenix were built?
Around Heston Aircraft
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2026年10月3日に確認済み。.