Bristol Hydro no.120
Encyclopedia
The Hydro no.120 was a two-seat, single-engine biplane
configured as a single-float seaplane
. Built by Bristol in 1913, it was lost on its first flight.
joined the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, as Bristol was then known, in January 1912. The following January he designed a two-seat, single-engine single-float biplane. It was begun as a private venture but was purchased subject to acceptance trials by the Admiralty
. As it turned out, the aircraft did not survive long enough to undertake these trials. It received no Bristol type name at the time and as a pre-First World War type, it did not get a retrospective Type number in 1923. For that reason it is usually referred to by its Bristol construction number, 120, or as the Hydro no.120.
It was a single-bay biplane with unswept and unstaggered
wings. The circular section fuselage
was mounted between the wings with a gap below and unusual framed struts above at the centre section. The observer's cockpit was between these frames, the pilot sitting at the wing trailing edge. The 80 hp (60 kW) Gnome rotary engine
was enclosed in a close-fitting aluminium
cowling. The fuselage tapered to the tail, which in typical Coandă style comprised a nearly semi-circular fixed horizontal stabiliser
with a single elevator
, plus a balanced rudder
without a fixed fin. There was a single wide mahogany float built by Oscar Gnosspelius
, with a pair of water rudders at its rear. Two streamlined cylindrical wing-tip floats provided lateral stability.
No. 120's career was very brief. After several days on the water at Cowes
for tests, the Gnosspelius float became waterlogged and heavy. It was therefore replaced by a lightweight, purpose-built float from Saunders and Company of Cowes. On 15 April 1913, Harry Busteed took off successfully, only for the closely cowled engine to overheat and lose power. The subsequent heavy emergency landing destroyed the float, and the aircraft—though not its pilot—was lost.
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
configured as a single-float seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
. Built by Bristol in 1913, it was lost on its first flight.
Development
The French-educated Romanian aircraft designer Henri CoandăHenri Coanda
Henri Marie Coandă was a Romanian inventor, aerodynamics pioneer and builder of an experimental aircraft, the Coandă-1910 described by Coandă in the mid-1950s as the world's first jet, a controversial claim disputed by some and supported by others...
joined the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, as Bristol was then known, in January 1912. The following January he designed a two-seat, single-engine single-float biplane. It was begun as a private venture but was purchased subject to acceptance trials by the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
. As it turned out, the aircraft did not survive long enough to undertake these trials. It received no Bristol type name at the time and as a pre-First World War type, it did not get a retrospective Type number in 1923. For that reason it is usually referred to by its Bristol construction number, 120, or as the Hydro no.120.
It was a single-bay biplane with unswept and unstaggered
Stagger (aviation)
In aviation stagger refers to the horizontal positioning of a biplane, triplane, or multiplane's wings in relation to one another.An aircraft is said to have positive stagger, or simply stagger, when the upper wing is positioned forward of the lower wing, such as the de Havilland Tiger Moth or...
wings. The circular section fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
was mounted between the wings with a gap below and unusual framed struts above at the centre section. The observer's cockpit was between these frames, the pilot sitting at the wing trailing edge. The 80 hp (60 kW) Gnome rotary engine
Rotary engine
The rotary engine was an early type of internal-combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration, in which the crankshaft remained stationary and the entire cylinder block rotated around it...
was enclosed in a close-fitting aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
cowling. The fuselage tapered to the tail, which in typical Coandă style comprised a nearly semi-circular fixed horizontal stabiliser
Tailplane
A tailplane, also known as horizontal stabilizer , is a small lifting surface located on the tail behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplanes...
with a single elevator
Elevator (aircraft)
Elevators are flight control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which control the aircraft's orientation by changing the pitch of the aircraft, and so also the angle of attack of the wing. In simplified terms, they make the aircraft nose-up or nose-down...
, plus a balanced rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
without a fixed fin. There was a single wide mahogany float built by Oscar Gnosspelius
Oscar Gnosspelius
Major Oscar Theodor Gnosspelius was an English civil engineer and pioneer seaplane builder.Gnosspelius was born at Brookfield House, Maghull on 18 March 1878 the only son of Adolf Jonathan Gnosspelius.. He was educated in Bedford and later was to study civil engineering at the City and Guilds...
, with a pair of water rudders at its rear. Two streamlined cylindrical wing-tip floats provided lateral stability.
No. 120's career was very brief. After several days on the water at Cowes
Cowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
for tests, the Gnosspelius float became waterlogged and heavy. It was therefore replaced by a lightweight, purpose-built float from Saunders and Company of Cowes. On 15 April 1913, Harry Busteed took off successfully, only for the closely cowled engine to overheat and lose power. The subsequent heavy emergency landing destroyed the float, and the aircraft—though not its pilot—was lost.