Comper Aircraft Company
Encyclopedia
The Comper Aircraft Company Ltd was a 1930s British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 light aircraft manufacturer. It was based at Hooton Aerodrome
Hooton Park
RAF Hooton Park, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, was a Royal Air Force station originally built for the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 as a training aerodrome for pilots in World War I. During the early/mid 1930s, it was one of the two airfields handling scheduled services for the Merseyside...

, Cheshire (1929-1933), and Heston Aerodrome
Heston Aerodrome
Heston Aerodrome was a 1930s airfield located to the west of London, UK, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex...

, Middlesex (1933-1934).

History

In April 1929, after leaving the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

, Nicholas Comper
Nicholas Comper
Nicholas Comper was an English aviator and aircraft designer, whose most notable success was the 1930s Comper Swift monoplane racer.-Early life:...

 formed the Comper Aircraft Company Ltd, based at Hooton Park Aerodrome near Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and port in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the south border of the Wirral Peninsula on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, which in turn gives access to the River...

 in Cheshire. Company directors included his brother Adrian Comper, his colleague Flt Lt J. Bernard Allen, George H Dawson, the owner of Hooton Park Aerodrome, and others. The company's first product was the Comper Swift
Comper Swift
-See also:-References:*Boughton, Terence. 1963. The Story of The British Light Aeroplane. John Murray*Meaden, Jack & Fillmore, Malcolm. . The Comper Lightplanes. Air-Britain Archive . Air-Britain. ISSN 02624923...

, a single-seat sporting monoplane. After the prototype flew in January 1930, 40 production examples were built at Hooton. In 1932, in a joint venture, the company produced a prototype of the Cierva C.25 autogyro
Autogyro
An autogyro , also known as gyroplane, gyrocopter, or rotaplane, is a type of rotorcraft which uses an unpowered rotor in autorotation to develop lift, and an engine-powered propeller, similar to that of a fixed-wing aircraft, to provide thrust...

, using major elements of a Comper Swift.

In March 1933, after producing about 41 aircraft, the company moved to Heston Aerodrome
Heston Aerodrome
Heston Aerodrome was a 1930s airfield located to the west of London, UK, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex...

 near London. The first aircraft built at Heston was the Mouse
Comper Mouse
-References:*Boughton, Terence. 1963. The Story of The British Light Aeroplane. John Murray*Lewis, Peter. 1970. British Racing and Record-Breaking Aircraft. Putnam ISBN 0370000676...

, that first flew in September 1933. Other single examples produced at Heston were the Comper Streak and Comper Kite.

After an expensive move in a financial depression, and new aircraft designs but few sales, the company ceased trading in August 1934. Most of the directors resigned, including Nick Comper, and a new board was formed, headed by Sir Norman J Watson and Brindley 'Bryn' R.S. Jones. The company was renamed Heston Aircraft Company
Heston Aircraft Company
Heston Aircraft Company was a British aircraft manufacturer based at Heston Aerodrome, Middlesex, England.Starting in 1934 the company produced a number of aircraft designs beginning with the Heston Phoenix and the Hordern-Richmond Autoplane. During the Second World War the company transitioned to...

 Ltd, effective 10 August 1934.

Aircraft

  • 1930 - Comper Swift
    Comper Swift
    -See also:-References:*Boughton, Terence. 1963. The Story of The British Light Aeroplane. John Murray*Meaden, Jack & Fillmore, Malcolm. . The Comper Lightplanes. Air-Britain Archive . Air-Britain. ISSN 02624923...

  • 1932 - Cierva C.25
  • 1933 - Comper Mouse
    Comper Mouse
    -References:*Boughton, Terence. 1963. The Story of The British Light Aeroplane. John Murray*Lewis, Peter. 1970. British Racing and Record-Breaking Aircraft. Putnam ISBN 0370000676...

  • 1934 - Comper Streak
    Comper Streak
    The Comper Streak was a single-engined, single-seat racing monoplane built in the UK in the mid-1930s. It was not successful as a racer and only one was produced.-Development:...

  • 1934 - Comper Kite

External links

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