For the Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 politician, see Gordon Dove (Louisiana politician)

Gordon Dove (Louisiana politician)

Gordon Earl Dove, Sr. , is a businessman from Houma, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 52 in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.-Background:...

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The Gordon Dove was a 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...

 low powered, low wing single seat monoplane

Monoplane

A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...

, built for the ultralight sports market in competition with aircraft like the Belgian designed Tipsy S. There was little enthusiasm for such machines in England in the late 1930s and only three were constructed.

Design and development

In 1935 Mervyn Chadwick and Raymond Gordon had come togther to develop the then popular Flying Flea

Flying Flea

The Flying Flea is a large family of light homebuilt aircraft first flown in 1933.-Development:The Flying Flea family of aircraft was designed by Frenchman Henri Mignet....

 or other low powered aircraft suited to a predicted market in low cost, single seat flying. The appearance in England of the single seat Tipsy S in the following summer suggested that a low winged cantilever monoplane might be more popular and safer, so they set out to produce an aircraft along the same lines. This became the Gordon Dove, built by Chadwick and Gordon's Premier Aircraft Constructions Ltd, formed in November 1936. Though some commentators have described this as "plagiarism" from the Tipsy, it was significantly different from its inspiration and easily distinguished when seen in the air, in plan view.

The wings of the Dove were strongly tapered to a narrow tip, though the straight leading edge was only slightly swept. Wide span ailerons covered much of the straight, forward swept, trailing edge. The wing was built around a main wooden box spar transversely braced to a subsidiary rear spar and plywood covered from the latter forward. Behind this rear spar the wing was fabric covered. The outer panels were readily detachable for transport. The wide track undercarriage had a single vertical long travel leg on each side to the main spar, with a small bracing strut forward. The first two of the three Doves built had their wheels enclosed in spats, with unfaired legs, but the third used trouser fairings.

The fuselage was a rectangular plywood covered structure, slender in plan. A 28 hp (21 kW) Aero Engines Sprite, an aircooled flat twin engine, was mounted on steel bearers and well streamlined. The single cockpit was over the wing, with a baggage compartment aft. The Dove was offered with an enclosed Coupé cockpit cover. The tail unit was built of fabric covered wood. Both horizontal and vertical surfaces were heavily revised for the third aircraft, though on all three, all control surfaces were horn balanced. The early machines had tailplanes which were strut braced to the top of the fin, with a straight leading edge of modest sweep and carrying generous, curved elevators. The fin was sharply triangular, but the rudder extended the leading edge line, was curved at the rear and ended above the elevators. On the third Dove the bracing was abandoned, the leading edge sweep increased and the elevators decreased in chord and made straight edged. Its vertical surfaces were altered to produce a more conventional shape, the rudder projecting less above the fin but continuing downwards between the elevators to the fuselage bottom.

The Dove G-AETU first flew on 3 March 1937 from Maylands Aerodrome, Romford

Romford

Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...

, with C. Oscroft at the controls. It was rapidly advertised for sale at £225, a price that included a flying course to pilot's licence standard at the Romford Flying Club (RFC), an organisation in which Chadwick and Gordon had financial interests. Alternatively, a kit of parts was offered at £165, though no kits were sold. The first aircraft was sold to RFC and a production line of seven aircraft was planned, though only two were built. Premier Aircraft Constructions went into Receivership in August 1938. The Dove's failure to sell was at least partly due to the lack of interest in England in single seat sports aircraft, particularly underpowered ones, an attitude that also led to the rapid abandonment of the production under licence of the Tipsy S. which had inspired the Dove. The second Dove was scrapped in May 1939 after being offered for sale complete at £90 and the first was destroyed in a fire in February 1940. The third aircraft was damaged in a forced landing in September 1937, after just two weeks of flight and was kept in store awaiting repair whilst efforts were made to sell it as found.

Specifications (first two aircraft)