The Robinson Redwing 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...

 two-seat single-engined biplane

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...

 light aircraft built in the UK

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...

 in 1930. Twelve were produced, selling mostly to Clubs; one aircraft survives.

Design and development

First flown in May 1930, the Robinson Redwing appeared at the peak of the boom in light aircraft enthusiasm in the UK. It was a single bay biplane with simple, parallel pairs of interplane struts. With only slight stagger, the wings were easy to fold. They had equal span and chord and were unswept, with straight and parallel edges apart from rounded tips and a wide cut-out at the centre of the trailing edge for pilot visibility. The fuselage was rectangular in cross section, tapering rearwards and with a rounded decking. It was plywood covered and carried a conventional tail with a broad chord fin and balanced rudder. The tailplane was fixed to the top of the fuselage and the elevators were divided to allow rudder movement. Pilot and passenger sat side by side under the upper wing. Ahead of them the fuselage tapered to the engine mounting. The wide track undercarriage was of split axle type, with main legs sloping forward from the wheels to the upper fuselage longerons and with a pair of bracing struts rearwards to the keel. The undercarriage was completed with a tailskid.

The first prototype, later known as the Redwing I flew under the power of a 75 hp (56 kW) A.B.C. Hornet

ABC Hornet

|-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6....

 flat four aircooled engine, but trials during the summer of 1930 suggested a different powerplant. As a result, the second Redwing flew with a 80 hp (60 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Genet IIA

Armstrong Siddeley Genet

-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.-External links:*...

 five cylinder radial, becoming known as the Redwing II. The next eight aircraft were also built as Redwing IIs, but the last two produced began as Redwing IIIs. These had wings of smaller span (24 ft 0 in compared with 30 ft 6 in) and much reduced wing area (154 sq ft compared with 250 sq ft) and wheel fairings, both modifications aimed at improved cross-country performance. The first of these was delivered in May 1933 but failed to get a Certificate of Airworthiness until refitted with full area wings in 1934; the second was returned to Redwing II standard before its sale.

Operational history

Most of the twelve Redwings built, including the two prototypes, went to aeroclubs. Six, for example went to the Eastern Counties Aeroplane Club. One of these, G-ABMJ was previously owned by, amongst others the comedian Will Hay. Eventually this machine was sold in Ireland and another in New Zealand. One of the principal problems encountered in club use was a tendency for the main undercarriage leg to break at the junction with the upper longeron. Spares became scarce, cannibalism broke out and the last club machine crashed out in the autumn of 1935.

The Redwing that travelled furthest was the ex-Mk III, G-ABRL which left Croydon

Croydon

Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...

, flown by Mrs Keith Miller, set for Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

. She crossed the Sahara after 21 days, reaching Gao

Gao

Gao is a town in eastern Mali on the River Niger lying ESE of Timbuktu. Situated on the left bank of the river at the junction with the Tilemsi valley, it is the capital of the Gao Region and had a population of 86,663 in 2009....

 in Mali

Mali

Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...

 on 24 January 1935. A few days later the aircraft had to make a forced landing and was wrecked on hitting a tree near Kotonu

Cotonou

-Demographics:*1979: 320,348 *1992: 536,827 *2002: 665,100 *2005: 690,584 The main languages spoken in Cotonou include the Fon language, Aja language, Yoruba language and French.-Transport:...

 in Benin

Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

.

The last surviving Redwing is G-ABNX. From sometime around the start of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 it was mostly in store, with only a brief outing in 1951; it was flying in the 1980s and had a permit to fly which expired in May 2003. In 2006 it was at Redhill Aerodrome

Redhill Aerodrome

Redhill Aerodrome is located southeast of Redhill, Surrey, England, in green belt land.Redhill Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee .-Early history:The airfield came into use in the...

 in non-flying condition.

After being owned by a consortium of owners during the 2000's it was recently purchased by an highly eccentric New Zealander, a grandson of the original NZ importer who is currently having the aircraft restored, as well as having, what will be the sole flying example of, a Genet Moth replica built from scratch.

Current whereabouts: Durley, near Southampton, Hants.

Airport bases

In 1930 the Robinson Redwing aircraft were built at the Robinson Aircraft company based in Croydon. In 1931, the company was reconstituted & became known as the Redwing Aircraft Co Ltd. In 1932, the designer & founder of the company John Kenworthy

John Kenworthy

John Kenworthy B.Sc., F.R.Aes was an English aviation engineer and aircraft designer.John Kenworthy appears in the 1901 Census of Darlington, aged 17, living with four sisters, one brother and his parents George and Ellen Kenworthy at 65 Greenbank Road, Darlington, County Durham...

 was appointed to the Board & the Aircraft Company moved the whole fleet of 12 aircraft to Gatwick. The aerodrome was also purchased & used as a new flying base. However, in 1934 the Redwing Aircraft Co., moved back to Croydon aerodrome.

Variants

• Redwing I -- prototype Hornet engine
• Redwing II -- production Genet engine
• Redwing III --- unsuccessful, with small wing, faired undercarriage

Specifications (Redwing II)