Clearly based on the Henri Farman III biplane the Bristol Boxkite was designed and built by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company in 1910, so similar was the design that Henri Farman threatened legal action! The name Bristol was applied retrospectively as a result of the company being re-named following the end of WWI.
When production ceased in 1914, a total of 76 Boxkites had been built, 60 being the military version with the upper wing extended by an additional 12 ft and were the first aircraft ordered by the British War Ministry for it's armed forces, the first being delivered in early 1911. The Bristol Boxkite was used as a single seat observation and two seat training aircraft by the armed forces of the following nations - Australia, Bulgaria, Russia, South Africa, Spain and the United Kingdom, small numbers remained in service with the UK's RFC and RNAS as two-seat training aircraft during the early part of WWI.
The aircraft pictured is one of three replicas made by G. Miles for the 1960's film "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines", after the films completion the two static and single airworthy airframes were bought by the Board of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, the airworthy airframe (G-ASPP) was presented to the Shuttleworth collection based at Old Warden Bedfordshire and remains airworthy to this day. Specifications: Bristol Boxkite (military spec) Crew: Pilot/observer only Length: 38 ft 6 in (11.73 m) Wingspan: 46 ft 6 in (14.17 m) Height: 11 ft 0 in (3.61 m) Empty weight: 900 lb (408 kg) Max takeoff weight: 1150 lb (522 kg) Engine: Single 50 hp (37 kW) Gnome rotary piston engine, Maximum speed: 40 mph (64 km/h)
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