In 1927 the Royal Air Force made known it's requirement for a replacement for their elementary trainer, the aging WW1 Avro 504, the new plane had to use Armstrong Sidderley's new Mongoose engine, furthermore the airframe had to be metal, or as the official specification said "have regards to the elimination of the Woodworking Fitter trades" The Hawker Tomtit was the steel & duralumin tubular airframe plane designed by chief designer Sidney Camm of Hawker to meet these requirements. The Prototype Hawker Tomtit first flew in November 1928 and served in a training role in the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, they were withdrawn from RAF service in 1935. The Picture above depicts K1786 which was the very last Tomtit built and the only representative of this type still flying, it is of interest that this particular aircraft was one of three used as a taxi by Alex Henshaw to travel from home to Castle Bromwich each day during WW2 when he was a test pilot at Supermarine. Alex Henshaw along with Ray Hanna, is recognised as one of the greatest Spitfire pilots ever! Hawker Tomtit Specifications: Crew: Pilot and trainee in tandem Span: 28' 6½" (9.70 m) Length: 23' 8" (7.21 m) Height: 8' 4" (2.54 m) Empty Weight: 1100 lb (499.0 kg) Loaded Weight: 1750 lb (793.8 kg) Maximum Speed: 124 mph (199.5 km/h) Service Ceiling: 19500' (5944 m) Engine: Armstrong Sidderley Mongoose 7 cylinder radial engine
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