The Lympne Light Aircraft Trials were held to encourage the development of practical light aircraft for private ownership, with a strong but not exclusive emphasis on fuel economy. They were held in 1923, 1924 and 1926. Each year saw different restrictions on engine size, framed initially in terms of capacity and then weight. The Daily Mail newspaper provided cash prizes throughout though the initiating donation came from the Duke of Sutherland. The Air Ministry were prize givers in the 1924 event. The trials were held at Lympne in Kent, England.
The background
The Lympne events had their origin in the post-World War I state of aviation in Britain and in Germany. Military aircraft production stopped immediately after the war ended. In Britain there were large stocks of surplus aircraft available at low prices, making it hard for manufacturers to develop new models. Airlines were only slowly emerging, largely using converted military aeroplanes and having not found a certain economic model. The old fighters, though effective for barnstorming were not economical or practical enough for the private owner.
In Germany the manufacture of powered aircraft was forbidden under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, but glider development was allowed. In 1921 a glider competition was held in the Rhön mountains, and in mid-August 1922 another was held at the Wasserkuppe. The 1922 prize of 100,000 marks was won by a flight of 66 minutes, demonstrating the possibilities of engineless flight. In response, the Daily Mail offered a prize of £1,000 to the pilot making the longest flight in England. The Royal Aero Club chose Itford Hill on the South Downs just east of Brighton as a venue and the event was arranged for 16–21 October 1922. This gave contestants just six weeks to design and build their gliders, or to bring them from Europe. Thirteen gliders competed with each other and the autumn weather. The best flight by an Englishman was that made by Fred Raynham in a Handasyde aircraft, lasting 113 minutes, but the Frenchman Alexis Maneyrol did better in his Peyret tandem monoplane, staying up for a world record 201 minutes to win the prize. Given this demonstration of long duration unpowered flight it is not surprising that people began to consider the possibilities of glider-like aircraft, fitted with small engines, as sports aircraft for the private flyer. The first Lympne meeting the following year and its slightly earlier counterpart in Vauville near Cherbourg, France, were the result both of these ideas and a desire to build an aircraft which would satisfy the needs of private fliers and foster private aviation. Unfortunately, in the opinion of many, both at the time and later, the restrictions imposed resulted in aircraft that had too-small engines, wheels that were too thin and of small diameter and engines which, though under powered, were too heavy relative to the often fragile, light-weight frames in which they were housed. C. G. Grey, editor of 'The Aeroplane' at the time devoted two issues to "a four-page long diatribe" to the failures of the 1924 event and the author of 'The Lympne Trials' speaks of "a clear failure to understand what a private pilot or a flying club might need as a training aeroplane". Nevertheless, the trials did serve to stimulate public and industry interest in private aviation after the first world war and certainly exercised the ingenuity of designers to the maximum in complying with the restrictions placed upon them.
Venue and organisation Lympne Aerodrome is just west of the village of Lympne, on top of old sea cliffs near the coast and about 3 miles (5 km) WNW of the Kent port of Hythe. The events were organised and administrated by the Royal Aero Club.
1923 The first trial was held 8–13 October 1923.The Shuttleworth Aircraft CollectionHastingleigh, Kent: Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines: 1923 The official proper name was the motor-glider competition. The Duke of Sutherland, at that time Under-Secretary of State for Air got the competition moving, offering a prize of £500 for the most economical British aircraft. The Daily Mail offered a similar economy prize of £1000 for a flight of more than 50 miles over a 12.5-mile triangular course, powered by an engine of less than 750 cc capacity but for an aircraft from any nation. As a result, the competition began to be referred to as the Daily Mail Motor Glider Competition. Rules were few, but the newspaper's inclusion of a capacity limit with its generous prize was adopted by all entrants. Since a single-seat aircraft was bound to be lighter and more economical than a two-seater, all entrants were single-seaters.
The original intention was to fill the aircraft with one gallon of fuel and see how far they got. Seeing that this would lead to aircraft retrieval problems, the organisers decided that all flights must begin and end at Lypmne. Instead, each was fuelled over a gallon by a standard amount, landing when they judged they had insufficient fuel for another 12.5 miles. If they had used more than one gallon, the calculated consumption was pro rata; if they had used less than one gallon the consumption was nevertheless based on one gallon used.Flight 4 October 1923 pp. 602–3
Before an aircraft could enter the fuel economy test it was required to pass a demonstration of portability, called the transport test. Each aircraft had to prove it was capable of going through a standard field gate and then be wheeled along a country road for a mile using not more than two men. Because this limited the width of the aircraft to 7 ft 6in then the designs all featured either detachable or folding wings.
Also competed for were the £500 Abdulla Prize, donated by the Abdulla Tobacco Co. for the greatest speed over two laps of the same circuit and £150 each from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the British Cycle and Motor Cycle Manufacturers and Trade Unions for the greatest number of completed circuits during the whole competition.Flight, 11 October 1923 p. 626 Sir Charles Wakefield of Wakefield Oil (Castrol) offered £100 for the machine that attained the greatest altitude. These were large sums of money at a time when £80 would buy a sailplane in Germany. The object of the competition was to produce a motor glider that cost no more than £100.
The 1923 entrants were:Flight 18 October 1923 p. 636 Lympne 1923 entrants p. 149
Competition NumberRegistrationTypeEngine*PilotNotesNo. 1 Avro 558 biplaneB&H (Grigg)entered by Grigg Motor & Engineering Company of Twickenham. Probably did not attendNo. 2G-EBGNGnosspelius Gull TomtitJohn Lankester ParkerEntered by Major O.T. Gnosspelius and J.L. ParkerNo. 3G-EBNVEnglish Electric WrenABC flat twinMaurice WrightEntered by the English Electric CompanyNo. 4NoneEnglish Electric WrenABC flat twinWalter H. LongtonEntered by the English Electric CompanyNo. 5NoneAvro 558 B&H V-twinBert HinklerEntered by A.V.Roe & Co.No. 6NoneAvro 560TomtitBert Hinkler Entered by A.V.Roe & Co.No. 7G-EBHUGloster GannetCardenLarry CarterEntered by the Gloster Aircraft Company.No. 8G-EBHXde Havilland DH.53 750cc DouglasCapt Geoffrey de Havilland and Capt Hubert BroadEntered by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.No. 9G-EBKMParnall Pixie I 500cc DouglasNorman Macmillan Entered by George Parnall and Company.No. 10G-EBHNVickers Viget 750cc DouglasStan CockerellEntered by Vickers Limited.No. 11G-EBHWAvro 558500cc Douglas Harold HamersleyEntered by G.S. Bush and H.A. Hammersley.No. 12G-EBHZde Havilland DH.53750cc DouglasHarold HemmingEntered by A.S. Butler.No. 13Handasyde Monoplane 750cc DouglasFred RaynhamEntered by the pilot.No. 14G-EBHSRAE Aero Club Hurricane 600cc DouglasGeorge BulmanEntered by the Royal Aircraft Establishment Aero Club.No. 15Peyret Monoplane4-cylinder SergantAlexis ManeyrolFrench, entered by Louis Peyret.No. 16O-BAFHPoncelot Vivette Monoplane16 hp 4-cylinder SergantBaron Georges Kervyn de Lettenhove Belgian. As No. 21, but mahogany covered fuselage and larger area wings, entered by Jean B. Richard.No. 17G-EBILANEC ITomtit"Jimmy" J.H. James Entered by the Addlestone Aeronautical Association.No. 18G-EBHRANEC ITomtitMaurice PiercyEntered by Hubert Blundell.No. 19NoneGnosspelius GullTomtitRex StockenEntered by Major O.T. Gnosspelius and J.L. ParkerNo. 20 Kingwell Tandem MonoplaneABC H. Sykes did not attend, entered by P.W. Kingwell. No. 21O-BAFGPoncelot Castar Monoplane 16 hp 4-cylinder SergantV. SimonetFlight 6 December 1923 p. 748 Belgian. As No. 16 but fabric covered fuselage and smaller area wings, entered by G.A. de Ro.No. 22Peyret MonoplaneDouglasAlexis Maneyrolprobably did not attend, entered by Louis Peyret.No. 23J7233Sayers-Handley Page H.P.22500cc DouglasA.G. Pointing and J.T. Jeyes entered by pilots.No. 24G-EBKNParnall Pixie II750cc DouglasNorman Macmillan the same aircraft as No.9 with shorter span wings and a more powerful engine. Entered by the George Parnall and Company.No. 25NoneSayers-Handley Page H.P.22 400cc ABC engineC. Barnardlike No. 23 with a different nose shape and engineEntered by Vernon Bradshaw. No. 26J7265Sayers-Handley Page H.P.23TomtitGordon Olley Entered by the Handley Page company.No. 27G-EBHQSalmon Tandem Monoplanehp Bradshaw motorcycle engineCecil Bouchier did not attend, entered by Percy Salmon. No. 28Falcon MonoplaneJAP not completed The engine referred to here as the Tomtit was the early, crudely adapted motorcycle engine. The Tomtit was a more refined aeronautical adaptation.Flight 29 May 1924 p. 338
Prize winnersFlight 18 October 1923 p. 648 The Duke of Sutherland's prize of £500 and the Daily Mail prize of £1,000 were put together and divided between the English Electric Wren (No. 4) flown by Flt Lt Longton and the ANEC Monoplane (No. 17) flown by Mr Jimmy James. Despite very different engine capacities (398 cc on the Wren and 700 cc on the ANEC), both returned 87.5 mpg (31.0 km/litre).
The Parnall Pixie II (No. 24), flown by Capt Macmillan won the Abdulla speed prize of £500 with a speed of 76.1 mph (122.5 km/h). ANEC No.17, flown this time by Mr Maurice Piercey also won the £200 altitude prize from Sir Charles Wakefield with a height of 14,400 feet (4,390 m).
The two £150 prizes for maximum distance covered went to the Avro 560 (No.6) flown by Bert Hinkler, which completed 80 laps or 1,000 miles (1,609 km). A take-off and landing competition with a £100 prize was frustrated by the gusty conditions and the prize went instead to Avro 558 No.11 flown by Harold Hamersley to an altitude of 13,850 ft (4,221 m).
However Alexis Maneyrol died on the final day during his second attempt on the altitude record, when his Peyret monoplane suffered lift strut failure. The banquet, which was to have concluded the Lympne event, was cancelled as a mark of respect.
The Wren No. 4 still flies with The Shuttleworth Collection, with the help of some parts from No. 3. The Vivette No. 16 hangs from the roof in the Brussels Air Museum, configured as a glider.Vivette
1924 The 1924 trial, properly called the Two-Seater Dual Control Light Aeroplane Competition was held from 27 September to 4 October 1924 also at Lympne Aerodrome. The rules, issued in February 1924 required competing aircraft to have engines with a capacity of no more than 1,100 cc, to have full dual controls and one or two airspeed visible from either cockpit. All tests were to be flown with a load of 340 lb (154 kg), excluding fuel but including the pilot's weight.
The elimination trials, held on Sunday 28 September were not expected to be as challenging as they turned out. There was a transport, store and reassemble test which involved folding or dismantling the wings, moving the aircraft a short distance and housing in a shed 10 ft (3 m) wide, then reversing the process. This had to be done by only two people. A flying test followed, a flight of one lap plus a figure of eight to be made from each cockpit in turn.