Photograph:
Carpenter Monoplane on Christmas Day 1932 at Quakers Hill, NSW (Cliff Carpenter – designer-builder-owner)
Country of origin:
Australia
Description:
Light three seat monoplane
Power Plant:
One 86 kw (115 hp) Cirrus Hermes four-cylinder in-line air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 11.21 m (36 ft 8 in)
- Length: 7.01 m (23 ft)
History:
In 1932 Mr Clifford Carpenter, a nephew of Sir Walter Carpenter, a member of the W R Carpenter & Company organisation, assisted by Messrs W Murrell, H Wyatt, C Scott and R A Grey, built a light aircraft over a period of two years in the garage of Borrows & Thorne Ltd, which was situated on the corner of Belmont and Military Roads, Cremorne Junction, in Sydney, NSW.
The aircraft was a high-wing monoplane seating three, built of spruce and birch, with fabric covering. It was powered by an 86 kw (115 hp) Cirrus Hermes engine. Sydney University Professor Thomas Leech carried out stress calculations. On Christmas Day, 25 December 1932, it was conveyed to Kellyville, west of Sydney, and test flown by Clifford Carpenter. This flight revealed some handling problems and the machine was dis-assembled and conveyed to Mascot, NSW for modifications and further testing. These revealed the elevators and ailerons had insufficient travel and modifications were made. Test flights at Mascot proved unsatisfactory and the machine was grounded by the Department of Civil Aviation.
The machine was eventually sold to Penfolds Wines and is believed to have been taken to one of the company’s Minchinbury vineyards on the old Great Western Highway west of Sydney with a sign thereon indicating ‘Don’t crash – drink Penfolds’, a similar fate to the Cockatoo Island Dockyard Codock.