Photograph:
Deperdussin A reproduction CFS-5 at the Australian Army Museum at Oakey, QLD (Australian Army Museum)
Country of origin:
France
Description:
Single-seat training aircraft
Power Plant:
One 26 kw (35 hp) Anzani three-cylinder air-cooled radial engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 8.83 m (29 ft)
- Length: 7.62 m (25 ft)
- Height: 2.69 m (8 ft 10 in)
- Wing area: 15.05 m² (162 sq ft)
- Max speed at sea level: 80 km/h (50 mph)
- Time to climb to 305 m (1,000 ft): 8 mins
- Empty weight: 249.5 kg (550 lb)
History:
Armand Deperdussin, who founded the Societe pour les Appareils Deperdussin in 1910, obtained the services of Mr Berchereau as chief designer to develop a series of aircraft. The first machine produced was a shoulder-wing monoplane powered by a 37 kw (50 hp) Clerget liquid-cooled engine. This was later modified to take a 52 kw (70 hp) Austro-Daimler engine and, like most Deperdussins, wing warping was employed for lateral control.
In 1911 the first of the 37 kw (50 hp) Gnome-powered Deperdussin racing aircraft appeared, and air racing became popular. The firm then turned its attention to the design of a two-seat side-by-side reconnaissance aircraft, and the production machine was usually fitted with either a 60 kw (80 hp) Anzani or 75 kw (100 hp) Gnome rotary engine. Subsequently the British Deperdussin Aeroplane Company was formed to produce Deperdussin designs in the United Kingdom. In 1912, in addition to a three-seater, Berchereau designed a small single-seat training machine fitted with a 26 kw (35 hp) Anzani engine.
On 3 July 1912 the Australian Government ordered two British-built examples whilst ordering two RAF BE.2a biplanes. The Deperdussins were both type A shoulder-wing, single-seat monoplanes constructed of wood and fabric, fitted with the Anzani ‘Y-type’ three-cylinder engine. One was for flying-school training, and the other was to be used as a taxiing-type for ground training. Both were aircraft which, after testing at Farnborough in Hampshire, were shipped to Point Cook, VIC.
The school-type Deperdussin A, which was given the serial number CFS-4 (Central Flying School 4), made its maiden Australian flight on 1 March 1914 in the hands of Lieutenant Henry Aloysius Petre. However, it was damaged beyond repair on 9 March 1914 when the engine failed. The other (CFS-5) was used for engine-starting practice and was not flown, although a couple of unofficial ‘hops’ were made. This machine has been preserved for future generations by the Australian War Memorial at Canberra, ACT.
In 2006 a static replica of the Central Flying School’s Deperdussin A CFS-4, built by Mr Jack Gillies, was placed on display at the RAAF Museum, Point Cook’s Air Pageant and has remained on display at the museum. This is one of two he built, the second being a replica of CFS-3 which, when completed at Essendon, VIC, was expected to be able to fly. It would seem this latter aircraft was later taken to and placed on display at the Australian Army Aviation Museum at Oakey, QLD as CFS-5.