Country of origin:

Australia

Description:

Single-seat light sport parasol-wing aircraft

Power Plant:

One 18 kw (24 hp) Blackburne Tomtit 696 cc two-cylinder VEE-twin air-cooled engine

Specifications:

History:

The Gower Bonnie was a small single-seat single-engine light aircraft which was originally designed and partially built by LJR Jones for entry in the 1924 Lightplane Competition held at Richmond aerodrome, west of Sydney, NSW (later RAAF Richmond) in 1924. The aircraft had not been completed in time and was put aside whilst Mr Jones worked on other designs.

Mr Gower bought the partially completed aircraft, having been involved with various gliding clubs in the 1930s. He considered converting it to a two-seater but this was not practical and it was later constructed with the assistance of Arthur Laundy. Mr Jones had built a six-cylinder two-row radial engine for the design but this was not available. A Blackburne Tomtit two-cylinder VEE engine was purchased and it provided 18 kw (24 hp). The engine had previously been installed in the aircraft submitted for the 1924 competition by Robert Reid.

A number of names are believed to have been attached to the aircraft including ‘Bonnie’, ‘Silver Cross’, ‘Red Devil’ and ‘The Lizard’. The former was painted on the nose of the aircraft. On completion it was taken to a gliding field near Windsor, NSW and on 1 May 1932 Clifford Carpenter attempted the first flight but the aircraft hit rough ground and the undercarriage was extensively damaged. The undercarriage from a Clancy Skybaby was then obtained and installed.

On 7 May the Bonnie was taken to Mascot, NSW where further attempts to fly were made by Cliff Carpenter and Joseph Palmer but without success. Changes were made to the aircraft and on 15 May further unsuccessful attempts to fly were made. The Tomtit engine, which was considered not to  provide the necessary power required, was exchanged for a conversion of a Henderson motor cycle four-cylinder unit, which was prepared and installed.

On 18 December at Quakers Hill further testing was carried out and at this time Mr Gower made his own first solo powered flight in the aircraft, reaching a height of 15 m (50 ft) for 152 m (500 ft) in a straight line. Mr Laundy also flew the aircraft but made a heavy landing and further repairs were carried out during the following week. Cliff Carpenter then flew the aircraft for 15 mins and climbed to 305 m (1,000 ft) but further damage was occasioned to the aircraft during the day.

In January 1933 permission was sought from the Civil Aviation Board (CAB) to carry out further testing at Mascot. At this time dual-ignition was built and fitted to the engine. A new fuel tank of 50 litres (11 Imp gals) was subsequently fabricated to replace the tank then fitted which only held 9 litres (2 Imp gals). On 31 March 1933 it was taken to Mascot for further testing and flown by an instructor from the Adastra Flying School, Captain A W Gregory, on Sunday 2 April, but it suffered engine problems. Other pilots who flew the aircraft at that time were Ronald Gower, Allan Clancy, and Goya Henry.

On 25 April 1933 Tommy Pethybridge, who later lost his life in an aircraft accident in which Sir Charles Kingsford Smith also died (Lockheed Altair) flying from the United Kingdom to Australia, attempted to take-off in the Bonnie but the crankshaft of the engine broke. A replacement Henderson from a 1927 model motorcycle was obtained and rebuilt to meet the requirements of the aircraft. The undercarriage was strengthened and a new 32 litre (7 Imp gal) tank was constructed and installed in front of the instrument panel.

On 25 June the Bonnie was taken to Mascot for further testing and was flown during the following three weeks until Sunday 9 July when a forced landing occurred after engine trouble, the pilot on this occasion being Donald Saville. During the landing the aircraft overturned, the fuselage broke into three sections and the engine was badly damaged. There has been no record of the aircraft having been rebuilt.