Country of origin:

Australia

Description:

Commercial biplane flying-boat

Power Plant:

One 224 kw (300 hp) ABC Nimbus six-cylinder in-line liquid-cooled engine

Specifications:

History:

The Widgeon I was a single-engine amphibious biplane constructed with a wooden hull (Queensland maple) designed by Sqdn Ldr L J Wackett in 1923 and built by the RAAF Experimental Section at Randwick, NSW.  It was a five-seat commercial passenger biplane flying-boat, the engine being installed in front of the wings. An interesting part of the design was the dorsal rear decking which was a 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in) wooden boat which could be removed at remote landing areas and used by the crew to ferry passengers and equipment ashore. The wings were equal span and built of spruce with fabric covering.  The machine had a biplane tailplane with twin fins and rudders.

Construction of the aircraft began in March 1924 but was slow as a lot of time and effort was put into building and developing the facility at Randwick.  By April 1925 it was nearing completion and during weighing it was found that, as compared to design calculations carried out at Victoria Barracks early in the design stage, the completed aircraft only differed from the estimates by 2.94 kg (6.5 lb).  Engine runs were made in June 1925 and the aircraft was launched into Botany Bay, NSW on 7 July 1925.  Some taxiing was carried out on 8 July and the aircraft was christened by Mrs Wackett.  Storms affected any attempts at flight and at one stage the aircraft hit a sandbank.

The aircraft was completed on 26 June 1925 and on 8 July 1925 the Widgeon I flying boat (carrying the British registration G-AEKB) attempted to make its first flight.  At this time it was fitted with a 179 kw (240 hp) Armstrong Siddeley Puma engine driving a 2.50 m (8 ft 6 in) four-blade wooden propeller.  On board were Sgt H Becker, L J Wackett, and Col E Brinsmead, the Comptroller of Civil Aviation in Australia.  However, after about 274 m (900 ft) of the take-off run the aeroplane porpoised violently, dived into the sea nose first and suffered some damage, later being recovered and undergoing repairs.

Little damage was occasioned to the machine in the accident and it was soon repaired but the opportunity was taken to modify the hull to improve handling, these changes including a deeper step further aft, cutting away the side windscreens and installing new fuel tanks in the centre section which were faired into the aerofoil.  The first successful flight was made on 3 December 1925 when it was recorded the performance was exceptionally good, considering the low horsepower.

Trials were carried out by the Civil Aviation Branch and by the RAAF to assess its suitability and these covered 14 flights and a total time of seven hours in the air.  Further flights were made on 15 December 1925 and on 7 April 1926, when it was tested by Flt Lt I E McIntyre. Official service tests commenced on 12 April 1926.

A good deal of interest was shown in the machine, and a syndicate was formed to make arrangements to place the aircraft into production at Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney, but this never came to anything. Eventually the machine was fitted with the more powerful 220 kw (300 hp) ABC Nimbus engine and underwent some further modifications, including the fitting of dual controls, new wing-tip floats, new tail skid, extra fuel tanks above the upper wing, the construction of an amphibious undercarriage, installation of a machine gun mount above the rear cabin, and side windows in the cabin.

The Widgeon I was then conveyed to Mascot aerodrome for further trials.  It was reported that crews described its flying qualities as excellent. A fuel tank was fitted as a seat in the centre cabin and this increased endurance to 5½ hours. Later descriptions said it was eminently suitable as an instructional type with a modified windscreen to keep crew dry.  If it was to be operated for a period only as a seaplane the undercarriage could be removed and stored inside the hull, this increasing the cruising speed by 13 km/h (8 mph).

During this time the machine carried the registration G-AEKB, which in fact was incorrectly applied, the actual registration allotted being G-AUKB, Australian registrations at that time being in the British series G-AU–, New Zealand registrations being in the G-NZ– block. The Australian registration was never in fact taken up and, although it spent some time with the RAAF, it was never allotted a military serial.

In April 1927 the aircraft provided an escort to the Duke and Duchess of York when they left Sydney Harbour aboard the Battlecruiser HMS Renown.  It was only away for a short time before it had to return due to bad weather.  That evening it was moored at Rose Bay, NSW and suffered some damage due to weather, a wing being immersed. The aircraft had to be dismantled and returned by truck to Randwick for repair work.  After this a request was received from No 101 Flight RAAF [a flying boat unit] to use the aircraft.  At about this time the unit was tasked to carry out a survey of the Great Barrier Reef.  It was also hoped to test the aircraft under operational conditions.

The machine was then flown from Sydney (Mascot) to Melbourne (Point Cook), the flight being of a duration of 5½ hours non-stop.  This flight was made using fuel drums stored in the fuselage which were pumped during the flight into the aircraft’s fuel tanks by the crew.  It was then demonstrated at Point Cook and handed over to No 1 FTS for training.  It was used for training for some time, a report in October 1929 indicating some repairs to the hull and engine were required.  By this stage the engine had done 112 hours 35 minutes.  Eventually, as the aircraft was a one-off design, it did not receive a great amount of use and fell into disrepair. The engine was removed and transferred to the Civil Aviation Board.  The repairs to the airframe were considered to exceed the value of the machine and finally the airframe was burnt.