Airspeed Queen Wasp
{{Short description|British pilotless target aircraft}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox aircraft
|name= AS.30 Queen Wasp
|image= File:Airspeed Queen Wasp.jpg
|caption=Airspeed Queen Wasp, c. 1939
|type=Pilotless target aircraft
|manufacturer=Airspeed (1934) Ltd
|designer=Hessell Tiltman/N.S. Norway
|first_flight= 11 June 1937
|introduction= 1937
|retired=
|status=
|primary_user= Royal Air Force
|more_users=
|produced= 1937-1940
|number_built= 7
|unit cost=
|variants=
}}
The Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp was a British pilotless target aircraft built by Airspeed Limited at Portsmouth during the Second World War. Although intended for both Royal Air Force and Royal Navy use, the aircraft never went into series production.
Design and development
The Queen Wasp was built to meet an Air Ministry Specification Q.32/35 for a pilotless target aircraft to replace the de Havilland Tiger Moth based de Havilland Queen Bee.{{cite book |last= Norway |first= Neville Shute |title= Slide Rule |year= 1954 |publisher= William Heinemann |location= London |pages= 230, 231 }} Two prototypes were ordered in May 1936, one to have a wheeled landing gear for use by the Royal Air Force and the other as a floatplane for Royal Navy use for air-firing practice at sea. Powered by the Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah engine, a total of 65 aircraft were ordered, contingent on the success of the flight test programme.
The aircraft was a single-engined biplane constructed of wood with sharply-tapered wings and fabric-covered control surfaces. An enclosed cabin with one seat was provided so the Queen Wasp could be flown manually with the radio control system turned off.{{Cite book
|last =Bergel |first = Hugh
|title = Fly & Deliver
|publisher = Airlife
|year = 1982
|isbn = 0-906393-17-5
|pages=64–65, plate between pages 30–31
}} The radio control system was complex with a number of backup safety devices to ensure radio and battery operation was uninterrupted. A trailing receiver aerial was winched out after takeoff and served as an automatic landing device which was activated when the trailing aerial weight hit the runway. The sensitivity of the system in turbulent weather meant that an alternative landing signal was used to initiate a landing procedure."Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp" 1978, p. 40.
The landplane first flew on 11 June 1937, and the floatplane on 19 October 1937. The floatplane was successfully catapulted from HMS Pegasus in November 1937.
Operational history
In flight tests, the aircraft was found to be underpowered and water handling difficulties necessitated a redesign of the floats by their manufacturer, Short Brothers. Although the production run of 10 aircraft was begun (P5441–P5450), only three more aircraft were completed and delivered to the Royal Air Force.
Airspeed proposed a number of unsuccessful designs derived from the Queen Wasp including the AS.38 communications aircraft and the AS.50 trainer developed to meet Specification T.24/40.
Operators
;{{UK}}
Specifications (AS.30 Landplane)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Airspeed Aircraft since 1931{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=H.A. |title=Airspeed Aircraft since 1931 |year=1970 |publisher=Putnam |location=London |isbn=978-0-370-00110-4 |pages=89–94}}
|prime units?=imp
|crew=1 (optional)
|length ft=23
|length in=4
|length note=
|span ft=31
|span in=0
|span note=
|width ft=12
|width in=0
|width note=wings folded
|height ft=10
|height in=1
|height note=
|wing area sqft=
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight lb=
|empty weight note=
|gross weight lb=3500
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight lb=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX
|eng1 type=7-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine
|eng1 hp=350
|eng1 note=
|prop blade number=2
|prop name=
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|prop dia note=
|max speed mph=172
|max speed note=at {{cvt|8000|ft}}
|cruise speed mph=151
|cruise speed note=at {{cvt|10000|ft}}
|stall speed mph=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed note=
|minimum control speed mph=
|minimum control speed note=
|range miles=
|range note=
|combat range miles=
|combat range note=
|ferry range miles=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=
|ceiling ft=20000
|ceiling note=
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|glide ratio=
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|sink rate ftmin=
|sink rate note=
|lift to drag=
|wing loading lb/sqft=
|wing loading note=
|disk loading lb/sqft=
|disk loading note=
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|power/mass=
|thrust/weight=
|more performance=
}}
See also
{{aircontent
|related=
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References
=Notes=
{{commons category|Airspeed Queen Wasp}}
{{reflist}}
=Bibliography=
- {{cite magazine|last=Green|first=Peter|title=Round-Out|magazine=Air Enthusiast|date=September–October 2001|issue=95|page=79 |issn=0143-5450}}
- "Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp." Control Column, Official Organ of the British Aircraft Preservation Council, Volume 12, No. 2, February/March 1978.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.
{{Airspeed aircraft}}
Category:1930s British special-purpose aircraft
Category:Target drones of the United Kingdom
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft