ASL Viking
Aeronautical Syndicate Ltd · United Kingdom · first flew 1912 · light aircraft
The ASL Viking was a single-engined two-seat biplane designed and built by Horatio Barber's Aeronautical Syndicate Ltd at Hendon. It first flew in January 1912.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Rectangular fuselage with the cockpit under the upper wing and a half-above, half-below rudder |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Front-mounted rotary engine driving two propellers on shafts on the inner interplane struts
- Unstaggered parallel-chord three-bay biplane wings
- Rectangular fuselage with the cockpit under the upper wing and a half-above, half-below rudder
A biplane with a 50 hp Gnome Omega rotary in the nose driving a pair of 8 ft 6 in tractor propellers mounted midway between the wings. The two crew sat side by side in a cockpit below the upper wing.
Specifications
- The ASL Viking has a length of 7.92 m (26 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 9.45 m (31 ft).
- Typical crew: 1-2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Barber began work on the Viking in 1911. It bore no resemblance to his earlier aircraft and had control surfaces mounted at the back, in what became the conventional layout.
Variants
Only one was built, with no variants.
Where you'll see it
The Viking flew well, although its power installation was troublesome. Barber wound up the Aerial Syndicate in April 1912 after a lack of commercial success, and most of its assets were acquired by Frederick Handley Page.
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