Flanders F.4
Howard Flanders · United Kingdom · first flew 1912 · reconnaissance aircraft
The Flanders F.4 was an experimental British two-seat military monoplane of the 1910s, designed and built by Howard Flanders as a development of the F.3.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 9.6 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Two-seat monoplane with the crew in tandem cockpits
- Four-bladed propeller on a Renault 70 hp V8
- Fixed landing gear with coil-spring suspension
A monoplane 9.6 m long with a 12.34 m span, with two crew in tandem cockpits and a four-bladed propeller.
Specifications
- The Flanders F.4 has a length of 9.6 m (31 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 12.34 m (40 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 108 km/h (67 mph).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
After the F.3's success in spring 1912, the British War Office ordered four monoplanes for the new Royal Flying Corps. The first F.4 was flying at Brooklands by 6 July 1912.
Variants
It kept the F.3's configuration but had larger cockpits for a crew of two in tandem, a 70 hp Renault engine driving a four-bladed propeller and spring suspension on the fixed landing gear.
Where you'll see it
All four were delivered to the Royal Flying Corps by 2 January 1913. After fatal crashes of a Deperdussin and a Bristol-Coanda Monoplane in September 1912 the Corps banned monoplanes, so the F.4s were not used and their engines went to power Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s.
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