General Aircraft GAL.45 Owlet
General Aircraft · United Kingdom · first flew 1940 · light aircraft
The General Aircraft GAL.45 Owlet was a 1940s British single-engined trainer built by General Aircraft Limited at London Air Park, Hanworth.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 7.49 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Tandem open cockpits
- Tricycle undercarriage
- Outboard wing panels shared with the Cygnet II
Unlike the Cygnet, which had an enclosed cockpit with side-by-side seating, the Owlet has two tandem open cockpits in a narrower fuselage. It is a low-wing monoplane with a 150 hp Blackburn Cirrus Major engine.
Specifications
- The General Aircraft GAL.45 Owlet has a length of 7.49 m (25 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 9.88 m (32 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 201 km/h (125 mph).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
The Owlet was a training version of the Cygnet II, built with the aim of producing a cheap primary trainer for the Royal Air Force. The fuselage was modified to have tandem open cockpits, and the wingspan was reduced by 24 inches. The prototype, registered G-AGBK, first flew on 5 September 1940.
Variants
Only one Owlet was built.
Where you'll see it
It attracted no orders but was impressed into Royal Air Force service as a tricycle-undercarriage trainer for the Douglas Boston. It served with Nos 23 and 605 Squadrons and crashed near Arundel, Sussex on 30 August 1942.
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