Gloster IV
Gloster Aircraft Company · United Kingdom · first flew 1927 · light aircraft
The Gloster IV was a single-engined British biplane racing floatplane, built by the Gloster Aircraft Company for the 1927 Schneider Trophy.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Slim wooden monocoque fuselage on floats, with the top wing faired into the engine cylinder blocks |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Single-bay biplane with both the upper and lower wings gulled
- Surface radiators built into the wings and the floats rather than a nose radiator
- Slim wooden monocoque fuselage on floats, with the top wing faired into the engine cylinder blocks
Look for a single-bay racing biplane on floats with gulled wings and flat copper-sheet radiators covering the wing surfaces, powered by a Napier Lion W-12 engine of 885 hp.
Specifications
- The Gloster IV has a length of 8.03 m (26 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 6.89 m (23 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 475 km/h (295 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It was designed by Henry Folland in response to an Air Ministry order for a high-speed floatplane, as a development of the Gloster III that had finished second in 1925. Folland redesigned the aircraft to minimise drag and kept the biplane layout after a study of wing rigidity and speed. All three aircraft made their first flights in the summer of 1927.
Variants
Three aircraft were built, differing in the surface area of the wings and in the arrangement of the tail. One of them, the Gloster IVB, was the type that entered the 1927 race.
Where you'll see it
The Gloster IVB retired part way through the 1927 Schneider Trophy race because its propeller shaft was close to failing. The three aircraft were afterwards flown as trainers by the High Speed Flight for several years.
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