Lakes Water Bird
A.V. Roe · United Kingdom · first flew 1911 · light aircraft
The Lakes Water Bird, or Waterbird, was developed by the Windermere-based Lakes Flying Company in 1911 and is remembered as the first consistently successful British seaplane.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 11.1 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Two-bay, single-seat pusher biplane with wings of unequal span
- Bamboo outriggers fore and aft of the wings carrying leading elevators, tail surfaces and rudder
- Single 12 ft float with a Gnome Omega rotary engine
A bamboo-framed pusher biplane on a single central float, sometimes called the Avro Curtiss-type.
Specifications
- The Lakes Water Bird has a length of 11.1 m (36 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 12.5 m (41 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 72 km/h (45 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
E.W. Wakefield had A.V. Roe build the aircraft in Manchester to his design, as a landplane first, with the intention of converting it to a seaplane. Its first flight was on 25 May 1911 at Brooklands, and as a seaplane it first flew on 25 November 1911.
Variants
One was built. The outer half of each upper wing carried ailerons, and elevator and rudder were operated by bamboo pushrods.
Where you'll see it
Wakefield had experimented since 1909 with different float designs towed across Windermere. It was powered by a 50 hp Gnome Omega seven-cylinder rotary engine.
Related aircraft
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