Tipsy B

Avions Fairey · Belgium · first flew 1937 · light aircraft

The Tipsy B was a small two-seat sports monoplane designed by Ernest Oscar Tips and built in Belgium and the UK.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	6.6 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Low-wing cantilever monoplane with strongly forward-swept trailing edges outboard of a straight centre section
Almost triangular fin with a rounded rudder moving between separate elevators, the tailplane braced to the fin by a pair of struts
Open cockpit with staggered, almost side-by-side seats, long tailskid and spatted wheels

A small low-wing tailskid monoplane with an open two-seat cockpit, spatted wheels and a rounded, elliptical tail.

Specifications

The Tipsy B has a length of 6.6 m (22 ft).
It has a wingspan of 9.5 m (31 ft).
Its maximum speed is 200 km/h (124 mph).
Typical crew: 2.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Tips, manager of the Belgian subsidiary of Fairey, designed it after the single-seat Tipsy S. It first flew on 8 May 1937 at Gosselies, flown by A. J. Eyskens, and was shown in the UK a week later. A UK company was set up in June 1937 to build it under licence.

Variants

The Tipsy Bc had an enclosed canopy. British-built aircraft were renamed Tipsy Trainer after changes including wing washout, flaps, mass-balanced controls, a single elevator and an enlarged rudder.

Where you'll see it

Twenty-four Tipsy B and Bc were built in Belgium before the German invasion, and eighteen more in the UK. They flew with private owners and clubs in several countries, and at least six flew after the war.

Related aircraft

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