Vickers Vendace

Vickers · United Kingdom · first flew 1926 · light aircraft

The Vickers Vendace was a 1920s British two-seat trainer biplane, originally designed as a floatplane trainer for the Royal Air Force.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	Steel-tube fuselage with an inline engine at the nose
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Two-bay biplane with folding wooden wings
Steel-tube fuselage with an inline engine at the nose
Undercarriage that could be changed between floats and wheels in ten minutes

A two-bay biplane trainer, convertible between floats and wheels, with a large inline engine.

Specifications

The Vickers Vendace has a length of 10.13 m (33 ft).
It has a wingspan of 13.59 m (45 ft).
Its maximum speed is 191 km/h (119 mph).
Typical crew: 2.

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

History

In October 1924 the Air Ministry issued Specification 5A/24 for a floatplane trainer, and Vickers designed the Type 120 Vendace I, powered by a Rolls-Royce Falcon. The first Vendace flew at Brooklands by March 1926. Its fuel was held in two streamlined tanks above the upper wing.

Variants

The Vendace II (Type 157) had an ADC Nimbus engine and first flew in November 1927. The Vendace III (Type 155) had a 300 hp Hispano-Suiza 8F.

Where you'll see it

The prototype was tried as a landplane, including operation from HMS Furious, and as a seaplane at Felixstowe in 1927. The Vendace II was sold to the Aircraft Operating Company for survey work in South America, and three Vendace IIIs were sold to Bolivia as trainers. Five were built.

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