Vickers Viget

Vickers · United Kingdom · first flew 1923 · light aircraft

The Vickers Viget was a diminutive single-seat light biplane designed for the 1923 Daily Mail Light Aeroplane Trials at Lympne, representing Vickers' entry into the ultra-light aircraft market. It was one of several minimalist designs produced specifically for that competition.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	5.28 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Tiny single-seat ultralight biplane with open cockpit
Very small span and minimal structure, built to a 1923 light-aircraft formula
Single cylinder engine and wire-braced wings

Identified by its extremely small overall size, open single-seat cockpit, equal-span biplane wings with wire bracing, and an unusually tiny engine installation.

Specifications

The Vickers Viget has a length of 5.28 m (17 ft).
It has a wingspan of 7.62 m (25 ft).
Its maximum speed is 93 km/h (58 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

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

History

Built to compete in the Air Ministry light-aeroplane trials of 1923, the Viget was powered by a very small motorcycle-derived engine and aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of affordable personal aviation. It did not achieve significant performance or commercial success beyond the competition.

Variants

The Viget was a one-off competition prototype; no series production followed.

Where you'll see it

The aircraft saw no operational service beyond its trial flights and competition appearance at Lympne in 1923.

Related aircraft

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