Vickers Vulcan

Vickers · United Kingdom · first flew 1922 · airliner

The Vickers Vulcan was a British single-engine biplane airliner of the 1920s, built by Vickers at Brooklands Aerodrome, Surrey. It carried eight passengers and a pilot.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	Much larger, taller fuselage than the Vimy it was based on
T — Tail	Conventional

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Single-engine biplane airliner
Much larger, taller fuselage than the Vimy it was based on
Fuselage shape earned the nickname Flying Pig

A single-engine biplane airliner with a deep, tall fuselage that earned it the nickname Flying Pig.

Specifications

The Vickers Vulcan has a length of 11.58 m (38 ft).
It has a wingspan of 14.94 m (49 ft).
Its maximum speed is 180 km/h (112 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

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

History

Rex Pierson designed it, and it first flew in April 1922 with chief test pilot S. Cockerell. It was based on a civil version of the Vimy bomber but had a much larger, taller fuselage and one Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engine instead of two, for low operating costs.

Variants

The Type 61 was the first production version, and the Type 63 was a cargo version. The Type 74 had a 450 hp Napier Lion engine, and the Type 68 and Type 86 were proposals that were not built.

Where you'll see it

Eight were built. The first delivery was to Instone Air Line in August 1922, and other operators included Imperial Airways and Qantas, which returned its aircraft as too poor in performance. The last Vulcan flying crashed in July 1928 on a test flight from Croydon.

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