The Comper C.L.A.7 Swift is a British single-seat sporting aircraft designed and produced by the Comper Aircraft Company. It was the company’s first aircraft.
The Swift was designed shortly after Nicholas Comper’s departure from the Royal Air Force to focus on the project. It was designed to be an affordable and compact aircraft that was capable of equivalent performance to that of typical twin-seat light aircraft of the era. The prototype aircraft performed its maiden flight during January 1930; quantity production proceeded shortly thereafter. The majority of aircraft produced were powered by the Pobjoy P radial engine.
It proved to be a relatively successful long distance touring aircraft, conducting multi-day flights to Australia and across the United States amongst other destinations. The Swift gained particular notoriety for its participation in various air races, regularly proving itself to be competitive. One aircraft, owned by the then-Prince of Wales and future King Edward VIII, won second place in the 1932 King's Cup Race. It continued to be appear in air races, particularly those held in Britain, through to the mid-1950s.
In March 1929, Flight Lieutenant Nicholas Comper left the Royal Air Force and formed the Comper Aircraft Company with the purpose of building an aircraft that he had designed, which he named the Comper Swift. Prior to this, Comper had designed and flown three aircraft for the Cranwell Light Aeroplane Club, these being the C.L.A.2, C.L.A.3 and C.L.A.4. The Swift would most closely resemble the C.L.A.3, but represented a considerable advance on this aircraft in terms of its performance, controllability, comfort, and appearance.[1]
A key design goal set by Comper for the Swift was to minimise the presence of blind spots, a factor that had undermined the prospects of countless aircraft that were otherwise ideal.[2] This principal of prioritising optimal external visibility for the pilot dictated many attributes and characteristics of the aircraft, such as the placement of the cockpit aft of the high-mounted wing. This in turn necessitated the use of a relatively lightweight engine in order to maintain appropriate weight distribution across the aircraft as there was a considerable amount of vertical surface area placed forward of the center of gravity.[2] Consequentially, to draw the aircraft's center of vertical area aft of the center of gravity, a relatively large tail unit, particularly in terms of the fin and rudder, were present to draw the center of vertical area aft of the aircraft's center of gravity.[2]
During January 1930, the prototype Swift (registered G-AARX) performed its maiden flight at Hooton Park.[3] This initial aircraft was powered by a 40 hp (30 kW) ABC Scorpion piston engine. After successful tests, seven more aircraft were built in 1930, powered by a 50 hp Salmson A.D.9 radial engine. Trials with Pobjoy P radial engine for use in air racing resulted in all the subsequent aircraft being powered by the Pobjoy R. The last three factory-built aircraft (sometimes referred to as the Gipsy Swift) were fitted with de Havilland Gipsy engines – two with 120 hp (89 kW) Gipsy Major III, and one with a 130 hp (97 kW) Gipsy Major.
The Comper Swift was a compact single-seat monoplane aircraft with a high-mounted wing.[1] It was designed as an affordable and low-powered aircraft, albeit one that could deliver performance equal to that of contemporary twin-seat light aircraft. The Swift had a relatively slim appearance with various clean and aesthetically pleasing lines, the fuselage being heavily streamlined, except for the cockpit and a fairly restrictive width adhered to.[4] Despite this, a relatively comfortable cockpit was provisioned along with clear and well-positioned instrumentation, much of it being installed on a dedicated dash. Of particular note was the engine mounting, which incorporated a patented vibration-absorbing design that proved to be quite effective in practice.[5]
In terms of overall construction, the Swift was primarily composed of spruce and covered by fabric.[6] It shared considerable structural similarity to Comper's previous aircraft designs; the fuselage comprising a lightweight girder composed of longerons and diagonal struts which attached to the longerons via three-ply wood gussets. This structure was relatively strong for its low weight and did not require any realignment even with prolonged use. The fuselage was constructed out of three separate units, the front section carried the engine mounting, the middle portion contained the cockpit, while the rear section carried the tail unit.[7]
The aircraft had a monoplane wing that rested on a relatively narrow portion of fuselage while the inefficient portion of wing area within the center was kept proportionally small.[7] An almost pure cantilever stabiliser was used that was braced by a single pair of v-shaped struts on each side of the fuselage. It featured relatively straightforward construction, consisting of a pair of spruce spars and light girder ribs.[7] It was built in three sections, the relatively narrow center section of which was built as an integral part of the fuselage and resting on two separate bulkheads. The wing was designed to be folded so that the aircraft only required a minimal storage footprint.[8] All of the wing's fittings were composed of standard steel plate while the covering was composed of fabric.[9]
A somewhat unorthodox undercarriage arrangement was used; elements such as the shock absorbers were entirely housed inside of the fuselage, reducing drag.[8] The legs directly connected with various internal members. The axles were bent while rearward-sloping radius rods were used to orientate the wheels.[9] A deck fairing aft of the engine accommodated the aircraft's fuel tank; fuel was supplied via gravity to the engine. This tank, which had a total capacity of nine gallons, had a partition that separated one gallon from the rest and could function as a reserve tank.[10]
During 1931, Arthur Butler flew G-ABRE to Australia in nine days.[11] After touring the Eastern States, the Swift had covered 23,000 miles. One of the Gipsy Swifts, owned by the then-Prince of Wales and future King Edward VIII, won second place in the 1932 King's Cup Race while being flown by his personal pilot.[12] Postwar, surviving Swifts continued to compete successfully in British air racing scene into the mid-1950s.
A new-build aircraft, registered G-ECTF, and built according to the original plans, powered by a Pobjoy Cataract engine, flew for the first time on 2 October 2015.[18] [19]
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