De Havilland T.K.4 Explained

The de Havilland T.K.4 was a 1930s British single-seat racing monoplane designed and built by students of the de Havilland Technical School.

Design and development

The T.K.4 was built by students at Stag Lane Aerodrome in 1937 with the aim of building the smallest possible aircraft around the 140 hp (104 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major II.[1] It was a low-wing monoplane with a conventional retractable tailwheel landing gear and had a De Havilland PD30 variable-pitch propeller and was fitted with slots and flaps.The only T.K.4, registered G-AETK, was first flown on 30 July 1937. It was 9th in the 1937 King's Cup air race at a speed of 230.5 mph.[2] The aircraft crashed on 1 October 1937 killing the pilot R.J. Waight while he was attempting a 100 km class record.

References

Notes and References

  1. Jackson 1974, page 323
  2. Lewis 1972, p.191.