United Kingdom: Supermarine S5 Heritage Group to recreate iconic British racing aeroplane By Paul Eden.

Reginald J Mitchell, famed for his line of exquisite civilian and military Supermarine seaplanes, designed the S.5 racing floatplane for the 1927 Schneider Trophy competition. First staged in 1913 and named after its founder Jacques Schneider, the competition sought to promote technological development in aviation, but ultimately focussed on speed around a timed closed circuit.

Mitchell’s Sea Lion III biplane won in 1922, but his dramatically different S.4 monoplane suffered a non-fatal accident just prior to the 1925 event. Nonetheless, the aircraft’s layout had proven promising and Mitchell took its basic configuration, reworked largely in metal rather than wood, and with a considerably more powerful engine, to produce the S.5.

Two S.5s competed in the September 1927 competition in Venice, taking first and second place. The type subsequently spawned the S.6 and S.6B racing floatplanes and, between them, the three designs won the 1927, 1929 and 1931 events, securing the Schneider Trophy forever for Britain.

Supermarine S.5 N220 secured first place in the 1927 Schneider Trophy competition | Photo: Via Supermarine S5 Heritage Group.

Mitchell and Supermarine are most famously remembered for the World War II Spitfire, but the philosophy of the elegant fighter’s design can be traced directly back to the S.5. In his quest for high performance, Mitchell adopted modern construction techniques for the racer, squeezed engines of maximum power output into as small and streamlined an airframe as possible, and demonstrated Britain’s ability to build the world’s most technologically advanced aircraft.

Now, the Supermarine S5 Heritage Group is working towards a funding goal of £250,000 as it seeks to construct a full-size S.5 replica in time for the 2027 centenary of the type’s victorious Schneider campaign.

Powered by a Lycoming IO-360 engine and built under Light Aircraft Association rules, the replica will follow plans originally drawn up during the 1970s.

In addition to celebrating a golden era in British aviation, through static and flying airshow appearances, the replica is expected to play a key role in STEM engagement, perhaps helping inspire a new generation of aerospace engineers.

The S.5 campaign began in earnest during August and, depending on the success of its nascent fundraising effort, Project Manager Will Hosie says the Supermarine S5 Heritage Group may be ready to announce a new, original project before Christmas 2020, although he refused to be drawn on exactly what that might be. Meanwhile, parts for the S.5 replica are already being manufactured, with first flight planned for 2023.

For sponsorship opportunities please visit the Supermarine S5 Heritage Group shop or to donate, visit www.supermarineseaplane.co.uk.

A life-long, profoundly passionate aviation enthusiast, Paul E. Eden began writing about aircraft in 1996 and became a freelance aerospace writer and editor in 2003. He says his addiction began with a Matchbox Spitfire model kit and the Ladybird Book of Aircraft, around 1975. Since then, he has written for the Official RAF Annual Review and Salute publications, and currently edits and writes Executive and VIP Aviation International magazine. A regular contributor to a number of specialist publications, including Aerospace, the journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and airline, cargo and flight test magazines, he also blogs for Runway Girl Network.

His first book for Bloomsbury, The Official Illustrated History of RAF Search and Rescue, was published on 25th June 2020.

Blog: https://pauleeden.wordpress.com
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/paul-e-eden/15/9a5/671
Twitter: @TwoDrones

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 3rd September 2020 | Issue #571

Share this article