Martin-Handasyde No. 3

The Martin Handasyde No.3 was an early British single-seat monoplane design, built in partnership by H.P. Martin and George Handasyde. Only one was built.

The Martin-Handasyde No.3 bore a strong resemblance to the Antoinette monoplanes, with a slender wood-covered triangular fuselage, and tapered wings which were braced by mid-span kingposts. Lateral control was by wing-warping and the angle of incidence of the wings varied from 5° at the wing root to zero at the tip. The undercarriage consisted of a pair of wheels on a cross-axle supplemented by a forward-projecting curved skid. It was initially powered by a 60 hp (45 kW) Antoinette V-8 engine. This was later changed for a 40 hp (30 kW) J.A.P.^[1]

It was first flown at Brooklands by H.P. Martin during November 1910, and was flown throughout 1912 by Graham Gilmour, who was eventually killed in the aircraft when it suffered a mid-air structural failure over Richmond Park on 17 February 1912.^[1]

A two-seater version of the aircraft, the Martin Handasyde 4B, also called the Dragonfly, with a wingspan of 37 ft (11 m) was built for Thomas Sopwith and was displayed at the 1911 Aero Show at Olympia.

Data from Lewis^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 28 ft 0 in (8.53 m)
• Wingspan: 32 ft 0 in (9.75 m)
• Wing area: 175 sq ft (16.3 m²)
• Empty weight: 560 lb (254 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × J.A.P. , 40 hp (30 kW)
• Propellers: 2-bladed, 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) diameter

Performance

• Maximum speed: 60 mph (97 km/h, 52 kn)