Monospar ST-25
Monospar ST-25 Jubilee of Eloy Fernández Navamuel during the Spanish Civil War[1]
Role
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer General Aircraft Ltd, Hanworth
First flight 19 June 1935
Produced 1935–1939
Number built 60
Developed from General Aircraft Monospar ST-10

The General Aircraft Monospar ST-25 was a British 1930s light twin-engined utility aircraft.

Design and development

The Monospar ST-25 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a fabric-covered metal structure. The monospar name came from the use of a single spar in the wing structure, that had been developed by H J Stieger. The cabin was enclosed with five seats. It was based on the GAL Monospar ST-10, with the addition of a folding seat for a fifth passenger, extra side windows, and the addition of a radio receiver. On 19 June 1935, the prototype (G-ADIV) made its first flight at Hanworth Air Park. It was designated Monospar ST-25 Jubilee, to honour the 25th anniversary of the reign of King George V.[2]

Operational history

  • The last flying Monospar ST-25 (ZK-AFF), of Piet Van Asch, the owner of New Zealand Aerial Mapping Ltd, was lost in 1986 in a hangar fire.[3]
  • The last surviving Monospar ST-25 (OY-DAZ), an ST-25 Ambulance, was fully restored during 1989–1999, and is now displayed in Egeskov Veteranmuseum at Egeskov Castle, Denmark.[4]

Variants

Monospar ST-25 Universal, after conversion from ST-25 De Luxe
Monospar ST-25 Universal
Monospar ST-25 Jubilee
(1935-1936) Single fin and rudder. 30 built.[2]
Monospar ST-25 De Luxe
One Monospar ST-25 Jubilee with a large single fin and two Niagara II engines, later converted to the prototype Monospar ST-25 Universal, with twin fins.[2]
Monospar ST-25 Ambulance
Variants of both Monospar ST-25 Jubilee and ST-25 Universal, with a large door on the starboard side to allow a stretcher to be loaded.[2]
Monospar ST-25 Universal
(1936-1939) Twin fin and twin rudder. 29 built, including the conversion of the De Luxe.[2]
Monospar ST-25 Freighter
A variant of the Monospar ST-25 Universal, with a large freight door but without the passenger seating.[2]
GAL.26
One modified Monospar ST-25 Jubilee, fitted with two Cirrus Minor I engines in 1936.[2]
GAL.41
One experimental aircraft based on the Monospar ST-25 Universal. A new fuselage was built containing a pressurized section with two seats. Its purpose was to test possible pressurization systems for a proposed airliner, the GAL.40.[5][lower-alpha 1] The GAL.41 flew for the first time on 11 May 1939,[7] and was grounded in 1941.[8]

Operators

 Aden
  • Arabian Airways[9]
 Australia
 Canada
 Denmark
  • Zone-Redningskorpset - 1 ambulance version[9]
 Estonia
  • ES-AXY "Vahur", in the service of the Ministry of Transport and Communications[10]
 France
  • Armée de l'Air (2 ST-25 in Indochine (Vietnam) in November 1945)[11]
 Netherlands
  • Van Melle's Confectionery Works, Breskens (one Jubilee, PH-IPM "Dubbele Arend", delivered in 1935)[12]
 New Zealand
 Romania
 Spain
 Spain
 Turkey
 United Kingdom

Specifications (Monospar ST-25 Jubilee)

Data from Jackson, 1973

General characteristics

  • Crew: one
  • Length: 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m)
  • Wingspan: 40 ft 2 in (12.24 m)
  • Height: 7 ft 10 in (2.39 m)
  • Wing area: 217 sq ft (20.2 m2)
  • Empty weight: 1,680 lb (762 kg)
  • Gross weight: 2,875 lb (1,304 kg)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Pobjoy Niagara II 7-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engine, 90 hp (67 kW) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 142 mph (229 km/h, 123 kn)
  • Range: 585 mi (941 km, 508 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 16,000 ft (4,900 m)
  • Rate of climb: 800 ft/min (4.1 m/s)

See also

References

Notes

  1. The Fairey FC1 was selected to meet the requirement for the airliner.[6]

Citations

  1. Howson, 1990
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jackson 1973, pp. 215–220
  3. PIET VAN ASCH – New Zealand's Aerial Mapping Pioneer at wings.net.nz Archived 9 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Ogden (2009)
  5. Jarrett 1990, pp. 734–736
  6. Jarrett 1990, p. 735
  7. Jarrett 1990, p. 736
  8. General Aircraft Monopar ST-25 – British Aircraft of World War II accessed 1 July 2017]
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stroud 1988, p. 238
  10. Estonian National Archives Photo Database, EFA.446.0.194553
  11. "Les Nakajima Ki-43 " Oscar " dans l'Armée de l'Air, une fausse bonne idée" (in French). 21 February 2016.
  12. "Rond vliegveld" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 25 February 2014.
  13. Stroud 1988, p. 237
  14. Stroud 1988, pp. 237–238

Bibliography

  • Howson, Gerald. 1990. Aircraft of the Spanish Civil War 1936–39. Putnam ISBN 978-0-85177-842-6
  • Jackson, A.J. (1973). British Civil Aircraft since 1919, Volume 2. Putnam. pp. 215–220, 519–521 ISBN 0-370-10010-7
  • Jarrett, Philip (December 1990). "Nothing Ventured...No 9". Aeroplane Monthly. Vol. 18, no. 12. pp. 734–737, 775. ISSN 0143-7240.
  • Lumsden, Alec; Heffernan, Terry (February 1984). "Probe Probare No 2: Monospar ST-25". Aeroplane Monthly. Vol. 12, no. 2. pp. 94–96. ISSN 0143-7240.
  • Ogden, Bob (2009). Aviation Museums and Collections of Mainland Europe. Air-Britain. ISBN 978-0-85130-418-2
  • Stroud, John (April 1988). "Wings of Peace". Aeroplane Monthly. Vol. 16, no. 4. pp. 232–238. ISSN 0143-7240.
  • Wright, Matthew (1991). "Mapping by Monospar". Air Enthusiast. No. 44. pp. 6–9. ISSN 0143-5450.
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