Fairey Delta 2
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The Fairey Delta 2 or FD2 was a British supersonic research aircraft produced in response to a specification from the Ministry of Supply for investigation into flight and control at transonic and supersonic speeds.
The design was a mid wing delta monoplane, on a circular cross section fuselage with no tailplane. The engine was a Rolls-Royce Avon with an afterburner. The Delta 2 had a very long tapering nose which obscured forward vision during landing, take-off and movement on the ground. To compensate, the nose section and cockpit dropped 10 degrees in a similar way to that used on Concorde later. Two aircraft were built.
The first FD2 was aircraft WG774 which made its maiden flight on 6 October 1954, under the command of Fairey test pilot Peter Twiss. On 10 March 1956, this aircraft broke the World Air Speed Record raising it to 1,132 mph (1820 km/h), an increase of some 300 mph (480 km/h) over the record set in year before by an F-100 Super Sabre, and thus became the first aircraft to exceed 1,000 mph in level flight. This aircraft was later converted in 1960 by the British Aircraft Corporation to become the BAC 221 for aerodynamic research for Concorde flying in 1964 and until 1973. WG774 is now on display alongside the British Concorde prototype at the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton. The second FD.2 (WG777) is preserved at the Royal Air Force Museum at RAF Cosford alongside many other supersonic research aircraft.
Specifications (Fairey Delta 2)
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