Eastbourne Aviation Company (EAC) Ltd Aircraft

[Cy-27]

Eastbourne Aviation Company (EAC) Ltd Aircraft 1912-1924

Founded by Frederick Bernard Fowler in 1912, the E.A.C first came to prominence with flight instruction and later seaplane instruction. In 1913 the Frank Hucks Waterplane Works merged with the Eastbourne Aviation Company to be known as Eastbourne Aviation Company Limited. Frank was the brother of “Benny” Hucks (of Hucks Starter fame) who was also EAC company secretary at one stage.

The firm used Farman aircraft and three locally produced Bleriot monoplanes for flight instruction. As well as the four aircraft that follow, the firm also converted an Oldsmobile automobile to transport aircraft by road utilizing a custom built trailer. All four EAC designs only existed as single examples.

During the war the company specialised in flight training and a number of aircraft were produced under Government contracts at the Seaplane Base factory.

Royal Aircraft Factory Be.2c (@ 12 built)
Maurice Farman S11 (@ 40 built)
Avro 504 (@ 206 built)

After the airfield became a RNAS Training Station over 120 men learned to fly there.

In 1921 Fowler went to Japan with Colonel the Master of Sempill Mission to organise and train the Imperial Japanese Navy Flying Branch.

The firm continued with pleasure and photographic flights as well as flight training post-war and the firm ceased trading in 1924.

As an aside, designer Glasser returned to Europe in 1914, was rejected by the Swiss Air Corps and joined Luft Verkehrs Gesellschaft (LVG) as a test pilot and instructor. In 1917 he was working in Potsdam repairing Rumpler biplanes.

The following entries come from the following sources:

British Aircraft 1808-1914 - Peter Lewis [Putnam]
A History of the Eastbourne Aviation Company 1911-1924 - Lou McMahon and Michael Partridge [Eastbourne Local History Society] ISBN 0-9504560-8-X
Eastbourne Remembered - Mick Hymams [Lulu] ISBN 1326210637
The Aeroplane magazine 6 February 1913
Flight magazine 3 May 1913
L’Aerophile 15 September 1913
Flight magazine 7 March 1914
Flight magazine 21 March 1914
Flight magazine 18 April 1914
Flight magazine 11 December 1914
Air Pictorial March 1979

 

[Cy-27]

EAC Monoplane
1913

In 1913 the founder of the Eastbourne Aviation Company Bernard Fowler, assisted by a former Swiss pilot-pupil Emil L.Glasser, designed the first of four indigenous aircraft produced by the company.

The Eastbourne Monoplane was unique for its time in that it was a single wing design. First flight of this experimental monoplane was made on 22 February 1913.

It was a single-seat tractor monoplane powered by a three-cylinder Anzani (35 hp) engine mounted on the nose of a rectangular fuselage. The fuselage went from a deep belly and tapered to a knife edge tail.

The aircraft had a wooden structure and featured a metal covering which extended as far as the rear of the cockpit. The remainder of the aircraft was fabric covered.Inter-connected ailerons were used instead of wing warping which avoided the warping strains on the wings.

The flying characteristics were good but commercial sales were thwarted by the advent of the Great War.

General Characteristics

Engine: 1 x Anzani 3-cylinder (35 hp) radial
Wing Span: 29 ft 2 in
Length: 21 ft 0 in
Height: 8 ft 0 in
Wing Area: 135 sq ft
Elevator Area: 10 sq ft
Rudder Area: 7 sq ft
Weight Empty: 495 lbs
Weight Loaded: 698 lbs
Cruising Speed: 50 mph
Wheel Track: 5 ft 0 in
Propeller Diameter: 7 ft 0 in
Fuel: 6 U.S. gals
Climb Rate: 125 ft per minute
Ceiling: 970 ft
Range: 25 miles

 

[Cy-27]

EAC (Hunt) Biplane
1914

The second offering from the EAC was a commissioned design for a single-seat biplane with a Gnome engine. It was designed by E.L Glasser to fulfil an order from Lt. R.E.B. Hunt who was a pupil at the Eastbourne Aviation School.

It was finished in February 1914 and found to be easy to handle. It was used by F.B Fowler, Gassler himself as well as Hunt and was intended to be used for exhibition flying. The aircraft moved from Eastbourne shortly before World War I began and its fate is not known.

The next design, the military tractor biplane was a different design and the two could be easily identified by the rectangular, upright, fin on the Hunt biplane and the triangular fin of the military biplane.

General Characteristics

Engine: 1 x Gnome (50 hp) radial
Cruising Speed: 65 mph

No diagrams for this type but the attached photo shows Emil Glasser and Lt. Hunt with the aeroplane.

 

[Cy-27]

EAC Military Biplane
1914

This was a tandem seat military aircraft first shown at the Olympia Aero Show in 1914. This was the third design from Monsieur E.L.Glasser for the Eastbourne Aviation Company. It was larger than the preceding Hunt Biplane

It had a distinctive aluminium cowling around Gnome engine mounted on overhung bearers in the nose.

It had an undercarriage incorporating short skids with a rubber chord sprung axle.

The biplane featured unequal span wings withe the lower wing being the shorter. It had inverted V type centre section struts. The lower wing roots and upper centre section were left open to provide the crew with the best visibility.

The aircraft was of a wooden structure and fabric covered. There was a starting handle in the front pilot’s cockpit to make the start process easier when the aircraft was flown solo. The wings could be folded and the tail quickly unbolted and folded along the fuselage for transportation while in the field.

An oil and petrol tank was located between the engine and front pilots cockpit.

The Government at the time showed little interest in the type and only one example built.

General Characteristics

Engine: 1 x Gnome (80 hp) radial
Wing Span Upper: 34 ft 6 in
Wing Span Lower: 30 ft 0 in
Length: 25 ft 0 in
Height: 8 ft 0 in
Wing Area: 245 sq ft
tail Plane Area: 15 sq m
Elevator Area: 10 sq ft
Rudder Area: 8 sq ft
Weight Empty: 950 lb
Maximum Speed: 75 mph
Landing Speed: 50 mph
Propeller Diameter: 8 ft 6 in

 

[Cy-27]

EAC Circuit Seaplane
1914

This twin airscrew design was powered by a single Green engine located in the fuselage between the biplane wings. The propellers were driven through inclined shafts and bevel gearing.

The aircraft had a crew of two in side-by-side seating in the nose of the fuselage. The fuselage was constructed of wood with fabric covering and swept upwards towards the tail. The final fuselage bay contained a water-tight tank in case the tail unit was swamped with water.

The aircraft had three bay wings which included ailerons and the wings had no stagger.

It was fitted with two long floats twelve feet apart negating the need for wing floats or tail float. The two-step floats were made up of six compartments in each unit.

It was entered in the 1914 Daily Mail Circuit of Britain contest for sea planes, receiving the entry number 5. The pilot was to be Bernard Fowler. The race did not take place due to the war.

The out rigged propeller arrangement was not totally satisfactory and the aircraft dismantled with the advent of hostilities in 1914.

General Characteristics

Engine: 1 x Green (100 hp)
Wing Span: 54 ft 0 in
Length: 31 ft 0 in
Wing Area: 700 sq ft
Tail Span: 12 ft 9 in
Float Length: 18 ft 0 in:
Float Width: 2 ft 0 in:
Float (Gap Between): 10 ft 0 in
Weight Empty: 1,850 lb
Weight Loaded: 2,809 lb
Maximum Speed: 65 mph
Landing Speed: 45 mph
Propeller Diameter: 8 ft 6 in
Endurance: 7 hours

 

[hesham]

Great work my dear Cy-27.