Hello,
Were there any official speed test(s) made with a Ripon by the Royal Air Force? I have the Finnish ratings and would like to compare them. This test was flown with “RI-150” equipted with Pegasus II-L.3 (580-600 hp). Weight was 2900 kg for both types at the end of two hours flight.
Source: Finnish National Archive. Tulo 19401/41.
A. Land plane.
| rpm | speed |
|——————-
| 1450 | 117,0 km/h | (smallest)
| 1600 | 140,0 km/h |
| 1800 | 163,5 km/h |
| 2000 | 186,0 km/h |
| 2300 | 220,0 km/h | (largest)
B. Land plane.
| rpm | speed |
|——————-
| 1450 | 112,5 km/h | (smallest)
| 1700 | 150,0 km/h |
| 1900 | 170,5 km/h |
| 2100 | 193,0 km/h |
| 2260 | 210,0 km/h | (largest)
By: Pondskater - 5th March 2009 at 13:31
A different engine perhaps?
Ah yes, it was. A Napier Lion V of 405 hp only – and it’s on floats. The UK service Ripons apparently had different engines to the Finnish examples. There is probably more similarity to the Blackburn Baffin which had the Pegasus engine (not sure which mark) and served in the UK Fleet Air Arm before being sold to New Zealand. We’ve not found the flight test reports for the Baffin yet.
Ideas welcome.
By: Martti Kujansuu - 5th March 2009 at 11:56
Thanks for the pages! The without torpedo test was flown with a plane almost weighting the same as the Finnish floatplane but was over 20 mph slower. A different engine perhaps?
By: Pondskater - 4th March 2009 at 16:50
Martti,
Are these any use? They show the speed tests with and without a torpedo loaded.
They are copied from the files at the National Archives in the UK. I’ve got most of the file – PM me your address and I can post a CD with all the details.
With torpedo
Without torpedo
Over here: http://forum.planetalk.net/viewtopic.php?t=7568 there is a thread looking for info on the Baffin/Ripon’s ability to do aerobatics. If there is anything in the Finnish reports, Dave would love to hear from you.
Allan
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March 2, 2009 at 11:33 am