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P.71A
P.71A
	Boulton-Paul P.71A G-ACOX Boadicea
General information
Type	Mail plane/Light Transport
Manufacturer	Boulton & Paul Ltd
Primary user	Imperial Airways
Number built	2
History
Introduction date	1935
Retired	1936
Developed from	Boulton Paul P.64 Mailplane

The Boulton & Paul P.71A was a 1930s British twin-engined all-metal biplane transport aircraft by Boulton & Paul Ltd used by Imperial Airways for feeder-line work. The P.71 was development of the P.64 Mailplane which had not met the airline's specifications. Two aircraft entered service in early 1935 but both were lost to accidents by end of 1936.

History

The P.71A was the successor to the Boulton & Paul's first attempt to meet the airline requirement, the P.64 Mailplane. The P.71A was lighter, slimmer and longer and used Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IVA radial piston engines.

Two aircraft were built and delivered to Imperial Airways at Croydon Airport in February 1935. The airline had lost interest in using them as mailplanes, so the two aircraft were converted as VIP transports with 13 removable seats.

G-ACOX

The first aircraft, registered G-ACOX and named Boadicea after the Briton queen of that name, was lost in the English Channel on 25 September 1936 while on an air-mail flight from Croydon to Paris with the loss of the two crew.

G-ACOY

The second aircraft, registered G-ACOY and named Britomart after the literary character of that name, was damaged beyond repair in a landing accident at Haren, Brussels on 25 October 1935.

Operators

United Kingdom

Imperial Airways

Specifications

Data from Imperial Airway's Latest ^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Capacity: 6–7 passengers^[2]
Length: 44 ft 2 in (13.46 m)
Wingspan: 54 ft 0 in (16.46 m)
Height: 15 ft 2+1⁄4 in (4.629 m)
Wing area: 718.5 sq ft (66.75 m²)
Aspect ratio: 7.91:1
Empty weight: 6,100 lb (2,767 kg)
Gross weight: 9,500 lb (4,309 kg)
Fuel capacity: 186 imp gal (223 US gal; 850 L)
Powerplant: 2 × Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar VIA 14-cylinder radial engines, 490 hp (370 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 195 mph (314 km/h, 169 kn) ^[3]
Cruise speed: 150 mph (240 km/h, 130 kn) at 4,500 ft (1,400 m)
Range: 600 mi (970 km, 520 nmi) (full tanks)
Service ceiling: 21,000 ft (6,400 m)
Rate of climb: 1,400 ft/min (7.1 m/s)
Time to altitude: 4.5 min to 4,500 ft (1,400 m)

References

Notes

^ Flight 31 January 1935, p.118.
^ Flight 31 January 1935, p.123.
^ Donald 1997, p.178.

Bibliography

Donald, David, ed. (1997). The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Leicester, UK: Blitz Editions. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). Orbis Publishing.
"Imperial Airways' Latest". Flight. Vol. XXVII, no. 1362. 31 January 1935. pp. 118–123. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012.
Jackson, A.J. (1974). British Civil Aircraft since 1919. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-10014-X.