Abbott
E. D. Abbott Ltd
Contents
History
A British coachbuilding company based in Farnham, Surrey, E. D. Abbott Ltd. (Edward Dixon Abbott, b. 1888, Eastbourne, Sussex) built a glider in 1930 called the Farnham Sailplane, designed by Thomas Cecil Letcher (b. 1888, Truro, Cornwall, - d. 1950, Isle of Wight), one time chief designer of Samuel White and Co, for customers L.H. Ellis and Mr. Russell-Taylor. Another project undertaken by E.D. Abbott was the construction of the Whitlet Hoverplane, a non flying training machine built for the W.L. Hoverplane Syndicate, also of Farnham, in early 1931. The Whitlet Hoverplane was also a design by Letcher, in conjunction with his co-patentee John Ronald Sturge Whiting (b. 1887, Leeds, Yorkshire - d. 4 August 1962, Reading, Oxfordshire). Later that same year the company established a subsidiary, Abbott-Baynes Sailplanes Ltd, to build more sailplanes, this time to the design of L E Baynes.
Following the ending of the association with Baynes, the Abbott aviation interests remained dormant until WWII, when they were involved with making parts for various aircraft. After the war, the company returned to its core coachbuilding business. The company finally closed in 1972.
Company References
- British Gliders and Sailplanes 1922-1970, Norman Ellison (Adam and Charles Black, 1970)
- British Light Aeroplanes 1920-1940, Arthur W.J.G. Ord-Hume (GMS Enterprises, 2000)
- Flight 06 Mar 1931
- Flight 18 Mar 1931
Project Data
| Project No | Type No | Name | Alternative Name(s) | Year | Spec (Requirement) | Status | Qty | Description | References |
| Farnham Sailplane | Alert | 1930 | Proto | 1 | 1S sailplane | 1,2,3 |
Project References
- British Gliders and Sailplanes 1922-1970, Norman Ellison (Adam and Charles Black, 1970)
- Flight 08 Aug 1930
- Sailplane and Glider 12 Sep 1930
Production Details and Type Description
Single seat sailplane of all-wood construction, with a cantilever three piece high wing. The central half span had constant chord; outboard long elliptical tips contained the ailerons. No airbrakes or flaps were fitted. The fuselage was roughly elliptical in cross-section, tapering towards the tail where it carried mid-mounted, straight-tapered elevators with rounded tips. The rudder was hinged at the extreme end of the fuselage and was of rounded triangular shape with a steep rising leading edge. The open cockpit was immediately ahead of the wing leading edge. Its undercarriage was a single long skid, reaching from the nose to well behind the wing trailing edge, with a small tailskid.
| Abbott Farnham Sailplane Specification | |||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW |
| 60 ft | 20 ft 3 in | 224 sq ft | 328 lb | ||
| 18.29 m | 6.17 m | 20.81 m2 | 149 kg | ||
One aircraft only : First flew August 1930. No known registration or c/n.
Total Abbott Production1
Page Revision History
Revised at Version 2.0.0- Added Type Description and Specification details.