Blake (circa 1930)
W.H.C. and R.C. Blake
Contents
History
William Henry Cundell Blake was born on 9 December 1906 in Kings Worthy, Hampshire, the son of Frank Cundell Blake and Ethel May Blake (née Candy). After schooling, went off to Cornwall to train at the Camborne School of Mines. This took him to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and the Gold Coast, where he worked as a mining engineer. However, he had a passion for flying, and on 17 October 1929 gained his Royal Aero Club Aviators Certificate, No.8859, flying an Avro Avian at the Hampshire Aeroplane Club, Hamble.
It was shortly after this that he decided to build his own machine. Along with his younger brother Richard Charles Blake (b. 1908 in Kings Worthy, Hampshire), he built and flew the Blue Tit in 1930. The fuselage was built from a pair of Spartan's, G-AAGN and G-AAJB, wings coming from the top section of an Avro 504. Power was provided by a 35h.p. ABC Gnat.
The Blue Tit first flew on 19 October 1930 from Woodhams Farm, Kings Worthy. After being blown onto its back in later the same year, it was stored, dismantled, in a barn at Woodhams Farm until 1968, when it was acquired by the Shuttleworth Trust, with whom it was registered G-BXIY and given a more reliable Bristol Cherub I powerplant. Shuttleworth disposed of it in 2000 and it is currently in private ownership.
William Blake went on to serve as Lt Cdr in the RNVR during WW2.
William Henry Cundell Blake died on 29 October 1988 in Dartington Totnes, Devon. His brother Richard had predeceased him on 19 August 1942, in New Forest, Hampshire.
Company References
- https://hampshirearchivestrust.co.uk/stories/blake-blue-tit
- British Light Aeroplanes 1920 - 1940, Arthur W.J.G. Ord-Hume (GMS Enterprises, 2000)
- ancestry.com
Project Data
| Project No | Type No | Name | Alternative Name(s) | Year | Spec (Requirement) | Status | Qty | Description | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Tit | 1930 | Proto | 1 | 1S, 1E light aircraft | 1,2,3,4,5,6 |
Project References
- British Homebuilt Aircraft since 1920, Ken Ellis (Merseyside Aviation Society, 1975 and 1979)
- British Light Aeroplanes 1920-1940, Arthur W.J.G. Ord-Hume (GMS Enterprises, 2000)
- Aeroplane Monthly Oct 1978
- Air Pictorial Dec 1958
- Air Pictorial Feb 1967
- https://hampshirearchivesandlocalstudies.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/moving-through-time/
Production Details and Type Description
The fuselage and tailplane was built from two Simmonds Spartan fuelages spliced together to form a two seat fuselage. The wings were from an Avro 504K, shortened and mounted above the fuselage. One 32 h.p. ABC Gnat powerplant, eventually replaced by a Bristol Cherub I during restoration.
| Specification | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed* | Maximum Speed | Range* | Service Ceiling |
| 27 ft 4 in | 18 ft 11 in | 6 ft 9 in | 129.5 sq ft | 460 lb | 630 lb | 58 mph/ 50 kn | 60 mph/ 52 kn | 70 mi | |
| 8.33 m | 5.77 m | 2.06 m | 12.03 m2 | 209 kg | 286 kg | 93 km/h | 97 km/h | 113 km | |
One aircraft only : c/n. 01, registered in 1977 as G-BXIY.
Total Blake Production1
Page Revision History
Revised at Version 2.0.0- Added autobiographical notes.
- Added Type Description and Specification details.