Bristol Type 91 Brownie
For a description of the format and data included in Production Tables, see here.
Contents
Type Description
- Type 91 Brownie Mk.I
- Two seat light sports aircraft built for the 1924 Lympne light aircraft trials. All three aircraft had a similar fuselage, made of wire-braced high-tensile steel tubing, but for experimental purposes three different wing designs were produced: a 34 ft 7in span wooden wing and two different metal wings, one of 36 ft 7 in span of all-steel construction, the other, intended for high-speed use, of 30 ft 7 in span with combined steel and duralumin construction. The fuselage was a flat sided box beam of steel tube longerons and struts, braced by piano wire and turnbuckles. For the steel wings, spars webs were formed of zig-zag steel tubing. The wing ribs were N-trusses of channel section. Fabric covering is employed for wings as well as fuselage. The tail plane, elevator, rudder and fin were also of metal construction, but of more orthodox form. The undercarriage was of somewhat unorthodox design, the "legs" consisting of two vertical streamline tubes secured to the front spar boxes and braced fore and aft by wires. The high-tensile steel axle extended a considerable distance beyond the strut supports and absorbed some of the shock by its deflection. No rubber shock absorbers are fitted. One 32 h.p. Bristol Cherub I powerplant.
- Type 91A Brownie Mk.I
- Type 91 Brownie Mk.I fitted with the newly developed 36 hp Cherub III mounted slightly lower in the fuselage. The top longerons were also curved more downwards to improve the view from the rear cockpit. Additionally, the fuel tank was enlarged and it was fitted with new metal wings, giving it a span of 37 ft 7 in
- Type 91B Brownie Mk.II
- Type 91A Brownie Mk.I with the engine mounting lowered further and fitted with a Fairey-Reed propeller. A curved decking was also added to the rear fuselage as was an enlarged horn-balanced rudder and a new undercarriage.
| Type 91 Brownie Mk.I (Wooden Wing) Specification | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Range | Service Ceiling |
| 34 ft 7 in | 26 ft 3 in | 6 ft 6 in | 204 sq ft | 500 lb | 870 lb | 70 mph/ 61 kn | 100 mi | ||
| 10.54 m | 8 m | 1.98 m | 18.95 m2 | 227 kg | 395 kg | 113 km/h | 161 km | ||
Projected Variants
- Type 98 Brownie Mk.III
- All wood single seat racing version. One 36 h.p. Bristol Cherub III powerplant.
Production Details
| C/n | Initial Registration |
Type | Notes |
| 3 aircraft built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, Filton, Bristol, Somerset. First flew August 1924. | |||
| 6526 | G-EBJK | Type 91 | Fitted with wooden wings. Retained by Bristol. |
| 6527 | G-EBJL | Fitted with large metal wings. Later converted to a single seater. To Bristol & Wessex Aeroplane Club, September 1927. | |
| 6528 | G-EBJM | Single-seater with a long-range tank and the smaller metal wings. | |
| 1 aircraft modified by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, Filton, Bristol, Somerset, in November 1925. | |||
| 6526 | G-EBJK | Type 91A | Retained by Bristol. |
| 1 aircraft modified by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, Filton, Bristol, Somerset, in May 1926. | |||
| 6526 | G-EBJK | Type 91B | Entered for the 1926 Daily Mail Trials for light aeroplanes. Became F.S.Barnwell's private aeroplane in 1927. |
| Total Production (New Built) 3 | |||
| Total Conversions (2) | |||
Production Summary
All Aircraft By Type
| Type | Built New | Conv | Canc'd | Total |
| Type 91 Brownie Mk.I | 3 | 3 | ||
| Type 91A Brownie Mk.I | (1) | 1 | ||
| Type 91B Brownie Mk.II | (1) | 1 | ||
| 3 | (2) | 0 |
Production References
- Bristol Aircraft Since 1910, C.H. Barnes (Putnam, 1964, 1970 and 1988)
- British Civil Aircraft Registers 1919-1928, Peter W. Moss (Air Britain Publications, 1969)
Page Revision History
Revised at Version 2.0.0- Improved Type Description and Added Specification details.