| Fourteen A. W.
"Ensign" 40-passenger transport aeroplanes are being built
by Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Ltd., for operation over
certain sections of Imperial Airways Empire air lines. Each has four
880 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley "Tiger" IX motors giving a cruising
speed of about 170 m.p.h. and a range of 760 miles; the maximum speed
is slightly more than 200 m.p.h. The A. W. "Ensigns" are
at present the largest British land-planes. The normal loaded weight
is 46,500 lb. (21 tons) and they have wing spans of 123 ft. The undercarriage
retracts a distance of 14 ft. into the high wing. The passenger accommodation
is divided into four separate cabins. |
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