About This File
FS98 Avro Roe I Triplane, 1909. The first British powered aircraft to fly in history, built by Alliot Verdon Roe, the founder of Avro. His first model was powered by a 2-cylinder 9 hp JAP Vee type motorcycle engine, the lowest horse power yet flown in Europe to the present day, and flew in Lea Marshes in 1909 with a speed of 22 knots. The triplane also had a triplane tail, pitch control being effected by altering the angle of incidence of the mainplanes, and lateral control was by wing-warping. Two models are supplied with this release: The first model in a yellow colour scheme (nicknamed "yellow peril) had a tailwheel and an inboard tank, and the second model in beige canvas colouring was equipped with a more powerful 4-cylinder 20 hp JAP engine, had a tail-skid, and a cigar-shaped tank mounted above the fuselage giving a greater fuel head. By Stephan Scholz.