The Sage Type 3 (also known as the Sage N3 School[1]) was a prototype British biplane training aircraft of the First World War. It was unsuccessful, only two examples being built.
| Sage Type 3 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Trainer aircraft Type of aircraft |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Frederic Sage & Co. Limited |
| First flight | 5 January 1917 |
| Number built | 2 |
In 1916, the British Admiralty placed a contract with Frederick Sage & Co, a Peterborough-based woodworking company which had become an aircraft contractor for the Royal Navy, to design and build a primary trainer for the Royal Naval Air Service. It was required to be robust, with a low landing speed and good visibility. The resultant design, the Sage Type 3, was a two-bay tractor biplane powered by a Rolls-Royce Hawk engine. In order to prevent the aircraft overturning during landing, it was fitted with an additional pair of wheels ahead of the mainwheels.[2][3]
The first prototype Type 3 flew on 5 January 1917. It proved to be slow, even for a trainer, and was modified with smaller tail surfaces and reduced weight, becoming the Type 3b (with the original design retrospectively designated Type 3a), which slightly improved performance.[4] However, after a second aircraft was built, the contract was cancelled, and the remaining aircraft of the contract for 30 Type 3s were unbuilt.[1] The type did form the basis for the Sage Type 4 floatplane, which was ordered into production but cancelled due to the end of the war.[5]
Data from British Aeroplanes 1914-18[4]
General characteristics
Performance
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Frederick Sage & Co designed/built aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Sage designed aircraft | |
| Licence-built aircraft | |