The Arrow Active is a British aerobatic aircraft built in the 1930s.

Design and development

The Arrow Active is a single-seat

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

of conventional configuration, with single-bay, staggered wings of unequal span and chord, bordering on being a sesquiplane. The upper and lower wings are joined by a single

interplane strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

. The undercarriage is fixed, with a pair of mainwheels and a tail-skid. It was originally powered by a 115 hp (86 kW) Cirrus-Hermes IIB engine. The second aircraft built featured a more powerful 120 hp (90 kW)

de Havilland Gipsy The de Havilland Gipsy is a British air-cooled four-cylinder in-line aircraft engine designed by Frank Halford in 1927 to replace the ADC Cirrus in the de Havilland DH.60 Moth light biplane. Initially developed as an upright 5 litre (3 ...

III and was designated Active 2. It also differed from the Active 1 in having a strutted, conventional centre section, a slightly different shaped fin and rudder, and smaller, wider wheels.

Operational history

Although it was originally hoped that the military might show an interest in the aircraft, this did not transpire, and the Active was flown as a sports plane. The Active 1 ''G-ABIX'' received its Certificate of Airworthiness on 21 May 1931Jackson 1959, page 407; Jackson 1973, page 286 and flew at 132.2 mph (212 km/h) in the 1932 King's Cup Race. It was

Alex Henshaw Alexander Adolphus Dumphries Henshaw, (7 November 1912 – 24 February 2007) was a British air racer in the 1930s and a test pilot for Vickers Armstrong during the Second World War. Early life Henshaw was born in Peterborough, the eldest son of ...

's mount in the second half of 1935 until severely damaged in a crash following an in-flight fire that December. The Active 2 ''G-ABVE'' was certified on 29 June 1932Jackson 1959, page 408; Jackson 1973, page 287 and flew in the King's Cup in both 1932 and 1933. Slightly faster than the Arrow 1, it recorded a speed of 137 mph (220 km/h)

Variants

;Active 1 :One aircraft powered by a 115hp (86kW) Cirrus Hermes IIB engine. ;Active 2 :One aircraft powered by a 120hp (90kW) de Havilland Gipsy III engine, rebuilt in 1958 with a de Havilland Gipsy Major 1C.

Surviving aircraft

Rebuilt in 1958, and again in 1989, the Active 2 is still on the British civil register and is based at Coventry, England.

Specifications (Active 2)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{refend 1930s British sport aircraft Active Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Aerobatic aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1931