Edgley EA-7 Optica G-BOPO
The early test flying was done by Angus McVitie at Cranfield. When I was at Edgley Aircraft Ltd. at Old Sarum in the early eighties Chris (Chopper) Chadwick was the test pilot and he did the bulk/all of the test flying required for CAA type certification.
Neville Duke (absolute gent, as is Chris) was brought in after Edgley Aircraft went bust and the Company became Optica Industies, this is when Alan Haikney bought it out of receivership. John Edgley was off the scene by then.
The ducted fan was used as it is aerodynamically more efficient than an open propeller (no tip losses). The down-side is the huge structural compromise needed to create the duct. This included a massive/complex/costly/heavy/otherwise bad ring main-spar centre section. It formed the outer ring of the duct and was significantly heavier than a conventional straight main spar.
The prototype had a 200hp Lycoming and would sometimes use the whole length of Old Sarum's grass (about 1000m hedge to hedge) and still abort. Production aircraft had a 260hp O-540 and had decent runway performance (don't recall the T/O distances).
It might or might not have been a good aircraft but it gave a number of us a launch into a career in aeronautical engineering. Many of us newly-qualified engineers were given responsibilities undreamt of in larger or more established aircraft companies as well as fantastic exposure across the whole of the aircraft design, certification, production and testing process.
For all of that, several of today's senior aeronautical engineers owe a huge debt of gratitude to John Edgley.
And it was great fun and very exciting.
Neville Duke (absolute gent, as is Chris) was brought in after Edgley Aircraft went bust and the Company became Optica Industies, this is when Alan Haikney bought it out of receivership. John Edgley was off the scene by then.
The ducted fan was used as it is aerodynamically more efficient than an open propeller (no tip losses). The down-side is the huge structural compromise needed to create the duct. This included a massive/complex/costly/heavy/otherwise bad ring main-spar centre section. It formed the outer ring of the duct and was significantly heavier than a conventional straight main spar.
The prototype had a 200hp Lycoming and would sometimes use the whole length of Old Sarum's grass (about 1000m hedge to hedge) and still abort. Production aircraft had a 260hp O-540 and had decent runway performance (don't recall the T/O distances).
It might or might not have been a good aircraft but it gave a number of us a launch into a career in aeronautical engineering. Many of us newly-qualified engineers were given responsibilities undreamt of in larger or more established aircraft companies as well as fantastic exposure across the whole of the aircraft design, certification, production and testing process.
For all of that, several of today's senior aeronautical engineers owe a huge debt of gratitude to John Edgley.
And it was great fun and very exciting.
Last edited by Kemble Pitts; 18th Mar 2016 at 19:59.
Thank you KP. Very useful to have the history and background-a lot of your info I was completely unaware of. I now see where Alan Haikney fits in, much appreciated. I'd got my facts wrong too, I though Grenville Hodge bought it out receivership.
Mrs Bws
Mrs Bws
Grenville Hodge, if I recall correctly, appeared on the horizon about the time Edgley Aircraft went into receivership - I think just before but memory is vague on the details.
I think he came in as Production Director or similar. I left about one year after the receivership/arrival of Alan Haikney but Grenville Hodge was there after that and, I believe, became more involved in the new company and control of the aerodrome. He might still be.
'Someone' should write the history of the project, it is full of technical interest, ingenuity and larger than life characters.
e.g. we did bird-strike tests on the Optica windscreen with John's Volvo, some Dexion, a composite 2lb chicken (thawed) and the western section of taxyway (only just long enough to go from 0 to 60mph and back to 0 before going through the hedge!
I think he came in as Production Director or similar. I left about one year after the receivership/arrival of Alan Haikney but Grenville Hodge was there after that and, I believe, became more involved in the new company and control of the aerodrome. He might still be.
'Someone' should write the history of the project, it is full of technical interest, ingenuity and larger than life characters.
e.g. we did bird-strike tests on the Optica windscreen with John's Volvo, some Dexion, a composite 2lb chicken (thawed) and the western section of taxyway (only just long enough to go from 0 to 60mph and back to 0 before going through the hedge!
The prototype had a 200hp Lycoming and would sometimes use the whole length of Old Sarum's grass (about 1000m hedge to hedge) and still abort. Production aircraft had a 260hp O-540 and had decent runway performance (don't recall the T/O distances).
And it was great fun and very exciting.
As for the view, Angus let me land it and I had no problems.
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Anyone know about the connection between Optica/Old Sarum and Canadian, Matthew Hudson? He bought out Optica to save it from receivership and apparently paid all the wages owed to the employees but now is keen to recoup his costs by building on Old Sarum airfield.
It look so like Old Sarum is again under threat from development. The owners are taking their application to the planning inspector. Any updates from anyone?
Where did you get with your enquiry about Matthew Hudson BBE?
Where did you get with your enquiry about Matthew Hudson BBE?
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Grenville Hodge, if I recall correctly, appeared on the horizon about the time Edgley Aircraft went into receivership - I think just before but memory is vague on the details.
I think he came in as Production Director or similar. I left about one year after the receivership/arrival of Alan Haikney but Grenville Hodge was there after that and, I believe, became more involved in the new company and control of the aerodrome. He might still be.
'Someone' should write the history of the project, it is full of technical interest, ingenuity and larger than life characters.
e.g. we did bird-strike tests on the Optica windscreen with John's Volvo, some Dexion, a composite 2lb chicken (thawed) and the western section of taxyway (only just long enough to go from 0 to 60mph and back to 0 before going through the hedge!
I think he came in as Production Director or similar. I left about one year after the receivership/arrival of Alan Haikney but Grenville Hodge was there after that and, I believe, became more involved in the new company and control of the aerodrome. He might still be.
'Someone' should write the history of the project, it is full of technical interest, ingenuity and larger than life characters.
e.g. we did bird-strike tests on the Optica windscreen with John's Volvo, some Dexion, a composite 2lb chicken (thawed) and the western section of taxyway (only just long enough to go from 0 to 60mph and back to 0 before going through the hedge!
Apart Kemble Pitts post, all I found about Optica was this. A military friend of mine told me that, despite Granville Hodge’s optimism, the army weren’t that interested in the aircraft because, unlike a helicopter, it couldn’t hover so wasn’t much use to them for crowd observation. Soon after, there was a fire which brought a halt to the whole thing anyway.
https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightP...20-%201262.PDF
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And the delightful Sea Bee!
The design decisions that went into the Optica always struck me as odd.
Instead of the expensive ducted-fan arrangement, why didn't they go for a simple pusher arrangement? Was it just noise considerations?
Instead of the expensive ducted-fan arrangement, why didn't they go for a simple pusher arrangement? Was it just noise considerations?
Complicated Solution
For a machine that had a requirement to 'loiter' and poss turn at low speeds without spinning in the Optica failed in its basic requirement. In reality a Rallye could do its job and not have to use ballast weights in relation to crew numbers/weight. In fact a Rallye or STOL modded 172/180/182 would have sufficed with the handling not being a problem. When you consider the zillions of hours flown by the 172 type on aerial imaging for decades it rather makes the case. There would also have always been the 'grey area' for single engine ops over built up areas to contend with.
Wasn't the point of the Optica that it would have the same field of view from the cockpit as a typical helicopter, but at much less cost ?
In other words, far better than a Rallye or a Cessna single.
In other words, far better than a Rallye or a Cessna single.
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Down at my local airport is a Cessna 182 with a Peterson STOL kit. It has a front set of elevators mounted forward of the cabin. They move in the opposite direction to the elevators. The owner said it has a stall speed of 35 knots.
Not wishing to boast or claim 'one upmanship' but I seem to have flown an Optica (3rd Sep 1980 but admittedly not the production version) before John!
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comparing the Optica with a helicopter
This was never going to be a selling point as the cost would have been far more than the previous mentioned available GA aircraft and its capability not in the same ball park as a Helicopter. Ducted fans have their own set of complexity/efficiency problems so that added another level of 'cost' without any real gain.
If the Police merely wanted a cheap airborne capability for an 'aerial view' of a situation (traffic or public events) then a 172 would have sufficed. If however you want 'hot pursuit' and landing to assist in a serious crime/accident situation then the Rotary option is the only one, and always was.
Of course the main problem with Helicopters is that the cost always reduces the numbers that can be afforded so that in itself is another limiting factor in the equation.
If the Police merely wanted a cheap airborne capability for an 'aerial view' of a situation (traffic or public events) then a 172 would have sufficed. If however you want 'hot pursuit' and landing to assist in a serious crime/accident situation then the Rotary option is the only one, and always was.
Of course the main problem with Helicopters is that the cost always reduces the numbers that can be afforded so that in itself is another limiting factor in the equation.
