Bristol 216

[burunduk]

Have somebody info about this freighter project?

It was mentioned here
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,449.msg6355.html#msg6355
but without any detail.

The side-view was published in "Bristol aicraft since 1910", but also without details.
According to the picture it's much bigger than Bristol 170 (the length is about 26m, not 21-22 for Freighter).
It also has retractable gears.

Please, year of design, engines, load and so on.

 

[joncarrfarrelly]

From Stuck On The Drawing Board, Richard Payne, Tempus Publishing 2004,
the 216 of 1959 was similar to the earlier 179A, but with a raised flight deck ala the Carvair.
It was to be a co-project with Breguet as a car ferry for Silver City Airways.
The aircraft would have been powered by two R-R Dart with an MTOW of 64,000lbs
(six cars and their passengers), cruising speed of less than 300mph, span of 140 ft.

That's it, no other drawings or data.

Jon

 

[Apophenia]

burunduk [and I see Jon has beat me to it ]

The Bristol 216 pops up in Flight a few time, first on 09 Oct 1959 under "Bristol Bréguet for Silver City?". This twin-Dart car ferry was to "be completely new ... a joint Franco-British venture built to a Silver City specification ..." The only other details are repeated in Flight 20 Nov 1959:

Bristol 216 [...] Anglo-French venture, for which an order of 15-25 might be placed by Silver City for Channel Air Gerry. It is reported that the Bristol-Bréguet is to be powered by two Rolls-Royce Darts and will accommodate six cars and their passengers or - with uprated Darts - a considerable number of passengers. Cruising speed is said to beless than 300 m.p.h. and operating cost of the passenger version less tha one penny per passenger-mile. Silver City have said that their new aircraft should be in service by 1962 and that it will be "inexpensive." The price is expected to be in the region of £250,000.

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1959/1959%20-%203063.html

Less than a year later [2 Sept 1960], Flight reported that "Since the Bristol merger into the BAC this twin-Dart project has not been active.

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1960/1960%20-%201601.html

Then, on 28 Oct 1960, Flight says that Silver City was musing that Bréguet 763 Deux Ponts may replace the Bristol 170s. Obviously, the Bristol-Bréguet partnership was over by then.

Silver City also flirted with Handley Page and Hurel Dubois. Presumably when Air Holdings took over, all that came to an end. Then entered Aviation Traders ;D

 

[burunduk]

joncarrfarrelly, Apophenia, thank you a lot for the data and references.
I didn't hope to get so detailed answer so soon.

Thank you again.

 

[joncarrfarrelly]

Then entered Aviation Traders ;D

That's Sir Freddy to you young man.