Beardmore Inflexible

The Beardmore Company (mainly shipbuilders by the 1920s) developed the Inflexible to demonstrate the then-innovative stressed-skin metal construction. Unusually for 1928 it was also a mid-wing monoplane at a time when most large aircraft were still wood and fabric biplanes. The Inflexible's maiden flight proved what many had expected — that the aircraft was too heavy for its three Condor engines. As author Bill Gunston put it, 'although it was incapable of serving any useful role it could at least fly'. Within two years its flying career was over and it was dismantled to save space, ending its days in experiments to investigate airframe corrosion. A related design was the Beardmore Inverness, an all-metal flying boat whose creators had such faith in its airworthiness that it was equipped with two large masts and sails to get it home in the event of a forced water landing.

Function: bomber
Year: 1928 Engines: 3 * 485kW R.R. Condor II
Speed: 175km/h

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Beardmore
• Inflexible
• bomber
• tri-motor
• aircraft
• airplane

[thisisnev]

Perhaps they were thinking that the future of aircraft design lay in unbraced all-metal monoplanes?

[peepeevagi]

Well it has to be Inflexible.

Otherwise the massive wings would be scraping the ground!

[carmium]

I was beginning to think it had been driven to the exhibition until the last couple of seconds!

[KwP219]

I believe the design of this aircraft was ordered by Beardmore (at the request of the RAF) on the Rohrbach company in Germany and called the RO VI Bero by them. As contemporary English designs were still of wooden, fabric or metal frame construction the idea was to study the construction methods of this all-metal semi-cantilevered monplane. The design was sent to Beardmore in 1925.

[winterka100]

If they'd have used aluminium instead of cast iron-----

[oldfart387]

Is it my imagination or is there some pimply faced kids going around and marking everything negative? These bomberguy clips are history and I'm damned proud of all of these innovations! Sure, some of them are kind of dopey but the bad ideas were just stepping stones to what we have today.

[InfiniteMushroom]

A lot of aircraft designs started off underpowered. The fix is not hard. More power! So many designers, back then, gave up when the solution was in sight.

Even Langley's Aerodrome could have succeeded if he just addressed the obvious problem of providing a longer land-based catapult run.

[Zuloff]

The shape and finish reminds me of a balsa frame up rice paper covered rubber band airplane. With those tires I don't think gopher holes in the airfield were much of a problem. The british legacy of building hideously ugly aircraft was well in place by this time.

[alexander1485]

gotta love those DUBs

[carmium]

I think this project was doomed from the start: an airplane made by shipbuilders and dubbed Infexible! Three guesses how that would have worked out on both counts.

"Damn, this plane's just to heavy!"

"Not to worry sir, eight feet of the port wing just cracked off."

[problem49]

What a mess. It looks like something that placed last in a special-ed science fair rather than the product of supposedly professional engineers.

[tagaEskinita]

a couple of extra engines would have been nice