Air-Plane

History

Frederick To (b. Hong Kong in 1938) came to the UK in 1952 to study, and qualified as an architect. He formed Solar-Powered Aircraft Developments in London in 1977 and started building the U.K.'s first solar powered aircraft, Solar One, with the help and advice of David Williams. The first flight attempt took place at Lasham Airfield, Hampshire, on 19 December 1978. The propeller pitch was incorrectly set and the attempt achieved only a short hop. At the hands of pilot Ken Stewart, a successful flight took place on 13 June 1979.

By the middle of 1978 Fred To was making structural tests on the use of polyester film structures for an inflatable wing and the Air-plane Co Ltd was formed in 1978 to develop the Phoenix, building on the work of the late Dan Perkins. He also tried unsuccessfully to produce an inflatable microlight, a project which was hampered in mid-life by the introduction of CAA regulations. In 1980 he formed his own company, The Air-Plane Co to undertake inflatable aircraft powered by a 22 hp engine.

Early in 1982 permission was obtained from the London Docklands Corporation to test fly the aircraft inside one of their 600ft long empty warehouses. the aircraft was rigged inside the warehouse. However, as weather conditions were ideal, Ian Parker, pilot and flight manager, decided to test the aircraft outdoors. After a long period of acceleration the aircraft took off. Further flights were made that day, all of about 20 seconds duration. In May 1982, Barry Jacobson took over the Phoenix, intending to reduce its thickness to make it more manageable.

Fred To's later work included the development, with Qinetiq, of an inflatable UAV for surveillance, that could be fired from a mortar tube. The concept did not progress to a fieldable product, but is an ingenious solution to the challenge of providing infantry soldiers with an aircraft that can be easily carried and survive a hard landing. [4]

Company References

1. Jane's All the World's Aircraft, 1982- 1983 ed. John W R Taylor
2. RAeS Aerospace June/July 1985
3. Human Powered Flying, an on-line book by Chris Roper B. Eng, originally at http://www.humanpoweredflying.propdesigner.co.uk/html, but now only available via the Wayback Machine
4. Flight 5 Oct 2010