Tomtit and the Topolino
At the Militery Pageants Day at Old Warden all kinds of vehicles could be seen in the parade . The plane in the background is a Hawker Tomtit . In 1927 the Royal Air Force needed a replacement for their outdated Avro 504N's.
The design brief for the new aircraft was to include the Armstron Siddeley Mongoose engine and the air frame should be made from metal, rather than the traditional wood, but could still be covered doped fabric.
The Chief Designer of the Hawker Aircraft Company, Sydney Camm, proceeded to design the 'Tomtit' which was a bi-plane with a steel and duralumin tubular frame and fabric covered. The leading edges of the upper wing accomodated the 'Handley Page' type Automatic slots and aluminium panels were used around the engine casing.
The Hawker Tomtit was fitted with an Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose IIIC engine producing 150 hp. The Instructor sat in front of the trainee in open cockpits with the trainees cockpit fitted with a blind flying panel so that blind flying instruction was possible.
Hawker Tomtits were delivered to the RAF between 1928 and 1931 for trials along with the eventual winning aircraft the
Avro Tutor.
After the trials, the aircraft were sold and despite the failure to be awarded an order the Hawker Tomtit was well thought of by the pilots and more could have been sold, however due to commitments by Hawkers producing the 'Hart' there was no capacity for production.
The civil registered Tomtits were originally fitted with an Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose IIIA engine and then later model fitted with an A.D.C. Cirrus Major engine producing 115 hp.
'G-AFTA', serial number K1786, is the sole surviving Hawker Tomtit and was actually flown during WWII.
In 1949 it was owned by Neville Duke who displayed it regularly until it was purchased in 1951 by Hawker Aircraft.
In 1956 it was presented to the Shuttleworth Collection and was repainted to its original livery in 1967 by Hawker Siddeley.
The Hawker Tomtit is part of the Shuttleworth Collection, based at Old Warden, where it can be seen today.
Now for the little car , a Fiat Topolino - The Fiat 500, commonly known as "Topolino",[4] is an Italian city car produced and manufactured by Fiat from 1936 to 1955.
The name "Topolino" translates literally as "little mouse" in Italian, but is also the Italian name for Mickey Mouse.
The Topolino was one of the smallest cars in the world at the time of its production. Launched in 1937, three models were produced until 1955, all with only minor mechanical and cosmetic changes. It was equipped with a 569 cc four-cylinder, side-valve, water-cooled engine mounted in front of the front axle,[4] (later an overhead valve motor) and so was a full-scale car rather than a cyclecar. The radiator was located behind the engine which made possible a lowered aerodynamic nose profile at a time when competitors had a flat, nearly vertical grille.[4] The shape of the car's front allowed exceptional forward visibility.[5]
Rear suspension initially used quarter-elliptic rear springs, but buyers frequently squeezed four or five people into the nominally two-seater car, and in later models the chassis was extended at the rear to allow for more robust semi-elliptic springs.[5]
With horsepower of about 13 bhp,[6] its top speed was about 53 mph (85 km/h), and it could achieve about 39.2 miles per US gallon (6.00 L/100 km; 47.1 mpg‑imp). The target price given when the car was planned was 5,000 lire.[5] In the event the price at launch was 9,750 lire,[5] though the decade was one of falling prices in several part of Europe and later in the 1930s the Topolino was sold for about 8,900 lire. Despite being more expensive than first envisioned, the car was competitively priced.[5] Nearly 520,000 were sold.
Three models were produced. Model A and B shared the same body, only the engine of model B had 16 hp, vs. 13 hp of Model A. Model A was produced from 1937 to 1948, while B was produced in 1948 and 1949. Model A was offered as a 2-door saloon, 2-door convertible saloon (saloon with folding roof) and a 2-door van,[1] while Model B also introduced a 3-door estate under the name 500 B Giardinetta ("estate car"). Model C was introduced in 1949 with a restyled body and the same engine as Model B, and was offered in 2-door saloon, 2-door convertible saloon, 3-door estate and 2-door van [7] versions. In 1952, Giardinetta was renamed Belvedere ("A turret or other raised structure offering a pleasant view of the surrounding area", referring to its sunroof). Model C was produced until 1955.[8]
In 1955 the larger rear-wheel-drive Fiat 600 was launched by Fiat and that would become the design basis for the new Fiat 500, the Nuova 500.
The 500 A is known to be hot rodded, once the car came to America. It was mostly hot rodded to a dragster, or a street rod .
for example - clear your ears !!!!
Tomtit and the Topolino
At the Militery Pageants Day at Old Warden all kinds of vehicles could be seen in the parade . The plane in the background is a Hawker Tomtit . In 1927 the Royal Air Force needed a replacement for their outdated Avro 504N's.
The design brief for the new aircraft was to include the Armstron Siddeley Mongoose engine and the air frame should be made from metal, rather than the traditional wood, but could still be covered doped fabric.
The Chief Designer of the Hawker Aircraft Company, Sydney Camm, proceeded to design the 'Tomtit' which was a bi-plane with a steel and duralumin tubular frame and fabric covered. The leading edges of the upper wing accomodated the 'Handley Page' type Automatic slots and aluminium panels were used around the engine casing.
The Hawker Tomtit was fitted with an Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose IIIC engine producing 150 hp. The Instructor sat in front of the trainee in open cockpits with the trainees cockpit fitted with a blind flying panel so that blind flying instruction was possible.
Hawker Tomtits were delivered to the RAF between 1928 and 1931 for trials along with the eventual winning aircraft the
Avro Tutor.
After the trials, the aircraft were sold and despite the failure to be awarded an order the Hawker Tomtit was well thought of by the pilots and more could have been sold, however due to commitments by Hawkers producing the 'Hart' there was no capacity for production.
The civil registered Tomtits were originally fitted with an Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose IIIA engine and then later model fitted with an A.D.C. Cirrus Major engine producing 115 hp.
'G-AFTA', serial number K1786, is the sole surviving Hawker Tomtit and was actually flown during WWII.
In 1949 it was owned by Neville Duke who displayed it regularly until it was purchased in 1951 by Hawker Aircraft.
In 1956 it was presented to the Shuttleworth Collection and was repainted to its original livery in 1967 by Hawker Siddeley.
The Hawker Tomtit is part of the Shuttleworth Collection, based at Old Warden, where it can be seen today.
Now for the little car , a Fiat Topolino - The Fiat 500, commonly known as "Topolino",[4] is an Italian city car produced and manufactured by Fiat from 1936 to 1955.
The name "Topolino" translates literally as "little mouse" in Italian, but is also the Italian name for Mickey Mouse.
The Topolino was one of the smallest cars in the world at the time of its production. Launched in 1937, three models were produced until 1955, all with only minor mechanical and cosmetic changes. It was equipped with a 569 cc four-cylinder, side-valve, water-cooled engine mounted in front of the front axle,[4] (later an overhead valve motor) and so was a full-scale car rather than a cyclecar. The radiator was located behind the engine which made possible a lowered aerodynamic nose profile at a time when competitors had a flat, nearly vertical grille.[4] The shape of the car's front allowed exceptional forward visibility.[5]
Rear suspension initially used quarter-elliptic rear springs, but buyers frequently squeezed four or five people into the nominally two-seater car, and in later models the chassis was extended at the rear to allow for more robust semi-elliptic springs.[5]
With horsepower of about 13 bhp,[6] its top speed was about 53 mph (85 km/h), and it could achieve about 39.2 miles per US gallon (6.00 L/100 km; 47.1 mpg‑imp). The target price given when the car was planned was 5,000 lire.[5] In the event the price at launch was 9,750 lire,[5] though the decade was one of falling prices in several part of Europe and later in the 1930s the Topolino was sold for about 8,900 lire. Despite being more expensive than first envisioned, the car was competitively priced.[5] Nearly 520,000 were sold.
Three models were produced. Model A and B shared the same body, only the engine of model B had 16 hp, vs. 13 hp of Model A. Model A was produced from 1937 to 1948, while B was produced in 1948 and 1949. Model A was offered as a 2-door saloon, 2-door convertible saloon (saloon with folding roof) and a 2-door van,[1] while Model B also introduced a 3-door estate under the name 500 B Giardinetta ("estate car"). Model C was introduced in 1949 with a restyled body and the same engine as Model B, and was offered in 2-door saloon, 2-door convertible saloon, 3-door estate and 2-door van [7] versions. In 1952, Giardinetta was renamed Belvedere ("A turret or other raised structure offering a pleasant view of the surrounding area", referring to its sunroof). Model C was produced until 1955.[8]
In 1955 the larger rear-wheel-drive Fiat 600 was launched by Fiat and that would become the design basis for the new Fiat 500, the Nuova 500.
The 500 A is known to be hot rodded, once the car came to America. It was mostly hot rodded to a dragster, or a street rod .
for example - clear your ears !!!!