Handley Page Type W

what is it?

The Handley Page W.8, W.9 and W.10 were British two- and three-engine medium-range biplane airliners designed and built by Handley Page. The W.8 (also known as the H.P.18) was the company's first purpose-built civil airliner although it was a development of the wartime Handley Page Type O/400 bomber via the O/7, O/10 and O/11 transports. It had an enclosed cabin for (in most versions) 12 passengers, along with two crew in an open cockpit, and has the distinction of being the world's first airliner to be designed with an on-board lavatory.

🔎How to recognise it: 3 piston engines with propellers · biplane · 22.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 166 km/htop speed
• seats 12passengers
• size 5,897 kgmax take-off weight
• built 25made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 107 years ago, in 1919.
• 🚗Wingspan of 22.9 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1919-12-02

introduced

1921

retired

1934

status

retired

number built

25

role

airliner

makers

Handley Page

engines

3× Rolls-Royce Eagle IX / Siddeley Puma

crew

2

passengers

12

length

18.3 m

wingspan

22.9 m

height

5.2 m

max take-off weight

5,897 kg

top speed

166 km/h

cruise speed

137 km/h

range

—

ceiling

3,962 m

wings

biplane

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.