Boulton Paul P.116

The Boulton Paul P.116 was a design for a primary trainer to replace the Tiger Moth.

Several attempts had been made to replace the Tiger Moth. Specification T.23/43 had been issued with this in mind, for which Boulton Paul had submitted the low wing P.106. This design had been rejected in favour of the Percival Prentice, but this wasn't a successful aircraft. The Tiger Moth was retained for the early stages of basic training, while the Prentice was soon replaced by the Percival Proctor.

Specification T.8/48 was issued in an attempt to find an aircraft to replace the Tiger Moth. Boulton Paul put forward two designs, the P.115 and P.116. The P.116 was powered by a 295hp Gipsy Queen 50 engine. The P.116 resembled a shorter version of the low-winged Boulton Paul Balliol, their only successful design for a training aircraft. It had a large all-round vision canopy, tapered wings with notable dihedral, side-by-side seating and retractable undercarriage that folded backwards.

The P.116 was estimated to have a top speed of 154mph at 5,000ft and a cruising speed at 136mph.

In the end the contract went to the Percival Provost, after competitive trials between that design and the Handley Page H.P.R.2. Both designs used a 550hp Alvis Leonides engine, which gave them much better performance than the Boulton Paul designs.

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How to cite this article: Rickard, J (25 May 2017), Boulton Paul P.116 , http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_boulton_paul_P116.html

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