PERCIVAL
Q.6 - Six/seven-seat twin-engined light transport/ business aircraft,
first flown September 14, 1937, with 205 hp DH Gipsy Six Srs II engines.
Total of 27 built, of which two for Royal Egyptian Air Force and seven for
RAF to Specification 25/38. Used in Egypt by No 3 Communications Sqn and
the Royal Flight, at least one surviving the war. RAF aircraft delivered
mid-1939 and used principally by station communications flights; one transferred
to FAA in June 1943. Name Petrel, often associated with the RAF Percival
Q.6s, was never official. From September 1939, nine civil Percival Q.6s
impressed for RAF and FAA in the UK, and one other used with civil registration.
Two more British civil Percival Q.6s impressed in Middle East, 1940-41,
and a third, acquired pre-war for the King of Iraq, taken over from Iraqi
Air Force in 1941 for RAF use until early 1943. One of the UK impressments
and one in Middle East had retractable u/cs; all others had fixed, trousered
u/cs. Two Percival Q.6s sold pre-war to a Lithuanian airline taken over
by Aeroflot in June 1940, and one of these reported to have ended up in
German hands.
Max speed, 195 mph (314 kmlh).
Cruising speed, 175 mph (282 kmlh). Ceiling, 21,000ft (6,400 m). Range,
750 mis (1,207 km). Empty weight, 3,500 Ib (1,588 kg). Gross weight, 5,500
Ib (2,495 kg). Span, 46 ft 8 in (14.22 m). Length, 32ft 3 in (9.83 m).
Wing area, 278sqft (25.83 m2).
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