Handley Page was an aircraft company based in Radlett that made many war planes as well as aircraft used for world travel. Scroll down to learn some facts about some of Handley Page's planes and discover silhouettes that you can print and colour!
You can also try out some of our paper plane folding instructions and see how far you can make them fly.
Victor
In 1957, pilot John Allam exceeded the speed of sound in a Victor aircraft. The speed of sound is the speed at which the sound travels. Ask someone to make a sound on the other side of the room. The Victor aircraft travelled faster than this sound to your ear!
Hastings
Hastings was once used by the Royal Air Force. It was the largest transport plane ever designed for military service at the time. Hastings was later re-designed for civilians use (a civilian is a person who isn’t part of the military). The civilian aircraft was named Hermes and travelled from London to Tripoli, Kano, and Lagos.
Do you know which continent these cities are in?
O Bomber or O/100
The O/100 is a biplane. Biplanes have two main wings that are stacked one above the other. This aircraft was named for its 100-foot wide wingspan. It could carry a crew of two people and six bombs of 100 pounds (45 kg) each. The O/100 flew over France during the Second World War.
Can you tell which of these planes are biplanes?
Jetstream
The Jetstream was the last aircraft to be designed and produced by Handley Page. Only two Jetstream aircraft were produced before Handley Page shut down in 1970. You can recognise it thanks to its long nose.
Ask someone to compete with you: make a plane each and see which one of the two is the fastest!
Manx (HP75)
The HP75 is an aircraft without a tail. Because of this, it was named after a species of tailless cat (cats without a tail): the Manx. It was difficult to fly such an aircraft and Handley Page had to run many tests. It only flew about 30 times before flight tests ended.
Can you recognise which of the following cats are Manx?
HP42
The HP42 was designed for the British airline Imperial Airways. It was quite luxurious and had two separate passenger cabins. The cabins were very spacious with wide windows and full onboard services. It transported members of high society such as royals and celebrities.
You can print the plane silhouettes below and add some colour to your planes to make them fancier!
