My local police used to fly one of these, especially during football Saturdays when it used to fly circuits above the local football ground. Sadly it was replaced by a police helicopter which tended to be hovered above my home. What a racket! I was pleased when that helicopter went away…

@solentbum

5 ай бұрын

Hampshire Police decided that a major fault in the Optica was it being single engined, The replacement was an Islander, twin engined, capable of fairly slow speeds and half the price of a chopper. Fitted with 'Flir' it was very useful in the dark to find absconders from crime incidents. The choppers came much later after Home Office 'rationalisation'and cenetralisation. Of course the service is second rate with the chopper being stationed miles away, and emphasis on 'costs' before the Officer on the ground can request cover.

@dessmith7658

5 ай бұрын

The helicopper was buzzing me once.. Nothing to see here though I was pleased when that helicopter went away.

@Cartoonman154

5 ай бұрын

@@solentbum Conclusions (a) Findings (1) The pilot held a valid Private Pilot's Licence with a valid medical certificate. (2) The aircraft had a valid Certificate of Airworthiness in the Transport Category (Passenger) and had been maintained in accordance with an approved schedule. (3) Both the pilot and the photographer died of the injuries sustained during the impact before the ground fire began. (4) The aircraft had been properly loaded and the C of G was within the prescribed limit. (5) There was sufficient fuel on board and the engine performed normally during post-accident trials, but the possibility of a transient malfunction in flight could not be ruled out. (6) There was no indication that either structural or mechanical failure had occurred or of flying control malfunction or jamming. (7) Communications throughout the flight were normal and did not therefore provide evidence of any in-flight emergency. (8) Impact disturbance prevented an assessment of the pre-impact sett- ings of the engine controls but they had been fully connected prior to the impact. (9) The design of the fuel tank selector was such that an inadvertant selection to OFF was possible. (10) The final loss of control was caused by either the aircraft stalling in the turn at a high angle of bank, or the nose dropping or inadvertant interference with the controls by the photographer alarmed by his apparent insecurity. (11) The pilots employed for ASU work on fixed winged aircraft should be specifically licenced for the task (12) Rule 5 (2) (b) does not adequately cover police activities in that Rule 5 (1) (a) (ii) is exempted only under the provisions of Rule 5 (2) (a). (13) The Home Office ruling, with regard to police radio transmissions seriously detracts from the ability of ASU aircraft to carry their primary task of co-ordination. " DfT 1986 "Report on the accident to Edgley EA7 Optica G-KATY at Ringwood, Hampshire on 15 MAy 1985"

@solentbum

5 ай бұрын

@@Cartoonman154 Thanks for finding that. The upshot was that Hampshire Police went for a twin engined replacement, with other improvements. Something that the Optica did show is that it is not necessary to have a helicopter for surveilance work, the much vaunted ability of a chopper to land was found in practice, elsewhere, to be hardly ever used. The mounting of a gyro stabilised Flir camera and the night flying ability of its replacement was a vast improvement. I once called up for the plane, it was overhead whilst the stolen vehicle was still being pursued , and the crew were able to direct PCs on the ground, in the dark in woodland, to the individual bushes that the car thieves were hiding under. The flying conditions were dark, with a cloudbase around 5-600 feet, and a steady wind from the southwest. The plane was on station for some 40 minutes until I released it for another job 40 odd miles away. It was a successful mission.

@obi-ron

5 ай бұрын

West Midlands Police used one to monitor the M6 for a few years and I loved watching it float around. When they replaced it with MBB155s the noise levels went up like mad, even though I live close to an international airport. When slipstream came out, I felt it was a pity that the plane hadn't been available in 77 (with minor adjustments for film purposes) with Mark Hamill at the controls because there might not have been an x-wing but optica sales would have been through the roof with pilots wanting to actually fly something so sci-fi in appearance.

When the company went bankrupt, two examples of the Optica were in America as demonstrators for the sales department. My neighbor acquired these two in various stages of disrepair. He restored them one at a time and I was tasked with developing a Test Flight Card and (with FAA approval) performed the first flights of each aircraft. Today, one is in a museum and the other is still operating at our local airport here in Florida. Very interesting airplane.

@heathb4319

3 ай бұрын

Do you know if there is a kit plane for the Optica?

@Allan_aka_RocKITEman

2 ай бұрын

Where in Florida?

@rexmyers991

2 ай бұрын

@@Allan_aka_RocKITEman Pilot Country (X05)

The Optica's inventor John Edgley taught us A-level maths at the City of London School in 1972 (we nicknamed him 'Jake' after his initials JKE). He was president of the school Aeronautical Model Club, and he looked snappy in his blue flight-lieutenant's uniform in the school RAF cadet section. 'Jake' must be approaching 80 now, and we hope he is getting belated satisfaction at seeing his novel design being truly appreciated.

Always been a big fan of the Optica. It seems so versatile and cost effective compared to a helicopter. I'm also surprised it never made it in the private market as it has 3 seats and good space for luggage. Here's hoping it will still see its day as it's as valid now as back in the 1980s.

@tjroelsma

5 ай бұрын

The problem a niche product like the Optica in my opinion faces, is that it has to be marketed at exactly the right time. In other words: it has to have the luck that a major potential customer is looking for such a product at the time of release and makes a large purchase, else the product is likely doomed from the start.

@PetesGuide

22 күн бұрын

I’m betting you didn’t intend the pun (big fan) but it’s a really awesome pun and deserves recognition. Well done, we’ll done.

The aerofoil for the Optica was GA(W)-2 which was a new breed of foils for low speed, low Reynolds number devised by NASA. I used it on my yacht design Anarchist which was an asymmetric daggerboarder - the first yacht to be officially tested to make negative leeway. Little known is that Neville Duke of Huntrer fame was the test pilot. Sadly the crash of the police Optica happened a few hundred metres from our house in Ringwood. It was this accident which led me to the aerofoil.

@ErikssonTord_2

5 ай бұрын

GA(W)-2 had a short period of popularity in the aviation world and then never heard of again ... Then came the NAL-MSNLF-136 that was even better

@chrischamberlaine4160

5 ай бұрын

Depends on the project. For many reasons it works well at the Reynolds numbers on small yachts.

In the late 1980's, a Washington DC radio station (cannot remember the call letters) used an Edgley for aerial traffic reporting. It was painted black and based at the College Park, Maryland airport. It was amazing at how _slow_ it's landing speed was. You'd think it would stall but it was rock-steady level to touchdown. And not just from expert piloting.

I first saw this plane in the mentioned "Slipstream" movie. I became obsessed. I developed two sets of plans that were sold in Model Aircraft magazines. The three-foot WS way off-scale version is popular with RC pilots doing on board forward looking camera telemetry. The 1/20th scale is in the video below. I stay in touch with the various engineers who have worked on the project. kzread.info/dash/bejne/hqCb0sGBeLLRd8o.html

@ptonpc

5 ай бұрын

I remember first seeing the Optica on Tomorrow's World.

@HM2SGT

5 ай бұрын

And here I thought I was the only one that rented that film!

@johnmunro4952

5 ай бұрын

It's available on KZread. So love the sound track feature Then Jerrico's Big area!

@CrusaderSports250

5 ай бұрын

​@@HM2SGTI still have it on VHS, always liked the aircraft and it's a great shame it hasn't enjoyed greater success, my view is it threatens some established markets and so wouldn't be "allowed" to succeed, politics not practicality knocking it back.

@ForeverNeverwhere1

5 ай бұрын

Way back in the early 80s we sold an OS Pegasus 4 cylinder 4 stroke to a local guy who built an incredibly accurate 1/4 scale RC model of it. The detail was amazing, but as a movie prop maker that was his thing.

My first job was as an aircraft grp laminator at Edgley Aircraft so yep I built them, my first ever flight in a airplane was in the prototype Optica and I also was allowed to fly it by the chief test pilot who took me up as he knew I wanted to learn to fly. Never got around to learning to fly but I wonder how many people had there first flying lesson in an Optica

The payload variation between one and three occupants that far ahead of the CG must have been a major stability challenge.

@SuperPhunThyme9

5 ай бұрын

Hmm great observation....probably what that big ass mofo of a tail is there for lol

@RalphEllis

5 ай бұрын

Did they load up with lead in the tail, to balance the third person? R

@Videolinquency

5 ай бұрын

Unless they had a rather obese pilot on hand for solo operations ...

@WarblesOnALot

5 ай бұрын

​@@RalphEllis G'day, Have ye niver Heard of Elevator Trim...? Weight-shift Hang Glider Wings have difficulty coping with Throttle related Trim variations when deviating away from whatever Airspeed the Wing was designed to fly at. 3-Axis Ultralight pilots like to tease the Trike Pilots by agreeing to fly in formation, then slowly adding power, increasing Airspeed - and simply pushing the Nose down with the Elevator. The Hangie has to pull the Bar in, to lower their Nose - but the extra Throttle applies Thrust so far below the Drag of the Wing that the Trike continues to try to climb - then they hook their Elbows over the Bar to better pull the Bar in...; and then they have no Roll Control... So they have to slow down. Having a Stabilisor & Elevator at the end of a long Lever trailing along behind..., makes a LOT of Trim issues into minor irritations to correct. Tails are a great invention. Such is life, Have a good one... ;-p Ciao !

@philiponsolent7232

5 ай бұрын

I flew in one once and from memory there were weights to adjust for the number of crew.

My client, Brooklands Aerospace, needed "balast" for a fuel test flight one day when I was on site. I had a flight round Sailisbury from Old Sarum in the Optica.

I used to watch the police optica soar over the south downs, lovely noise it made, it hummed. Back in the 80s. So pretty.

An amazing plane. Incredible that it is not a mainstay of the industry after 50 years. Honestly, I think that the main reason for that is the fact that it was invented in Britain. Britain has a proud history of innovative aircraft designs and attempted programs that ultimately were not understood by the financial markets or government bodies. Look at Rection engines whose founder made a world beating invention with his work at Rolls Royce for an innovative rocket engine just to be slapped down by a secret classification of his design and it's disappearance in the archives, instead of allowing him to build a world beating product. Had Edgely designed and built that plane in the US, it would have succeeded and the British Police and emergency services would operate entire fleets of them. The classic prophet in his home town conundrum.

@kensummers7757

5 ай бұрын

No, it was a horrible POS. My local CFI, Barry Dyke of Old Sarum airfield said it was the only aircraft that ever scared him. No climb rate and so draggy it glided like a brick with reduced power.

@helmutzollner5496

5 ай бұрын

@@kensummers7757 thank you. That is interesting. Probably the flat-6 piston engine was inderpowered for that plane.

@Ag3nt0fCha0s

5 ай бұрын

@@kensummers7757nice to hear another perspective

@ErikssonTord_2

5 ай бұрын

I am pretty sure it had nothing to do with it being a British product, as had it been a sales success in the UK it would have instantly been picked up by some US company. I guess it was very costly, and not quite as adaptable for other jobs as a helicopter. Would have been lovely to hear from someone that did maintenance on this aircraft. A similar aircraft is the Seabird Seeker, which started as a homebuilt in Australia and is now made in the US, a far more advanced aircraft, but sadly seem to have problems, as even if many have been delivered to various airforces over the years none is in use. Possibly drones are cheaper and simpler to use?!

@kensummers7757

5 ай бұрын

The prototype was SO underpowered it could barely fly, they eventually used the largest (most horsepower) engine that would fit inside the annular stucture.@@helmutzollner5496

A month ago the Transavia Airtruk, now the Optica. I like that you presenting less known and quite weird aircrafts. :)

Everything about this plane, design, economics and performance make sense

Interesting aircraft indeed. One other nice thing about its design is that it is extremely unlikely for anyone on the ground to walk into its shrouded spinning prop which has been known to happen with more conventional airplanes.

I've always loved the Optica. It's so weird, kinda ugly but kinda teardrop futurist looking. It's one of my go to planes in MSFS. Easy to fly low and slow and the view is fantastic. The Bronco is my other fav in MSFS. Well done, thanks for giving the Optica a look.

@DS-lk3tx

5 ай бұрын

I've been eyeballing this on msfs for months. 😂😂

@toribarron5700

5 ай бұрын

@@DS-lk3tx the Got Friends one is the only one worth getting but it is remarkably good.

@bricefleckenstein9666

4 ай бұрын

If you're talking about the OV10 Bronco, it was probably one of the inspirations for the Optica (that tail is almost IDENTICAL in design past the prop (Bronco) or ducted fan (Optica) ) and a lot of the mission is the same. Seems to be some Mohawk in the design as well, for similar "function forces form" reasons.

@Prifly70

4 ай бұрын

@@bricefleckenstein9666 I grew up a Grumman kid, so I love the Mohawk even more! The only MSFS Mohawk I could fins was an FSX one. I wish someone would make one for MSFS20

I really like the design and look of the Optica.

I remember this and after the crash it seemed it was the end of it. I remember an interview with the original owner who was trying to have some involvement with the company that had taken over without luck at the time. I had assumed that as it no longer appeared on local news it had gone the way of the Salter Duck wave electricity production machine. Good to hear that it had been taken back by the original owner and is still around to some degree.

I had an article about these from the 80s , infact I still have the magazine , they looked futuristic then and still do today , like a modern Bronco , or a sort of A5 ie half an A10 ,, a wart piglet ...

I've been reading that this company is making a comeback

One of the most beautiful aircraft ever designed that looks futuristic even now, almost sixty years after. Saw it for the first time on a small blurry unnamed photo in some old magazine back in 1980s and searched for information about it since then. Edgley Optica was its name.

I remember this plane from the 70's. I always wondered what happened. Thanks for the comprehensive update!!

I wanted an Optica from the first time I saw it. I was a new pilot then, and was doing a good bit of aerial photography. And mostly it was cool because it was unique.

This is one of my favorite aircraft to fly in Microsoft Flight Simulator, especially in VR.

There was one at the little island airport where I learned to fly, but I never realized they were so rare.

The optica was a great source of wonderment to me as a child .

Man, I remember seeing this on Towards 2000 circa 1981. And then virtually never hearing of it again.

I very nearly came to be employed by Edgley as a company pilot, but just before joining the company went into receivership following a fire at the base, which was a real shame. The Optica was a well built machine.

Should have called it the dragonfly :) What a cool little plane, shame so many things happened to stop it from becoming mainstream.

I saw this optica at the 1988 Amberly Airshow at Richmond in Sydney Australia and thought what a great idea, more cost-effective than a chopper.

My father still wants one of these. The story he told me is he became interested in it when he saw Slipstream. And with him being a pilot…anything with wings.

I loved the movie slipstream it had one of these.

I am surprised how important appearance of an aircraft is in aviation. I'm glad this airframe will get its chance.

@ErikssonTord_2

5 ай бұрын

A handful remains, across the globe, most of the twenty made went up in flames due to an arson attack. If any still is in regular use, I have no idea!

Thanks, Dwayne.

We had the Optica and Sprints plus all the spears and jigs at North Weald for some time we kept the Sprints flying for a short time great little plane

@captsquirrel7844

5 ай бұрын

Great little plane indeed, I’m the owner of 004 and an old friend of Woodley.

Great little flyer, it always looked like something out of science fiction. It reminds me of a mini ov-10 Bronco. Thanks for posting the vid.

Impressive. Had never heard of it, and found it fascinating. Thanks for the content.

Going wild there with the units :D cool video :)

Great use of CAD and Graphics makes it a compelling watch. Thank you

There are a lot of jobs This aeroplane cannot do compared to Helicopters a Helicopter is a versatile machine .

Thank you for remembering me of the movie title Slipstream, which I have seen long time ago and only remember this intriguing aircraft from! Guess I have to watch it again, after this good summary of the plane's history and sad ending of it not being produced in larger numbers, guess UAV's took over as well.

Being a local (I did my PPL at Old Sarum where the Optica was built) I know a bit about this aircraft. Our then CFI (Barry Dyke RIP) said it was the only aircraft that truly frightened him, with minimum climb rate and the glide angle of an anvil should you lose that engine. In the film "Slipsteam" the pilot (Derek Piggot, Lasham CFI and the guy who flew through the bridges in The Blue Max) was almost killed when the aircraft couldn't climb over a ridge, but DP luckily found a gully to let down. The aircraft was being geared up for production (at great taxpayer expense) but after the Hampshire police incident, those orders were cancelled and no more were forthcoming. "Unfortunately"😆 there was a mysterious😂 fire that swept through the production hanger soon after and Edgley used some of the insurance money - plus government handouts- to design and build the Edgley Optimist glider(aka The Flying Floorboard) another POS nobody wanted. (yes, more government grants - are we beginning to see a pattern...🤣🤣

@beeemm5707

5 ай бұрын

I also did my PPL at Old Sarum in the days of the Optica and and would often be in circuit with it in the club DR400. I remember Barry as well as my main instructor John Nutter.

@kensummers7757

5 ай бұрын

@@beeemm5707 Was John the old guy?

I briefly worked for the Hakeney family (sp?) who owned Optica Industries. Haven’t seen anything about this plane until YT randomly showed it to me, thanks for putting it together, interesting.

Wanted one the first time I seen one.

There was a couple of these flown from the Airfield up the road from me, always a pleasure to see them in the air. Far less noisy than the now used helicopters and small buzzy engined planes that are flown there now. Still at least they fly Spitfires from the same air field and hanger now.

i like how this is billed as an alternative to a helicopter when it can't even hover. it has a stall speed... this plane by nature has a dissimilar, but near mission to the helicopter.

this is one cool aircraft

What a cool-looking craft.

Nice video. It's been a few years, but I'm going fly it on MSFS, as I have that plane in my library.

I took photos of one at the Paris Air Show in 1981 (yellow) G-BGMW

I remember seeing the prototype at an airshow a long time ago. I always wondered what happened to them.

Great video...👍

Around 2-30 there is mention of Imperial College. The building top right is the Royal School of Mines. He probably went to the engineering bit called City & Guilds College. I was there about the same time. One of the strange things about Imperial is that very few people (outside of STEM) have even heard of it, despite it being ranked consistently in the top ten in the world.

The EA-7 was in that 1989 film Slipstream with Mark Hamill

Interesting, looks like something out of the Thunderbirds.

It would also be a great asset for search and rescue operations.

I remember seeing this design in Popular Mechanics magazine. Always thought it was a cool looking idea.

@oadka

5 ай бұрын

ah it was in Popular Mechanics, now it makes sense why it failed.

"There should be a ducted flat-six pusher" "We have a ducted flat-six pusher at home!" **[ flat-six ducted pusher at home ]**

I was working for Ricardo's Engineering at Shoreham Airport in 1992, I used to watch an Optica fly from there most afternoons.

@capt.bart.roberts4975

5 ай бұрын

It just seemed to take off at much lower speeds than the other aircraft.

I recall an Optica with "Skyshout" at an airshow I attended in the late 80s. Doing public announcements. If you've heard it from a Police helicopter with the hum of their rotors it was vastly different on the Optics due to the low sound signaturebl of the ducted fan.

There used to be a red one sometimes parked in the southside hangar at Ringway, back in the mid/late eighties, when I first learnt to fly.

At 8 hours, the Optica has considerably longer endurance than my bladder does.

I remember this aircraft being marketed as the Loewe Optica in the 1980s. Had never heard of the name Edgley connected with this aircraft until now.

@ErikssonTord_2

5 ай бұрын

The design has changed ownership many times. A few are in use/airworthy (according to Optica themselves), but no production has taken place for decades.

I loved this design

YES I LOVE THIS PLANE I've been trying to make an RC FPV version

It would further benefit from some upgrades to its low speed flying capability. A bit of wieght loss with modern materials and additional high lift surfaces ( double leading edge slats, area extending flaps etc). Definitely a worthwhile investment.

If I had the fund$ and wasn't scared to fly... I'd buy one :O) Thank you for the video.

I remember regularly seeing one doing circuits above Southampton end of the 80s.

I was fascinated with this concept way back in my early flying days (1980s), and often wondered what happened to the project. I gave up airline work through sheer boredom, turned to flying aerial survey work world-wide and ultimately ISR work in Afghanistan. I'm amazed that this project has never been fully recognized as an economic and highly practical alternative to some platforms currently in use. Maybe the altitude limits work against it.. 14,000ft does have its limitations over high ground. For police surveillance or similar low-altitude monitoring, it looks to be a great economical alternative to Helo's.

Bravo.......ok it looks like a bee.........cheers

You might want to look into the Seabird Seeker. A very similar ISR platform. It is a tail dragger, rear engine aircraft. Originally designed and built in Australia, the company was purchased by a U.S. company. It is a very tough aircraft with similar marketing issues.

@ErikssonTord_2

5 ай бұрын

And just as hard to find one flying (various airforces have had them - often gifts from the US). None in military use anywhere, sadly! A lovely plane, by the way, with a fantastic history!

Very wholesome that the creator finally could re-acquire the rights to the design!

I remember seeing the Optica over Bournemouth on a regular basis until the accident at Ringwood

Striking configuration of parts. Is it normal for the frontal area of the ducts to match that of the fuselage?

Mmmmm ... a FASCINATING story ... I got to see this aircraft very close up way back in 1981 when one was left at Cranfield Tech (UK) where I was working at the time ... I was quite impressed ... but was of the opinion the engine needed to be a small turbo prop such as the Allison (now RR) C20B series .

The phrase "ascend vertically" immediately reminds of that Taskmaster episode.

I remember the crash at “Old Sarum’ what a shame, poor pilotage, flying a constant speed circle with a wind, of course crashed in the down wind sector stalling into the ground …

I thought this aircraft died in the 80s.. and only lived on in flight sim games...now I know more... brilliant

I remember seeing this on tomorrows world in the 1980s as a kid. Im pretty sure it also featured int he move Slipstream

This is the most amazing plane I’ve never heard of. I wonder if there are any scale models or RC versions of this.

@the.just.able.biker67

4 ай бұрын

There's a link to a video of one a few comments further up. 👍

After this video I want one. It would be great for just taking in the view.

@ErikssonTord_2

5 ай бұрын

Get yourself a Robinson instead, as it is in production and has an excellent track record!

@donaldvincent

5 ай бұрын

@@ErikssonTord_2 Thanks for the info. Ill look into it.

I'd love to have this airplane.

I've heard thermal expansion over the course of a day being another factor. There have been anecdotes of several inches difference measured at flakes and cracks in the park. I'm not sure if it has been legitimately studied but it gets talked about in rock climbing circles.

I can imagine that the cockpit with those big windows would have been rather warm. It would have been like a greenhouse in there.

I did remember the old Educational Television in Hong Kong always use Optica in the show for science knowledge on aero physics .

the concept outlived itself. any Bayraktar TB2 can do the same for less.

A rubberband powered model flew 300 meters before encountering an obstruction.

I went to School in Salisbury between '80 & '83, I believe these were manufactured nearby (Maybe Old Sarum Airfield?) and we used to regularly see them flying around, presumably on test flights. It was a weird looking and sounding aircraft, instantly recognisable, but I'm not surprised it never really took off (pardon the pun) as Helicopters do have that ability to land anywhere. I was very surprised that there's a resurgence in interest, as it would seem all the mentioned speciality applications could be adequately covered by the use of Drones?

A parachute and detachable pod would be cool

There is a lot more to this story than you think, especially in the early days of builds 001 to 005.

They should bring it back

As seen in the film Slipstream a sci-fi movie from the early 90's

Amazing it wasn’t used in more movies

An interesting concept that deserved to do better. I suspect its demise was caused by the very limited potential market for it.

@ErikssonTord_2

5 ай бұрын

Oh, a couple of hundred globally could have worked, but they were very bad sellers, for some reason I'm unaware of.

You would think outperforming a helicopter - something not known for its efficiency - wouldn't be that hard!

I only watched this video because I saw the thumbnail and immediately thought "Slipstream" with Mark Hamill

What is the STOL performance? If you are comparing it to a helicopter, please indicate what the takeoff/landing glide distance is.

It would be interesting to see what a fiberglass or carbon fiber version would do.

Nice little plane,good enough to scare the other producers of airplanes.

When I was still at school (way back in 1973), my maths teacher suddenly left, "to design aircraft" - we all laughed! His name: John Edgley. ...by 1979 I'd left school & suddenly the Optica had its maiden flight. I didn't laugh then!