106 THE AVIATION HISTORIAN Issue No 21
section was to be incorporated. A Normalair
pressurisation system was to be included to
maintain sea level conditions up to 15,500ft
(4,700m), with a progressive reduction in pres-
sure to give the equivalent pressure at 8,000ft
(2,400m) at 30,000ft (9,100m). The main differences
between the three types were in span, fuselage
length and engine choice.
the fairey queen emerges
The aircraft was to be known as the Fairey
Queen, of which there would be several variants,
including the following:
n FC.4 A Bristol Proteus turboprop-powered
“Super Luxury Aircraft” for 30–56 passengers;
n FC.5 Same as FC.4 but powered by Napier
Nomad turbo-diesel compound engines;
n FC.6 A Proteus-powered “Standard Luxury
Aircraft” for 30–58 passengers.
Each of these types was convertible to sleeping
accommodation for night flying, the suffix letter
D or N being appended to denote a day or night
configuration. Alternative sleeper arrangements
were proposed; one for 21 passengers in separate
self-contained cabins, and another for 24 pass-
engers in convertible day seats.
Fairey allowed for a crew of 11, or 13 on
especially long trips. A normal basic crew con-
sisted of Captain, First Officer, Radio Operator,
Navigator, Flight Engineer, two stewards and
one stewardess, with the rest of the crew in a rest
room. The crew’s entrance was to be incorporated
in the forward freight door on the starboard side
with access to the upper deck being gained by a
ladder leading directly to the flightdeck.
Wanting the most attractive design regarding
passenger disposition for the long routes to
Australia and South Africa, Fairey considered the
following designs:
n A low-wing monoplane with a single-deck
fuselage of 13ft (4m) diameter;
n the same with a single-deck fuselage of 11ft
(3·35m) diameter;
n a mid-wing monoplane with a double-deck
arrangement;
n the same with very spacious accommodation.
Fairey concluded that the double-deck schemes
with a mid-mounted wing of straight taper and
high aspect-ratio would be more favourable,
and used this layout as the basis for further
design studies. A unique feature of the double-
bubble fuselage was a ready-made and accessibleABOVE Another view of the Fairey Queen model, which highlights the design’s clean lines and high-aspect-ratio
wing. Various powerplants were mooted for the design, chiefly the Bristol Proteus which powered the Bristol
Britannia airliner and Saro Princess flying-boat, and the Napier Nomad turbo-diesel with contra-rotating propellers.