Airliner · Civil · United Kingdom
Hawker Siddeley Trident
- January 9, 1962
- First flight
- 1964
- Introduced
- In service
- Status
- 117
- Units built
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The Hawker Siddeley Trident is a British short/medium-haul trijet airliner that first flew on 9 January 1962 and entered service with British European Airways on 1 April 1964. A total of 117 were built, and the last examples were retired in 1995.
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History
The Trident was designed around the requirements of British European Airways, which wanted a fast jet for its short and medium-haul European network. The result was a T-tailed trijet with three Rolls-Royce Spey engines clustered at the rear, a configuration it would share with its great rival, the Boeing 727. The first flight took place on 9 January 1962, and BEA put the type into service on 1 April 1964, two months after the 727.
Its most lasting contribution was technological: the Trident pioneered automatic landing in commercial aviation, and in 1965 it became the first airliner to make a blind landing in revenue service, opening the way to operations in ever-lower weather minima. It was also the first airliner fitted with a quick access flight data recorder.
Tailored too closely to BEA's needs, the Trident had a limited commercial run: 117 were built before production ended in 1978, with China's CAAC the main export customer alongside the launch operator. The last examples stopped flying in 1995, marking the type's permanent retirement from service.
Variants
| Trident 1C | Trident 1E | Trident 2E | Trident 3B | Super Trident 3B | Trident 1A | Trident 1F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First flight | January 9, 1962 | November 2, 1964 | July 27, 1967 | December 11, 1969 | July 9, 1975 | — | — |
| Aircraft type | Short/medium-haul airliner | Short/medium-haul airliner | Short/medium-haul airliner | Short/medium-haul airliner | Short/medium-haul airliner | Short/medium-haul airliner (unbuilt project) | Short/medium-haul airliner (unbuilt project) |
| Powerplant | 3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-1 Mk 505-5 turbofans of 46.3 kN (10,410 lbf) each: two in side pods on the rear fuselage and the third buried in the tail, fed by an S-duct intake at the fin root. | 3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 511-5 turbofans of 50.7 kN (11,400 lbf) each, uprated for hot-and-high airfield performance. | 3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 512-5W turbofans of 53.2 kN (11,960 lbf) each, water-injected for take-off; two sit in rear-fuselage side pods and the third is buried in the tail, fed through an S-duct below the rudder. | 3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 512-5W turbofans of 53.2 kN (11,960 lbf) each, plus a fourth auxiliary engine in the tail: a Rolls-Royce RB162-86 turbojet of 23.4 kN (5,250 lbf) fed by its own intake behind a pair of movable doors, adding 15 per cent more take-off thrust for only 5 per cent more weight and lit only when needed. | 3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 512-5W turbofans of 53.2 kN (11,960 lbf) each, plus the Rolls-Royce RB162-86 take-off booster turbojet of 23.4 kN (5,250 lbf), as on the 3B. | 3 × Rolls-Royce Spey 510 turbofans of 47.6 kN (10,700 lbf) each, an uprated Spey 505 proposed for this variant. | 3 × Rolls-Royce Spey 511 turbofans of 50.7 kN (11,400 lbf) each, the same engines as the Trident 1E. |
| Powerplant | 3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-1 Mk 505-5 | 3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 511-5 | 3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 512-5W | 3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 512-5W + Rolls-Royce RB162-86 booster | 3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 512-5W + Rolls-Royce RB162-86 booster | 3 × Rolls-Royce Spey 510 | 3 × Rolls-Royce Spey 511 |
| Thrust per engine | 46.3 kN | 50.7 kN | 53.2 kN Best value in this row | 53.2 kN Best value in this row | 53.2 kN Best value in this row | 47.6 kN | 50.7 kN |
| Length | 35 m | 35 m | 35 m | 40 m Best value in this row | 40 m Best value in this row | — | — |
| Wingspan | 27.4 m | 29 m | 29.9 m Best value in this row | 29.9 m Best value in this row | 29.9 m Best value in this row | — | — |
| Height | 8.2 m | 8.2 m | 8.2 m | 8.6 m Best value in this row | 8.6 m Best value in this row | — | — |
| Wing area | 126 m² | 132 m² | 136 m² Best value in this row | 136 m² Best value in this row | 136 m² Best value in this row | — | — |
| Empty weight | 30,300 kg Best value in this row | 31,800 kg | 33,200 kg | 37,600 kg | — | — | — |
| MTOW | 52,163 kg | 58,060 kg | 64,637 kg | 68,039 kg Best value in this row | — | 54,431 kg | 59,874 kg |
| Top speed | — | — | 974 km/h Best value in this row | 972 km/h | — | — | — |
| Max speed altitude | — | — | 7,620 m | — | — | — | — |
| Cruise speed | 937 km/h | 937 km/h | 959 km/h Best value in this row | 917 km/h | 917 km/h | — | — |
| Cruise altitude | 9,144 m | 9,144 m | 9,145 m | 9,144 m | 9,144 m | — | — |
| Service ceiling | 10,668 m Best value in this row | 10,668 m Best value in this row | 10,668 m Best value in this row | 10,668 m Best value in this row | 10,668 m Best value in this row | — | — |
| Initial climb rate | — | — | — | 15 m/s | — | — | — |
| Range | 3,260 km | 3,540 km | 4,350 km Best value in this row | 3,593 km | 3,380 km | 2,897 km | — |
| Combat radius | 0 km Best value in this row | 0 km Best value in this row | 0 km Best value in this row | 0 km Best value in this row | 0 km Best value in this row | 0 km Best value in this row | 0 km Best value in this row |
| Range conditions | Up to 3,260 km (1,760 nautical miles) with full tanks and 1,870 km (1,010 nautical miles) at maximum payload: the small wing BEA insisted on left the 1C short of range against the Boeing 727. | 3,540 km (1,910 nautical miles), thanks to the larger wing and increased fuel capacity over the 1C. | Up to 4,350 km (2,350 nautical miles), and about 3,965 km with a typical payload, thanks to the Küchemann wingtips that stretched the span and to 26,250 litres of fuel. Economical cruise is 959 km/h at 9,145 m and maximum cruise 974 km/h at 7,620 m. | 3,593 km (1,940 nautical miles): the extra weight and the stretch cut range compared with the 2E, which shares the same wing and main engines. | An extra fin tank and higher operating weights give 3,380 km (1,825 nautical miles) at maximum payload, 25 per cent more than the 3B. | The enlarged wing and centre-section tank raised gross weight to 54,431 kg and projected range to 2,897 km (1,800 miles), still short of what American Airlines wanted; it chose the Boeing 727 instead. | Intended to give BEA more range than the 1E; the changes piled up until the project was renamed Trident 2E, and no 1F was ever built. |
| Armament | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| Max weapons load | 0 kg Best value in this row | 0 kg Best value in this row | 0 kg Best value in this row | 0 kg Best value in this row | 0 kg Best value in this row | 0 kg Best value in this row | 0 kg Best value in this row |
| Payload | — | — | 21,156 kg | — | — | — | — |
| Cargo capacity | First production version, built for BEA only: 96 to 109 seats depending on layout, with baggage and freight in underfloor holds. | Export version with extended wing chord and leading-edge slats: 103 seats in the usual layout and up to 149 six abreast. | Same cabin as the 1E: 115 seats in the typical BEA layout and up to 149 six abreast, with a maximum payload of 21,156 kg carried in underfloor holds. | The 5 m fuselage stretch makes room for up to 180 seats, the highest capacity in the Trident family. | Up to 180 seats, as on the 3B; the only two built went to China's CAAC, the last operator of the Trident. | Project offered to American Airlines with the Trident 1C cabin, a larger wing and more fuel; none was ever built. | 1964 project with the fuselage stretched by 2.8 m and up to 128 seats in the original five-abreast layout; BEA planned ten with options on fourteen more. |
| Crew | 3 Best value in this row | 3 Best value in this row | 3 Best value in this row | 3 Best value in this row | 3 Best value in this row | 3 Best value in this row | 3 Best value in this row |
| Passengers | 109 | 149 | 149 | 180 Best value in this row | 180 Best value in this row | — | 128 |
| Units built | 24 | 15 | 50 Best value in this row | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
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