How many flights did the Bristol Racer make?

Short answer

Very few: the maiden flight in early July 1922 with Cyril Uwins at the controls, a second flight in which the spinner disintegrated, a third without it that again revealed aileron problems, and three more flights, in the last two of which the retractable landing gear was successfully deployed.

Published: November 5, 2026 · Updated: November 5, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

How many flights did the Bristol Racer make?

Bristol Italian Car Day 2010 Fiat 500 racerTony Harrison from Farnborough, UK (CC BY SA), vía commons

A monoplane with retractable landing gear

The Bristol Racer was a single-engined mid-wing monoplane that, unusually for the time, had retractable landing gear. Its 480 hp (360 kW) Bristol Jupiter IV radial engine was fully enclosed within the circular-section fuselage. The detail design was authorised on 5 December, and on 23 January 1922 an order for a single aircraft was placed with the factory.

Brief flights and wing-warping problems

Flown by Cyril Uwins, the Racer made its maiden flight in early July 1922. That flight revealed control problems caused by wing warping, itself caused by excessively large ailerons. For the second flight, bracing wires were added to the wing, but immediately after take-off the spinner broke up. A third flight, now without the spinner, showed that the aileron problem was still present. Uwins flew another wide circuit and again achieved a safe landing. Three more flights were made, and on the last two the landing gear was successfully retracted.

From engine test bed to scrapping

It was even suggested that it be used as a flying engine test bed, but its flying characteristics were quite unsuitable for that role. The aircraft was eventually scrapped in 1924.