Today In History:  10 October  [1950]   --  The first flight of the Boulton Paul P.111

The Boulton Paul P.111 was an experimental aircraft and was amongst the first aircraft designed to explore the characteristics of the tailless delta wing configuration.

To accommodate its Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet propulsion, a relatively broad fuselage was necessitated, giving it an unorthodox appearance. The wing featured removable wing tips that could be swapped to produce different wing shapes, a feature deemed to be highly desirable for aerodynamic investigations. Other novel features beyond the wing included a Martin-Baker-built ejection seat and an early fully-powered flight control system.

Early flight testing of the aircraft revealed the flight controls to be highly sensitive and a relatively high landing speed was also necessary.

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