User:Kumboloi/sandbox/Frank Costin

Francis Albert Costin
Francis Albert Costin
Born	June 8, 1920; Hammersmith, London
Died	February 5, 1995 (aged 74); Kettering, Northamptonshire
Nationality	British
Other names	FAC, Frank
Occupation(s)	Engineer, Aerodynamicist

Francis Albert "Frank" Costin (8 June 1920 – 5 February 1995)^[2] was a British engineer and aerodynamicist. He began his career in the aircraft industry and was later instrumental in adapting aircraft aerodynamic knowledge for automobile use.

Early years[edit]

Oldest of four children. Irish/Italian mother and English father. page 12

Taught by mother to play the piano. page 12

At eight years old, while reading an encyclopedia, the picture of a Zeppelin gondola inspired his goal to one day be an aircraft engineer. page 13

Was a member of the swimming and diving club, earning several trophies after mastering the breast stroke. page 13

Attended college at Harrow Weald. He left school at seventeen and started work at General Aircraft as a fitter. he never completed his formal schooling. page 14

After three years he had advanced to the drawing office. He then moved on to work at Airspeed in Portsmouth. It was here that he first encountered timber framed aircraft.

It was also during this period that Costin began learning to fly, earning his flying license in 1947.

From Airspeed Costin moved first to Supermarine, and then to Percival Aircraft Ltd., where he held the position of Project Design Engineer.

By the end of the war Costin had already helped with the design or modification of friends' sailplanes or powered light aircraft. With the help of friend Peter Davis he also built a sailplane of his own, named Condor I.

In 1951 Costing took the post of Aerodynamic Flight Test Engineer in charge of the Experimental Department at de Havilland Aircraft Ltd., and in 1953 became Engineer in charge of the Aerodynamic Test Department at de Havilland. page 14, 16

In 1953 he attended his first motor race with his brother, Mike. One year later he began designing cars for Colin Chapman's Lotus Cars, and by 1957 he had determined to leave de Havilland and commit to freelance design consulting entirely, although he was required to spend one year in the pure aerodynamics department at de Havilland to pass on the experience he had gained.

Aviation[edit]

He also created an ultra-light glider with Keith Duckworth, an old friend and his brother's business partner.

Duckworth Aviation. Two projects. Fisher Horizon modified by Costin.^[3]^: 308

Other project was a high-performance glider. Original intent was to convert to a motoglider, but these plans were abandoned.

Automotive[edit]

Costin was an engineer with the de Havilland Aircraft Company when, in 1954, his brother Mike, a former de Havilland engineer then working for Lotus Engineering Ltd., asked him to design an aerodynamic body for a new racing car. Intrigued by the idea of applying aerodynamics to racing cars, Costin designed the body for the Lotus Mark VIII.^[2] Unlike his brother, Costin was never a Lotus employee; his work there was either as a paid consultant or as a volunteer.^[4]

In 1956, when Chapman was commissioned by Tony Vandervell to design a Grand Prix racing car to challenge Maserati and Ferrari dominance of the formula, Chapman recommended Costin to Vandervell as the body designer. Costin designed the body for the Vanwall VW2. The derivative VW5 later won the first Grand Prix Constructors' Championship.^[2]

Later, Costin used his aeronautical knowledge to design and build a chassis from plywood. This led to a lightweight, stiff structure, which he could then clothe with an efficient, aerodynamic body, a huge advantage in the low-capacity sports car racing of the immediate postwar period. He was also involved in a number of road car projects for various manufacturers including Lister and Lotus, where he contributed to the early aerodynamic designs; Marcos, which he co-founded with Speedex Cars' Jem Marsh (MARsh and COStin); and racecar chassis for Maserati, Lotus, and DTV. He also designed the Costin Amigo, the TMC Costin, and the Costin Sports Roadster.

Auto I — Marcos. Marcos Xylon, ugly duckling, wide nose
Auto II — Lister Jaguar. Costin Lister Jaguar
Auto III — 1961 Lotus Elite modified for Jean Francois Malle.
Auto IV — Repair work.
Auto V — Ultimate Low Drag Vehicle commissioned by TVR. Ultimate Low Drag Vehicle
Auto VI — 1962/3. A low drag nose for TVR, put into production.
Auto VII — 1963. A sports racing car commissioned by Jim Diggory but sold to a Dr. Norbet McNamara. Costin Sports Racer
Auto VIII — 1963. The Lister spaceframe fitted with a coupe body built by Playfords.
Auto IX — 1963. A wooden monocoque given to BRM for evaluation purposes. It was originally intended for a “hydrodyne”. a hydrofoil variant. Test monocoque for BRM
Auto X — A low drag Lotus Elan built for Stirling Moss’ SMART team. Stirling Moss' SMART Lotus Elan
Auto XI — 1964. A four wheel drive chassis for JCB.
Auto XII — 1964. Shopping car. Shopping car
Auto XIIB — 1964/5. A revised nose for Peter Sellers’ Lotus 35 F2 car, which was driven by Brian Hart.
Auto XIII — Unused.
Auto XIV — 1965/6 and Auto XIVa 1966, the Costin-Nathan. Costin-Nathan
Auto XV — 1965. Possible GT40 successor. Ford GT40 study
Auto XVII — 1966/7. Costin/Walker Formula Four. Costin/Walker Formula 4
Auto XVI — 1967. Costin/Harris Protos F2 car. Protos Formula 2
Auto XVIII — Costin Amigo. Costin Amigo
Auto XIX — Body for the March 711. March 711 Formula 1
Auto XX — "Big Bertha" the Repco-engined Vauxhall Ventora. V8 Vauxhall Ventora (Big Bertha)
Auto XXI — "Timera", commissioned by a consortium. Money ran outbefore the car was completed.
Auto XXII — Ultra Economy car. Ultra Economy Car
Auto XXIII — "Baby Bertha", the Repco-engined Vauxhall Firenza. V8 Vauxhall Firenza (Baby Bertha)
Auto XXIV — TMC Costin. TMC Costin
Auto XXV —

From book:

Lotus Mk.VIII, Mk.IX
Vanwall VW2 and streamliner
Lotus Eleven
Lotus Elite
Costin Maserati Le Mans coupé
Speedwell nose and streamliner
Lister spaceframe
Project 75

Nautical[edit]

Other[edit]

Personal life[edit]

In his youth, Costin had been an Olympic-level swimmer. In his later years he composed music.^[2]

Costin had two sons, Ron and Nick by his first wife.^[5]^: 16 He later remarried to Nansi (Nan), nee Roberts, and had two daughters, Karen and Melissa, and twin sons, Jonathan and Paul.^[5]^{: 99, 114, 137, 183}

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b Jenkins, Richard (11 December 2016). "Frank Costin". oldracingcars.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Tremayne, David (6 March 1995). "OBITUARY: Frank Costin". The Independent. London, UK. ISSN 0951-9467. OCLC 185201487. Retrieved 21 July 2012. His early days of Olympic-standard swimming had given way to gentler pursuits, including composing music.
^ Burr, Norman (April 2015). First Principles. Veloce Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-845845-28-5.
^ Schreiber, Ronnie (23 June 2010). "Book Review: Colin Chapman: Inside The Innovator". The Truth About Cars. Retrieved 21 July 2012. Frank Costin, Mike's brother, was an aerodynamicist for deHavilland and Chapman's first aero guru (Peter Wright would later fill that role with the ground effects cars), but Frank Costin never was a Lotus employee, preferring to work either for consultant fees or gratis just to see his ideas tested.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ ^a ^b Ortenburger, Dennis E. (17 February 1986). Flying on Four Wheels: Frank Costin and his car designs. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 0-85059-770-6.

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External links[edit]

"Costin Cars Forum". 29 September 2010. Archived from the original on 28 September 2010.
Lockwood, Kirk (2012). "Cheshunt Lotus Elite Works Chassis #1468". Archived from the original on 12 February 2018.

Category:British automotive engineers Category:British automobile designers Category:British founders of automobile manufacturers Category:English motorsport people Category:Formula One people Category:Formula One designers Category:1920 births Category:1995 deaths

[orc-obit-1] Jenkins, Richard (11 December 2016). "Frank Costin". oldracingcars.com.

[DTTI-2] Tremayne, David (6 March 1995). "OBITUARY: Frank Costin". The Independent. London, UK. ISSN 0951-9467. OCLC 185201487. Retrieved 21 July 2012. His early days of Olympic-standard swimming had given way to gentler pursuits, including composing music.

[burrbook-3] Burr, Norman (April 2015). First Principles. Veloce Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-845845-28-5.

[LugdvisenReview-4] Schreiber, Ronnie (23 June 2010). "Book Review: Colin Chapman: Inside The Innovator". The Truth About Cars. Retrieved 21 July 2012. Frank Costin, Mike's brother, was an aerodynamicist for deHavilland and Chapman's first aero guru (Peter Wright would later fill that role with the ground effects cars), but Frank Costin never was a Lotus employee, preferring to work either for consultant fees or gratis just to see his ideas tested.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[ortenburgerbook-5] Ortenburger, Dennis E. (17 February 1986). Flying on Four Wheels: Frank Costin and his car designs. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 0-85059-770-6.

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