Bristol links engine design to aircraft performance

Bristol's long engine line explains why the Pegasus became so important to Fairey aircraft. When engine mass could account for roughly a quarter of an aircraft's loaded weight, power-to-weight decisions shaped payload, endurance, and deck performance. A company building both engines and airframes could match the two from the outset instead of treating the powerplant as an interchangeable component. The comparison between early Pegasus weights and the much heavier, more powerful Centaurus also shows how rapidly the engineering scale changed between generations.