Photographs of Flycatchers around HMS Glorious illustrate a practical point about aircraft and carrier geometry. The type could launch from the lower forward flying-off position and was the last service aircraft small enough to use that arrangement. Its roughly 29-foot span and 23-foot length also made folding wings unnecessary. Those dimensions let a carrier keep a ready fighter capability physically separate from operations on the main flight deck. As carrier aircraft grew, this operating method disappeared even when the ship itself remained unchanged.
Notable Point · 45:02-46:26
The compact Flycatcher could use a carrier's forward flying-off deck
Small dimensions and non-folding wings let the Flycatcher use forward flying-off positions that later, larger carrier aircraft could not exploit.