During the early post-war years, investigations into faster flying took many different directions. In September 1948, Britain's Air Council placed an order with Reid and Sigrist Ltd, based at Desford, Leicestershire, for a single aeroplane to examine the pros and cons of accommodating the pilot in a prone position. A prone-cockpit layout particularly for future fighter aircraft, had two particular advantages worth exploring. For some time it had been recognised that a prone pilot could endure greater G force during tight turns and was less likely to black out than in an upright attitude, vital as jet fighters became able to manoeuvre at ever faster speeds. Also, the prone arrangement could help reduce future interceptors' frontal area, thereby decreasing drag. Reid and Sigrist came up with a small two-seat twin-engined monoplane named the RS.4. The aircraft was converted from their earlier RS.3 Desford and christened the Bobsleigh, a reference to the second pilot's experimental position. Powered by two 130hp de Havilland Gipsy Major engines, the 34ft span aircraft (registered VZ728) first flew in its modified state on June 13, 1951. A conventional cockpit was retained and an extended, largely transparent nose added to accommodate the prone pilot.
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