Avro 642
| Avro 642 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Airliner |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
January 1934 |
| Number of pieces: |
2 |
The Avro 642 was a passenger aircraft from the British manufacturer Avro , which was built in a twin-engine and a four-engine variant.
history
The Avro 642 was a further development of the Avro 618 , Avro 619 and Avro 624 series and was originally known as the Avro 642 Eighteen (English: Eighteen) because of its transport capacity of two crew members and 16 passengers.
First, the twin-engine variant with the designation Avro 642 / 2m appeared. The wings of the high-wing aircraft Avro 618 Ten were used for this machine. On the 642, however, it was moved downwards, resulting in a shoulder-wing design for the 642. Two double radial engines Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar VID were used as engines.
When designing the front, Avro had initially broken new ground and had the cockpit shaped to be semicircular. However, since the front had been damaged due to storm damage, it was then rebuilt in a conventional step shape - Avro probably held the acceptance among potential customers for the design, which was unusual at the time, too low.
The prototype with the registration G-ACFV had its maiden flight in January 1934 and was sold to Midland and Scottish Air Ferries Ltd. in April 1934 . delivered in Renfrew . There the machine flew under the name Marchioness of Londonderry .
On December 9, 1934, a variant Avro 642 / 4m equipped with four 7-cylinder radial engines Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVC was delivered to the Indian Air Force , which was supposed to replace an Avro Ten as the personal machine of the Viceroy Lord Willingdon.
In contrast to the 642 / 2m, this machine, called the Star of India, was equipped with a special interior for seven people, had continuous windows in the cabin area instead of the portholes used on the 642 / 2m and a separate door for the Crew.
Apart from these two machines, no further 642s were built. The 642 / 2m was sold when its original owner ceased flight operations and was used to transport newspapers in 1935 and 1936, initially as a mail plane in New Guinea from late 1936 and later as a passenger plane for Mandated Airlines . On March 11, 1942, the machine was destroyed by Japanese occupation forces. The Star of India flew until 1940, when the wing was damaged in an accident on the tarmac. A short time later, the entire wing was destroyed by ants .
Project Avro 655
Avro began in November 1933 to develop a bomber with 14-cylinder double radial engines Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar VIA based on the twin-engine 642. In-house at Avro, the project was named Avro 655. However, the planning did not get beyond the drawing stage.
Technical specifications
| Avro 642 / 2m (data of the 642 / 4m, if different, in brackets) | |
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| length | 16.61 m Original version with rounded nose: 16.76 m |
| height | 3.51 m |
| Wingspan | 21.72 m |
| Wing area | 69.60 m² |
| Empty weight | 3,338 kg (3,960 kg) |
| Max. Weight in flight with a full tank | 5,352 kg (5,557 kg) |
| drive | two 14-cylinder double radial engines Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar VID (each 336 kW / 456 PS) four 7-cylinder radial engines Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVC (each 160 kW / 218 PS) |
| Top speed | 251 km / h (241 km / h) |
| Cruising speed | 201 km / h (209 km / h) |
| Climb performance | 296 m / sec (229 m / s) |
| Service ceiling | 5,335 m (4,572 m) |
| Range | 965 km (900 km) |
| crew | 2 |
| Passengers | 16 |
