Avro baby
| Avro 534 baby | |
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| Type: | |
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| First flight: |
April 30, 1919 |
| Number of pieces: |
12 |
The Avro 534 Baby was a single-engine, single-seat biplane made by the British manufacturer Avro in the 1920s. Almost each of the 12 534s built was unique , and for Avro a test vehicle for further developments of light aircraft.
Although the Avro 534 had not been produced in large numbers, it was with this aircraft that Avro laid the foundation for a new movement, light flying, which peaked 7 years later in England.
history
First versions
After the end of the First World War , Alliott Verdon Roe and his company turned back to small, light aircraft with relatively weak engines. The key data that Roe had set himself was no more than 750 kg in weight with an engine output of around 20-30 hp. Avro chief designer Roy Chadwick, however, tended towards machines with greater load capacity and engine outputs around 40-50 hp.
Ultimately, the development of the machine was dependent on the availability of the engines. A water-cooled 35.5 hp Green engine was available (it is said that this engine was already installed in the first model of the Avro Type D ). So a design of the "small" Avro was created around this engine, a single-handle, wire-braced biplane with the same span of the upper and lower wings. The engine was completely overhauled by the manufacturer Green Engine Company and equipped with aluminum pistons, a new crankshaft , slide control and an oil pressure regulator.
Initially, the aircraft was to be named "The Popular" to document that this machine was intended for the masses, but shortly afterwards Avro decided on the name "Baby". When it was determined that the design harmonized with the engine, new and lighter Green engines were purchased from Peter Brotherhood Ltd. ordered in Peterborough.
The first flight of the prototype on April 30, 1919 was a disaster; it ended after 2 minutes after pilot HA Hamersley accidentally threw the ignition switch after take-off, the machine could no longer be intercepted due to the insufficient height of about 90 meters and was destroyed in the inevitable crash.
With the first production machine, however, Hamersley provided proof by winning various racing events that the Baby was by no means an underpowered machine. Conspicuously painted and with large letters “Avro Baby” on the fuselage, the machine was flown to Amsterdam for an aviation exhibition, the “First Air Traffic Exhibition”.
This was followed - after a few modifications in the area of altitude control - aerial acrobatics shows on the south coast of England to advertise the Avro Transport Company , which carried out commercial public flights with the Avro 504 .
With this machine, Roy Chadwick crashed on January 13, 1920, it was completely destroyed; only the engine remained undamaged. A new "baby" was built around this engine and some detail improvements were incorporated into this machine. In April 1920, Avro chief pilot Bert Hinkler bought this aircraft from his employer and took off on a sensational non-stop flight from Croydon to Turin (about 1,050 km) in 9 hours 30 minutes on May 31st . On July 24th, Hinkler became with the "Baby" runner-up at the Aerial Derby in Hendon .
Hinkler later modified his machine so that one person was able to carry out difficult maintenance work on the engine on his own even under adverse conditions, and on April 11, 1921, he set off on an 800 mile flight across Australia from Sydney to his hometown Bundaberg . Hinkler later had an accident with this machine, after which it was sold, fitted with floats and thus took part in a film as an "actor". After filming, she was supposed to fly in New Guinea , but turned out to be unsuitable. The machine was given a wheeled undercarriage, changed hands several times, but could be preserved for posterity: the aircraft with the checkered history is now in the Queensland Museum in Brisbane .
Improved versions
The next model built (April 1919) received a double float, combined with a shortening of the lower wing and the necessary angling of the wing supports. In addition, it was provided with different rudders and elevators than its predecessor. This seaplane, called the Avro 534 A Water Baby , showed remarkable flight performance.
The third machine underwent further changes, such as a return to the tried and tested round rudder and elevator and a plywood-clad fuselage. This Avro 534B was the machine that Hinklers 534 at the Aerial Derby had beaten the 1920s. However, shortly after that race, the plane crashed on the way to another competition.
The machine number 4, called Avro 543 Baby , presented in July 1920, was another variation of the basic model. It was a two-seater, pilot and passenger found space in an enlarged single cockpit. Although the 543 performed well in flight, it did not achieve any success in several competitions due to technical defects. So she was sold; the new owner replaced the Green engine with an air-cooled ADC Cirrus I, which inspired Avro to build a version of the Baby with this engine. However, the project called Avro 534G was never realized.
Another machine was named Avro 534C ; their wings were shortened for participation in the Aerial Derby 1921, in which they ultimately did not take part, because Hinkler had to ditch them while preparing for the race.
The next aircraft, the Avro 534D - first flight on September 14, 1921 - was a special version suitable for use in the tropics at the request of a customer who operated this aircraft in the Calcutta area until 1928. Among other things, a luggage compartment was built into the 534D behind the cockpit.
The planned version of the Avro 534E with foldable wings was just as unrealized as the Avro 534F project , a variant with a 100 hp (101.4 hp) Bristol Lucifer engine.
Another example was a standard baby bought by the Russian government. Incidentally, the transfer flight in June 1922 from London to Moscow by a Russian pilot was the first flight between these two capitals.
The last 534 produced was a custom-made seaplane with photo-observer equipment for Ernest Shackleton's fourth Antarctic expedition . The requirements for the 554 Antarctic Baby were extraordinary - it had to be able to be dismantled to save space for transport by ship and, due to the extreme minus temperatures, it had to be mountable with gloves. Oversized screws were used on this machine, and in addition to the double float, the machine also differed in a few other details from the standard baby . The use of an 80 hp (81.1 hp) Le Rhone rotary engine required the complete redesign of the nasal section.
The Antarctic-Baby was not used, however, because Shackleton had to change his planned course on the way to the South Pole and the port of Cape Town , where parts of the machine that were deposited there, due to engine problems that occurred on departure from London , could not take over. The aircraft was sold and after a few tests with a wheeled undercarriage, it was converted to a ski undercarriage. The machine was used for seal observation in Newfoundland until 1927 .
A unique piece should not go unmentioned: In December 1920, the Briton HG Leigh used an Avro 534 Baby as the basis for an unusual machine. He removed the upper wing and replaced it with six very narrow, staggered individual surfaces. In a contemporary photo, the builder can be seen together with Bert Hinkler next to his peculiar construction, "the multiple aerofoil baby".
Another variant of the 534 was planned at Avro, the 554, a two-seater based on the Baby with a Le Rhone engine. However, this project was never realized.
construction
The Avro 534 Baby was a single-handled biplane with a fabric-covered wooden fuselage, the wooden wings were also fabric-covered with ailerons on all four surfaces. The landing gear consisted of a two-wheeled, rigid main landing gear and a rigid tail spur.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Avro 534 | Avro 534C | Avro 534D | Avro 543 | Avro 554 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| crew | 1 | ||||
| length | 5.33 m | 6.83 m | |||
| Wingspan above | 7.62 m | 6.09 m | 7.62 m | ||
| Wingspan below | 7.62 m | 5.49 m | 7.01 m | 8.0 m | |
| height | 2.29 m | 3.12 m | |||
| Wing area | 16.73 m² | approx. 16.4 m² | 17.15 m² | ||
| Empty mass | 283 kg | 298 kg | 286 kg | 445 kg | |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 389 kg | 431 kg | 440 kg (with ADC motor) | 712 kg | |
| drive | a green engine; 26.1 kW (35.5 PS) | a Green Motor; 26.1 kW (35.5 PS) alternatively: an ADC Cirrus I engine; 44.74 kW (60.83 PS) |
a Le Rhone engine; 67.11 kW (91.25 PS) | ||
| Top speed | 126 km / h | 132 km / h (158 km / h with the ADC engine) | 145 km / h | ||
| Cruising speed | 113 km / h | 113 km / h (with Green engine) | 113 km / h | ||
| Rate of climb | 152 m / min | 137 m / min | 101 m / min | ||
| Range | approx. 390 km | approx. 600 km | approx. 360 km | approx. 305 km | |
See also
literature
- AJ Jackson: Avro Aircraft since 1908 , Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1990, ISBN 0-85177-834-8 , pp. 165 ff.
