Avro Avian
| Industry | Aircraft manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1910 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Products | Aircraft, including the Avro Avian series |
The Avro Avian series comprises British light aircraft crafted by Avro throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s. Although these models were reliable and well-designed, they were significantly outperformed in sales by the de Havilland Moth family. In the United States, versions produced under licence by Whittesley Manufacturing Co. in Bridgeport, Connecticut are referred to as the Whittesley Avian.
Design and development
The initial Avro 581 Avian prototype was created to take part in the Lympne light aircraft trials held at Lympne Aerodrome in September 1926. Its wooden fuselage drew inspiration from the Avro 576 autogyro, but it featured standard biplane wings and was powered by a 70 hp (50 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Genet engine. The aircraft performed admirably during the competition but was ultimately disqualified due to engine malfunction.
In early 1927, the prototype was upgraded with an 85 hp (63 kW) ADC Cirrus powerplant, redesignated as Type 581A, and subsequently sold to aviator Bert Hinkler.
Production models carried the Type 594 designation and were manufactured in several variants, predominantly equipped with Cirrus engines. In response to international demand for more easily maintained structures, a version featuring a welded steel tube fuselage was introduced in 1929 as the Avro 616 Avian IVM. This particular model became the most widely produced, with around 190 units constructed.
Additionally, the Avian was license-built in Canada by the Ottawa Car Manufacturing Company located in Ottawa, Ontario.
Operational history
Although the Avian was outpaced in sales by the de Havilland Moth and its variants—which had their initial flight more than a year prior to the Avian—it found widespread use as a civil touring and training aircraft, with numerous units exported internationally. Production of Avians took place not only at Avro’s own facilities but also through assembly by the Whittesley Manufacturing Co. in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA, and the Ottawa Car Manufacturing Company in Canada.
Following enhancements to its wing structure and landing gear, resulting in the Avro 581E model, Bert Hinkler utilized this version for several notable long-distance journeys. His efforts culminated in a solo flight lasting 15½ days from Croydon, UK to Darwin, Australia. In 1998, Lang Kidby replicated this historic journey aboard a 1927 Type 594 Avian VH-UFZ (formerly G-AUFZ).
The Avro Avian 594 Avian III (serial number R3/AV/101) was once owned by Lady Mary Heath and Amelia Earhart. Earhart’s aircraft was equipped with an 84 hp (63 kW) Cirrus Mk II engine. Initially registered under Lady Heath on 29 October 1927 with the UK identifier G-EBUG, it received the "unlicensed aircraft identification mark" 7083 upon Earhart’s arrival in the United States. This designation allowed operation without official certification but with identification for unlicensed aircraft. Earhart flew this Avian on her first solo long-distance journey, which coincided with her rising national prominence. In August 1928, she became the first woman to complete a solo flight across North America and return. In 2001, Carlene Mendita retraced this route using Greg Herrick’s Type 594 Avian, which Herrick had acquired from Lang Kidby. When Herrick purchased it two years earlier, it was recognized as Australia’s oldest airworthy plane. Currently, this aircraft is housed in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Wilfrid R. "Wop" May piloted a 594 model during his January 1929 emergency mission delivering diphtheria antitoxin from Edmonton to Fort Vermilion, Alberta.
Bill Lancaster employed an Avian named Red Rose for a successful extended flight to Australia. Another Avian dubbed Southern Cross Minor was used on his final record-breaking attempt to South Africa in 1933.
In July 1930, Winifred Brown secured victory in the King's Cup Race flying a Cirrus III Avian. One Avian, flown by Sydney Thorn, participated with moderate success—finishing sixteenth—in the Challenge International de Tourisme 1930.
On 7 January 1931, Guy Menzies completed a solo flight from Australia to New Zealand in an Avian named Southern Cross Junior, marking the first solo crossing of the Tasman Sea.
The Royal Air Force procured a single Genet-powered Avian II, while additional Avians were acquired by the South African Air Force, the Chinese Naval Air Service, the Estonian Air Force, and the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Aviator Beryl Markham made extensive use of an Avian during her activities in East Africa throughout the 1930s.
Variants
- Avro 581 Avian
- Initial prototype equipped with a 70 hp (52 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Genet engine.
- Avro 581A
- Altered version of the first prototype featuring an 85 hp (63 kW) ADC Cirrus engine and wings with reduced span.
- Avro 581E
- Further enhancements made to the Avro 581A for extended range flights, including redesigned wings and a modified fuselage.
- Avro 594 Avian I
- Two preproduction models constructed.
- Avro 594 Avian II
- First production variant powered by an 85 hp (63 kW) Cirrus II engine, with nine units produced.
- Avro 594 Avian III
- Featured changes to the engine mount and tubular steel struts, totaling 33 built.
- Avro 594 Avian IIIA
- Equipped with a 95 hp (71 kW) Cirrus III engine, with 58 aircraft manufactured.
- Avro 594 Avian IV
- Included updated undercarriage and ailerons, with a production run of 90 aircraft.
- Avro 605 Avian
- Two Avro 594 Avian III models converted into floatplane configurations.
- Avro 616 Avian IVM
- Utilized a steel tube fuselage and powered by either a 105 hp (78 kW) Cirrus Hermes I or a 100 hp (75 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major engine, with approximately 190 units produced.
- Avro 616 Sports Avian
- Racing variant designed to minimize drag, with 16 aircraft built.
- Avro 616 Avian IVA
- A unique long-range model crafted for Charles Kingsford Smith, known as Southern Cross Junior, powered by a 120 hp (90 kW) de Havilland Gipsy II engine, featuring an additional fuel tank and revised wings spanning 30 ft.
- Avro 616 Avian V
- Another long-distance single-seat variant created for Charles Kingsford Smith, named Southern Cross Minor. This aircraft was later used by Bill Lancaster in his fatal solo attempt to fly from England to South Africa.
- Avro 625 Avian Monoplane
- Development into a low-wing monoplane design, with two units constructed.
Military operators
Surviving aircraft
- 5116 – Prototype Avro Avian (G-EBOV) flown by Bert Hinkler during several record-setting flights, currently exhibited at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, Queensland.
- R3/AV/127 – An airworthy Avian IV located at the Ala Doble Flying Collection in Esparto, California. Originally the oldest flying aircraft in Australia, it has been converted from an Avian II model and painted to represent G-EBUG, which Amelia Earhart flew across the United States in 1928–1929.
- R3/CN/160 – Static exhibit of an Avian IIIA at Hooton Park in Cheshire. This aircraft bears the registration G-EBZM and is assembled from parts of several others.
- CN/171 G-ACGT – A Type 594B Avian III powered by a Genet II engine undergoing restoration in Coventry, Warwickshire.
- R3/CN/314 – Static display of an Avian IVM at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario.
- R3/CN/316 – An Avian IVM on display at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, fitted with a Genet engine and painted as CF-CDV.
- R3/CN/318 – Static exhibit of an Avian IV located at Arlanda Flygsamlingar near Stockholm Arlanda Airport, north of Stockholm, Sweden.
- R3/CN/522 – Airworthy Avian IV registered VH-UVX owned by Geoffrey Arthur Davis in Salisbury, South Australia.
- R3/CN/531 – Another airworthy Avian IV registered VH-UQE also operated by Geoffrey Arthur Davis of Salisbury, South Australia.
- Replica – An Avian IIIA replica showcased at the Alberta Aviation Museum in Edmonton, Alberta. It is painted as G-CAVB to honor Wop May's courageous mid-winter flight delivering diphtheria antitoxin to a prairie village during an outbreak.
Specifications (Avian IVM)
See also
Notes
Bibliography
- Donald, David, ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
- Gerdessen, Frederik. "Estonian Air Power 1918 – 1945". Air Enthusiast, No. 18, April – July 1982. pp. 61–76. Template:ISSN.
- Grant, James Ritchie. "Anti-Clockwise: Australia the Wrong Way". Air Enthusiast, No. 82, July–August 1999, pp. 60–63. Template:ISSN
- Jackson, A.J. Avro Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 2nd edition, 1990. ISBN 0-85177-834-8.
- Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919, Volume 1. London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-10006-9.
- Prins, François. "Brisbane's Heritage". Air Enthusiast, Winter 1993, issue 52, pp. 26–27. Template:ISSN
External links
