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Avro Tutor

From Alfawiki
Avro
Company typePrivate company
IndustryAerospace
Founded1910 in United Kingdom
FounderAlliott Verdon Roe
Headquarters
United Kingdom
ProductsAircraft


Not to be confused with Avro Tudor.

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The Avro Type 621 Tutor[1][2] is a British two-seat biplane trainer powered by a radial engine, developed during the interwar years. It served as a straightforward yet durable elementary trainer, employed not only by the Royal Air Force but also by numerous other military aviation services internationally.

Design and development

Conceived as an Avro private venture, the Model 621 was crafted by Roy Chadwick to succeed the Avro 504 with a metal airframe. Intended as a lightweight primary trainer, this biplane featured heavily staggered wings of equal span with a single bay; its structure was primarily steel tubing complemented by wooden wing ribs, all covered in doped linen. The undercarriage was fixed and divided with a tailskid on early versions, while later models were equipped with a tailwheel.

Powerplants included either the 155 hp (116 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose or the more powerful Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IV (180 hp/130 kW) and IVC (240 hp/179 kW) engines. Models with Lynx engines often featured a Townend ring cowling enclosing the powerplant. The Mongoose-powered variant was designated the 621 Trainer, whereas the majority fitted with Lynx engines were known as Tutors. The Tutor also exhibited a more rounded rudder compared to its counterpart.[3]

The prototype, registered G-AAKT, completed its maiden flight in September 1929 under the control of Avro’s chief test pilot Captain Harry Albert "Sam" Brown.[4]

Operational history

File:Avro Tutor. Gosport. 21-05-1937 MOD 45130346.jpg
Avro Tutor in service, 1937

Manufacturing commenced following an initial order comprising three Tutors for the Irish Free State and twenty-one Trainers for the Royal Air Force. Seeking to replace the wooden-framed Avro 504, the RAF conducted extensive trials over three years against competitors such as the Hawker Tomtit, ultimately selecting this model as their standard elementary trainer in 1933. It retained this role until 1939. Alongside the initial batch of Trainers, the RAF procured a total of 381 Tutors and an additional 15 Avro 646 Sea Tutors. Key RAF units operating large numbers included the Royal Air Force College, Central Flying School, and Flying Training Schools Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5.[5]

The Model 621 also saw significant export success. A.V. Roe and Company supplied twenty-nine aircraft to Greece’s air force, six to Canada’s Royal Air Force, five to Guangxi’s air force, three to Ireland’s air force—where it was known as the Triton—and two each to South Africa’s and Poland’s air forces. Additionally, South African manufacturers produced fifty-seven under licence, while Denmark’s Naval Shipyard built three more under licence.

File:Avro 621 Tutor K3215 Shuttleworth ABIN 15.06.68 edited-2.jpg
The only remaining Tutor painted in its original yellow training livery at RAF Abingdon in 1968

Greece received thirty Tutors directly exported and at least sixty-one licence-built units produced locally by KEA. Following Greece's entry into World War II, several Greek-operated Tutors were assigned to combat squadrons serving in army cooperation roles.

Praised for its handling qualities, this type frequently appeared at aviation displays. At the onset of World War II, over two hundred Avro Tutors along with five Sea Tutors remained active within RAF service.

Designed primarily for military pilot instruction, only a handful transitioned to civilian registration. During the 1930s, besides ten prototypes and demonstration models, two were operated by Alan Cobham's Flying Circus, while two former RAF trainers entered private ownership post-service. One unit was initially operated by Australian National Airways from new. Following the war's conclusion, four additional ex-RAF Model 621s appeared on civil registers.

Variants

Avro 621 Trainer (Mongoose engine)
A primary trainer aircraft with two seats.
Avro 621 Tutor (Lynx engine)
Two-seat aircraft designed for initial pilot training.
Avro 621 Tutor II
One unit was converted into a biplane featuring two bays.
Avro 623
An enhanced three-seat adaptation of the Type 621 Tutor, developed for aerial survey missions in Tanganyika. Three units were constructed between May and December 1930 and allocated to Tanganyika's Director of Surveys. Powered by a 240 hp Armstrong-Siddeley Lynx IV engine.
Avro 646 Sea Tutor
A two-seat seaplane equipped with dual floats; a total of 15 were produced.
PWS-18
Polish manufactured licensed variant powered by a 200 hp Wright J-5 engine. Forty units were produced during 1935–36 and remained active in the Polish Air Force as of 1939.

Operators

Template:CZS
Template:DNK
File:Canadian Red Ensign (1921–1957).svg Canada
Template:China as ROC
Template:Country data Iraq
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File:Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg Greece
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  • The Polish Air Force acquired two aircraft directly from Avro plus an additional forty from PWS.
File:Flag of South Africa (1928–1982).svg South Africa
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File:Avro Tutor 2008.jpg
The Shuttleworth Collection's Avro Tutor K3215/G-AHSA

Surviving aircraft

G-AHSA served in communication roles throughout World War II before being deregistered in December 1946 and acquired by Wing Commander Heywood. During early filming of Reach for the Sky, it experienced engine failure, after which it was obtained by the Shuttleworth Collection and restored to airworthy condition.

Until late 2003, G-AHSA continued flying bearing the RAF trainer code K3215 in yellow. Starting January 2004, it has been flown painted as K3241, displaying the livery of the Central Flying School. (The authentic K3241, constructed in 1933, initially served at RAF College Cranwell before transferring to the CFA in 1936.)

Specifications (Tutor)

File:Avro 621 Trainer 3-view NACA Aircraft Circular No.119.jpg
Three-view illustration of the Avro 621 Trainer from NACA Aircraft Circular No.119

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See also

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Notes

  1. ↑ Jackson 1990, pp. 283–291.
  2. ↑ Thetford 1957, pp. 46–47.
  3. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ↑ Halley, 1976, pp. 22–23

Bibliography

  • Cynk, Jerzy B., Polish Aircraft 1893–1939, London: Putnam, 1971, ISBN 0-370-00085-4.
  • Halley, J.J., Royal Air Force Aircraft K1000 to K9999, Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, 1976, ISBN 0-85130-048-0.
  • Jackson, A.J., Avro Aircraft since 1908, 2nd edition, London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1990, ISBN 0-85177-834-8.
  • Jenks, Roy, "RAF Piston Trainers: No. 4: Avro Tutor", Aeroplane Monthly, Vol. 7, No. 3, March 1979, pp. 142–147.
  • Thetford, O., Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1918–57, London: Putnam, 1957.
  • Vančata, Pavel, "Cechoslováci v zahraničním odboji", Revi (bi-monthly magazine), Issue 65, Ostrava-Poruba: REVI Publications, 2006, ISSN 1211-0744 (in Czech).

External links

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