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Страна: Великобритания

Год: 1918

Истребитель

A.Jackson Avro Aircraft since 1908 (Putnam)

Avro 531 Spider

  First flown at Hamble in April 1918, the Spider was an unsponsored private venture single-seat fighter in which many Avro 504K components were used for speed of manufacture. To this end a shortened rear fuselage of conventional construction with spruce longerons was married to a standard Avro 504K front fuselage and the engine was a ‘borrowed’ 110 hp Le Rhone. There seems little doubt that the Avro company hoped that the Spider would replace the single-seat Avro 504K night fighter in the Home Defence Squadrons. To simplify rigging (a time consuming operation not acceptable to squadrons in the field) all flying and landing wires were replaced by very rigid welded steel Warren girder interplane bracing. This comprised six faired steel tubes arranged in three inverted triangles on each side, anchored to the main spars of the upper mainplane and to the front spar of the lower. Ailerons were fitted only to the upper wing, the lower being shorter and with a chord of only 2 ft 6 in.
  The simple steel V-strut undercarriage was reminiscent of the second Avro 530 and the attempt made in the earlier design to improve substantially the pilot’s field of vision was carried a stage further in the Spider by siting the cockpit under a circular aperture in the centre section. This was mounted close to the fuselage so that the pilot’s head protruded above it. Armament consisted of a single synchronised Vickers gun on top of the fuselage and slightly to starboard of centre.
  The little fighter was a delight to handle, with powerful and well harmonised controls which made it extremely manoeuvrable, and more than a match for many of its contemporaries. Performance was further enhanced by fitting a 130 hp Clerget and drawings were made for the installation of a 150 hp Bentley B.R.l rotary or a 170 hp A.B.C. Wasp I radial. Well-known pilots were invited to fly it in off duty hours and to give their opinions, for which purpose it was at the School of Special Flying, Gosport, from April 27 to May 18, 1918, and again on July 13. In this way the Spider became such a topic of conversation that the Air Ministry could not fail to take note of it. Nevertheless it was not ordered into production because the Sopwith Snipe had already been standardised as the RAF’s next single-seat fighter. The Spider was therefore used for experimental work which included benzole fuel tests at Alexandra Park in August, 1919.
  A considerably modified version of the Spider was allotted type number Avro 531A. This had conventional two-bay, wire-braced mainplanes rigged with a considerable stagger and using 504K-type interplane struts. With the 130 hp Clerget rotary the Avro 531A had a performance similar to that of the Spider. While a Type 531A was reported to be under construction in early 1919, there is no means of proving that it ever existed as such and it is probable that the machine donated its fuselage, undercarriage and tail unit to the civil Avro 538, and first flew in this form.
  The Avro 538 emerged from the flight shed at Alexandra Park, Manchester, in May 1919 registered K-132, a temporary civil marking later changed to G-EACR. As far as is known these letters were never carried and the machine’s main adornment was the word AVRO in the usual enormous black letters. Although powered by a 150 hp Bentley B.R.l and intended as a racer, a main spar defect limited the machine’s activities to straight and level flight, and a notice to this effect was displayed in the cockpit. Bearing fleet number 7, the Avro 538 was used solely by the Avro Transport Company’s chief engineer J. C. C. Taylor, who flew it around the joyriding sites in order to sign out the Avro 504Ks.


SPECIFICATION AND DATA
   Manufacturers: A. V. Roe and Co. Ltd., Clifton Street, Miles Platting, Manchester; and Hamble Aerodrome, near Southampton, Hants.
   Power Plants:
   (Avro 531)
   One 110 h.p. Le Rhone
   One 130 h.p. Clerget
   (Avro 531A) One 130 h.p. Clerget
   (Avro 538) One 150 h.p. Bentley B.R.I

Dimensions, Weights and Performances:
   Avro 531 Spider Avro 531A Avro 538
   Clerget *Bentley Clerget Bentley
Span (upper) 28 ft. 6 in. 28 ft. 6 in. 28 ft. 0 in. 28 ft. 0 in.
Span (lower) 21 ft. 6 in. 21 ft. 6 in. 27 ft. 0 in. 28 ft. 0 in.
Length 20 ft. 6 in. 20 ft. 6 in. 20 ft. 6 in. 20 ft. 6 in.
Height 7 ft. 10 in. 7 ft. 10 in. 8 ft. 6 in. 8 ft. 6 in.
Wing area 189 sq. ft. 189 sq. ft. - 210 sq. ft.
Tare weight 963 lb. 1,148 lb. 960 lb. 975 lb.
All-up weight 1,517 lb. 1,734 1b. 1,514 1b. 1,400 1b.
Maximum speed 120 m.p.h. 124 m.p.h. 120 m.p.h. 125 m.p.h.**
Climb
   to 3,500 ft. - 2 min. 12 sec. - -
   to 5,000 ft. 4 min. 0 sec. - 4 min. 0 sec. 4 min. 0 sec.
   to 10,000 ft. - - - 10 min. 0 sec.
Ceiling 19,000 ft. - 19,000 ft. -
Endurance/Range - 2 1/2 hours 3 hours 320 miles
*Estimated figures. **Cruising speed 108 m.p.h.

Production:
   (Avro 531) One prototype only;
   (Avro 538) One aircraft only, K-132/G-EACR, c/n 538/1, registered to A. V. Roe and Co. Ltd. 25.5.19, s.o.r.* 9.20
*Abbreviation used throughout to indicate 'struck off register'.

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Описание:

  • A.Jackson Avro Aircraft since 1908 (Putnam)
  • P.Lewis The British Fighter since 1912 (Putnam)
  • F.Mason The British Fighter since 1912 (Putnam)
  • W.Green, G.Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters
  • J.Bruce British Aeroplanes 1914-1918 (Putnam)
  • H.King Armament of British Aircraft (Putnam)
  • Jane's All The World Aircraft 1919
  • A.Jackson British Civil Aircraft since 1919 vol.1 (Putnam)
  • Журнал Flight