Airspeed Ambassador

infobox Aircraft
name = AS.57 Ambassador
type = airliner
manufacturer = Airspeed Ltd



caption = Ambassador at Bristol Airport in 1965
designer =
first flight = 10 July 1947
introduced = 1951
retired =
status =
primary user = British European Airways
more users =
produced =
number built = 23
unit cost =
variants with their own articles =

The Airspeed AS.57 Ambassador was a British twin piston engined airliner that first flew on July 10 1947 and served in very small numbers through the 1950s.

Design and development

The Ambassador had its origin in 1943 as a requirement identified by the Brabazon Committee for a twin-engined, short to medium-haul Douglas DC-3 replacement. Airspeed Ltd. was asked to prepare an unpressurized design in the 14.5 ton gross-weight class, using two Bristol Hercules radial engines. By the time the British Ministry of Aircraft Production ordered two prototypes from Airspeed, immediately after the end of the Second World War, the design had grown substantially. The Ambassador would be pressurized, have more powerful Bristol Centaurus radials, and have a maximum gross weight of almost 24 tons.

It offered seating for 47 passengers and, having a nose wheel undercarriage, looked far more modern than the DC-3s, Curtiss Commandos, Avro Lancastrians and Vickers Vikings that were common on Europe's shorter airline routes. With three low fins it shared something of the character of the larger trans-continental Lockheed Constellation.

Three prototypes were built. The first was flown by G B S Errington on 10 July 1947.Singifled, 2000, pg. 12.] British European Airways placed a £3 million order for 20 aircraft in September 1948, and operated them between 1952 and 1958, calling them "Elizabethans" in honour of the newly crowned Queen. It also helped the growth of Dan-Air, an important airline in the development of package holidays.

The popularity of this aircraft was soon eclipsed by the arrival of turboprop-powered aircraft such as the Vickers Viscount and, some years later, the Lockheed Electra, which featured more reliable engines and faster speeds. The coming of turboprops and the dawning of the jet age caused the Ambassador to fall out of favour, along with negative publicity arising from two fatal crashes.

Variants

;AS.57 Ambassador 1:prototype aircraft with Bristol Centaurus engines, two built.;AS.57 Ambassador 2:production aircraft, 21 built.

Accidents and incidents

Two Ambassadors made the headlines due to accidents:

*An Ambassador crashed on take-off from Munich on 6 February 1958, in what became known as the Munich air disaster. This crash received tremendous public attention in the UK as it involved team members and staff of Manchester United football club, together with representatives of the national press.

*A spectacular fatal crash-landing at London Heathrow Airport on 3 July 1968 by a BKS Air Transport Ambassador which killed its crew and several horses which were being transported. The crash was caught on camera and broadcast on the BBC news of that day (the recording may still be available in the BBC archives). A parked Trident jet was damaged beyond repair and another Trident had its tail torn-off before the airliner hit terminal buildings and came to rest. The accident was found to have been caused by the failure of a flap actuating rod in the Ambassador's port (left) wing. Coincidently, the Trident which suffered the damaged tail (G-ARPI) was subsequently repaired and later involved in an (unconnected) fatal accident in June 1972.

Civil Operators

;AUS
*Butler Air Transport;NOR
*NorrØnafly;NZL
*South Seas Airways;SUI
*Globe Air;UK
*Autair International Airways
*BKS Air Transport
*British European Airways.
*Dan Air
*Decca Navigator Company
*Rolls-Royce
*Shell Aviation Limited

Military Operators

; JOR
* Royal Jordanian Air Force.; MAR
* Moroccan Royal Flight

urvivors

One Elizabethan, "Christopher Marlowe" (G-ALZO c/n 5226), is preserved at the Imperial War Museum Duxford.

pecifications

aircraft specification

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=Fact|date=March 2008
crew= 3
capacity=up to 49 passengers
length main= 81 ft
length alt= 24.69 m
span main= 115 ft
span alt= 35.05 m
height main= 18 ft 4 in
height alt= 5.59 m
area main= 1,200 ft²
area alt= 111.48 m²
empty weight main= 35,781 lb
empty weight alt= 16,230 kg
loaded weight main= 52,000 lb
loaded weight alt= 23,814 kg
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
engine (prop)=Bristol Centaurus 661
type of prop= two-row sleeve-valve radial piston
number of props=2
power main= 2,600 hp
power alt= 1,939 kw
max speed main= 312 mph
cruise speed main= 272 mph
cruise speed alt= 438 km/h
range main= 720 miles
range alt= 1,159 km
ceiling main= 24,950 ft
ceiling alt= 7,600 m
climb rate main= 1,250 ft/min
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=

References

;Notes

;Bibliography
* Singfield, Tom. "Classic Airliners". Leicester, England: Midland Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1-8578-0098-2.
*cite book |last= Jackson|first= A.J.|authorlink= |coauthors= |title= British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 1|year= 1974|publisher= Putnam|location= London|isbn=0 370 10006 9

External links

* [http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=429 British Aircraft Directory entry]
* [http://website.lineone.net/~biggles200/G-alzt.jpgImage of an Ambassador]