Avro Andover

Infobox Aircraft
name = Andover
type = Passenger/air ambulance
manufacturer = Avro


caption =
designer =
first flight = 28 June 1924
introduced =
retired =
status =
primary user = Royal Air Force
more users = Imperial Airways
produced =
number built = 4
unit cost =
variants with their own articles = The Avro Andover was a 1920s British military transport aircraft built by Avro for the Royal Air Force. Four aircraft were built, in two versions. Three aircraft, the Type 561, were used as flying ambulances. The sole example of the Type 563 was used as a 12-seater transport.

Design

At the beginning of the 1920s the Royal Air Force required a successor for the outdated Airco DH.10 that was used on the Cairo to Baghdad "Desert Air Route". In response Avro designed and constructed the Avro Andover, a single-engined biplane, designed to serve as a passenger plane and as an air ambulance.

The fuselage was a steel tube frame, covered with canvas and plywood. While the fuselage was a completely new design, the wings, undercarriage and the tail unit were taken from the Avro Aldershot bomber. The pilot and navigator sat in an open cockpit directly under the leading edge of the upper wing; a passageway led from the cockpit to the passenger cabin. The aircraft held twelve passengers (six on each side of the centre aisle) or six stretchers.

The most obvious characteristics of the Andover were the two large fuel tanks on the upper wings, and the dual exhaust pipes of the Rolls-Royce Condor III engine.

Operations

The first flight of the Andover was on 28 June 1924. Because the "Desert Air Route" was transferred to Imperial Airways, no order was placed by the RAF, so Avro manufactured only three Type 561, which were transferred to RAF Halton, location of Princess Mary's RAF Hospital. In spite of the lack of commercial success, a single Type 563 variant was developed by Avro, which had an additional washroom and a baggage compartment.

After test flights in March 1925 in Hamble and Gosport this passenger aircraft was lent to Imperial Airways and made cross-channel trial flights in the summer of 1925. This was the first Avro aircraft to be used in airline service. Imperial Airways returned the aircraft to the RAF in January 1927.

Operators

;UK
*Royal Air Force
**No. 99 Squadron RAF
*Imperial Airways

pecifications (Type 561)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=
crew=two, pilot and navigator
capacity=12 passengers or 6 stretchers
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 51 ft 3 in
length alt= 15.62 m
span main= 68 ft
span alt= 20.73 m
height main= 15 ft 3 in
height alt= 4.65 m
area main= 1,062 ft²
area alt= 98.70 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 6,980 lb
empty weight alt= 3,166 kg
loaded weight main= 11,500 lb
loaded weight alt= 5,216 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=
engine (prop)= Rolls-Royce Condor III
type of prop=
number of props=1
power main= 659 hp
power alt= 485 kW
power original=
max speed main= 110 mph
max speed alt= 177 km/h
cruise speed main= 90 mph
cruise speed alt= 145 km/h
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 460 miles
range alt= 740 km
ceiling main= 13,500 ft
ceiling alt= 4,115 m
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
armament=
avionics=

External links

* [http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=264 British Aircraft Directory]
* [http://www.century-of-flight.freeola.com/Aviation%20history/coming%20of%20age/imperial/avro%20563%20andover.htm Century of Flight]