The Avro 552 was a British light biplane aircraft produced in the early 1920s. It was another attempt by Avro to sell a derivative of the wartime 504 to the civil market.
In this case, the company took advantage of the large number of war-surplus Wolseley Viper engines left over from Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a production. In 1921, one of these was married to a standard 504K airframe for evaluation under the designation Avro 551. Trials proved encouraging, but an extra fuel tank was installed in the upper wing as a result of the Viper's higher rate of fuel consumption, and changes were also made to the aileron design.
This configuration went into production as the 552, with the Argentine Navy purchasing 12 examples of a float-equipped version, the 552A,[1] which served as trainers until 1927. Two similar machines were purchased by Bulgaria.
In 1924, the Royal Canadian Air Force arranged for Canadian Vickers to purchase a licence to produce five landplanes and nine seaplane examples for use in forestry patrol. These differed from British-built aircraft by the use of U.S. Naval Aircraft Factory floats, and increased fuel tankage for extended range. One of the license-built seaplanes was fitted with a Wright engine and known in Canadian service as the Avro Wright. Licensed production was also undertaken by C.B. Field of Kingswood Knoll, Surrey, who built three aircraft from surplus components supplied by Avro. These were flown as banner tugs by Inca Aviation until 1935.
The fuselage of the 552 prototype, G-EAPR was later used as the basis for the Cierva C.8autogyro, but was eventually converted back to the winged configuration by a private owner when disposed of by the company.
Anderson, Lennart (November–December 2019). "La renaissance de l'aviation militair bulgare dans les années vingt" [The Rebirth of Bulgarian Military Aviation in the Twenties]. Avions (in French) (232): 52–66. ISSN 1243-8650.
Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 93.
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May 08, 2024
avro, british, light, biplane, aircraft, produced, early, 1920s, another, attempt, avro, sell, derivative, wartime, civil, market, role, civil, utility, aircraft, manufacturer, avro, canadian, vickers, under, licence, first, flight, july, 1921, primary, users,. The Avro 552 was a British light biplane aircraft produced in the early 1920s It was another attempt by Avro to sell a derivative of the wartime 504 to the civil market 552 Role Civil utility aircraft Manufacturer Avro Canadian Vickers under licence First flight 16 July 1921 Primary users Argentine NavyRoyal Canadian Air Force Number built 33 Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operators 3 Specifications 552 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 External linksDesign and development editIn this case the company took advantage of the large number of war surplus Wolseley Viper engines left over from Royal Aircraft Factory S E 5a production In 1921 one of these was married to a standard 504K airframe for evaluation under the designation Avro 551 Trials proved encouraging but an extra fuel tank was installed in the upper wing as a result of the Viper s higher rate of fuel consumption and changes were also made to the aileron design This configuration went into production as the 552 with the Argentine Navy purchasing 12 examples of a float equipped version the 552A 1 which served as trainers until 1927 Two similar machines were purchased by Bulgaria In 1924 the Royal Canadian Air Force arranged for Canadian Vickers to purchase a licence to produce five landplanes and nine seaplane examples for use in forestry patrol These differed from British built aircraft by the use of U S Naval Aircraft Factory floats and increased fuel tankage for extended range One of the license built seaplanes was fitted with a Wright engine and known in Canadian service as the Avro Wright Licensed production was also undertaken by C B Field of Kingswood Knoll Surrey who built three aircraft from surplus components supplied by Avro These were flown as banner tugs by Inca Aviation until 1935 The fuselage of the 552 prototype G EAPR was later used as the basis for the Cierva C 8 autogyro but was eventually converted back to the winged configuration by a private owner when disposed of by the company Operators edit nbsp Argentina Argentine Naval Aviation nbsp Bulgaria Bulgarian Air Force and naval aviation nbsp Canada Royal Canadian Air ForceSpecifications 552 editGeneral characteristics Crew one pilot Capacity one passenger or instructor Length 28 ft 0 in 8 54 m Wingspan 36 ft 0 in 10 98 m Height 10 ft 5 in 3 18 m Wing area 330 sq ft 30 7 m2 Gross weight 2 260 lb 1 025 kg Powerplant 1 Wolseley Viper 180 hp 134 kW References edit Avro 552 Archived 3 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine in Spanish Bibliography editAnderson Lennart November December 2019 La renaissance de l aviation militair bulgare dans les annees vingt The Rebirth of Bulgarian Military Aviation in the Twenties Avions in French 232 52 66 ISSN 1243 8650 Taylor Michael J H 1989 Jane s Encyclopedia of Aviation London Studio Editions p 93 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avro 552 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Avro 552 amp oldid 1026199638, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
