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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 0496.PDF
240 FLIGHT. MARCH 7, ] 935. FOR IMPERIAL AIRWAYS CHARTERS Two Avro 652 Lozv-wing Monoplanes With Siddeley " Cheetah " Engines Finely Finished Passenger Accommodation WITH the exception of Imperial Airways, Ltd., prac tically all the air-line companies operating at Croy don have several low-wing monoplanes among their fleets. Now, Imperial Airways will cease to be an exception, for their latest acquisitions are two Avro 652 low-wing, twin-engined monoplanes, which are to be called Avatar and Avalon. It is understood that they will be used primarily for long-distance charter work. As will be seen from our table of performance figures on the next page, they should be eminently suit able for this purpose; even with '' Cheetah V '' engines their cruising speed ft about 150 m.p.h., while with " Cheetah VI " engines, which will be fitted to sub sequent models, this speed will be increased to at least 165 m.p.h. A head-on view of the 652 shows that the makers have studied the question of interference very care fully, and have evolved a particularly clean and well streamlined layout. The engines are cowled-iu com pletely with ring - type cowlings, having a double surface in keeping with the usual Avro and Armstrong Siddeley practice. Behind these cowlings a large taper ing "egg" forms the fair ing, which merges into the top and bottom surface of the wing. The top half of this fairing carries the oil tank, and the bottom half houses the retractable undercarriage. The alu- *§>^SSW^.'*'S^^ The interior of the cabin of the Avro 652, as arranged for Imperial Airways. The walls are wood-panelled. minium fuel tanks are on each wing, outside the engines Structurally, the 652 follows the lines of other Avro commercial machines. The rectangular fuselage is built of welded steel tubes, and has the corners carefully rounded off by plywood bent to a large radius, and spruce stringers running the length of each side carry doped fabric. The wing and tail units are all of plywood and spruce construction with plywood covering, so that the combina tion forms a rigid structure which should require very little maintenance. The tail plane is fixed, and merges into the fuselage with generously dimensioned fillets, as does the fin. Both fore and aft and directional trim are achieved by "tabs" on the elevators and rudder. These are worked from small serrated knobs situ ated above the pilot, and in flight they are sensitive and easy to operate, l« ailerons are of the nam* cord and long span type, and are Frise-balanced. The cabin accommoda tion, as arranged for 1 perial Airways, has b- verv tastefully done in N« and buff by L. A bold and Co., Ltd., generous use ot «B wood panelling to sides, between wnicn ^ the fabric covering . fuselage there is a damping layer of ^r,, a seaweed substance between layers 01 paper, is very effects deadening noise. Rum- with i
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