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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 2046.PDF
OCTOBER I8TH, 1945 FLIGHT 411- Civil Auster Robust, Neat and Attractive Light Plane Now Available to Private Owners and Clubs THE cessation of war has inevitably led to the con-sideration by enthusiasts in the flying world as towhen, on what basis, and with what aircraft civil flying for the individual is likely to be resumed. We take it as a harbinger of pleasant times to come that Taylor- craft Aeroplanes (England) Limited, of Leicester, are now in production with a three-seater civil version of the famed Auster which did such yeoman service on widespread and varied battlefronts during the war years. Mention of the new Auster has already been made in Flight together with the fact that the purchase price has been fixed at the very reasonable figure of ^825. We have now had the opportunity to inspect one of the new machines, and a very impressive little aircraft it is. Basically, the airframe and general structural details are the same as those of the military Auster, but the seating has, of course, no armourplate and is of different design. The seating arrangement has the two front seats side by side, with the third rear seat set facing athwartships and slightly rearward so that the occupant is looking to port In addition to a passenger in the rear seat, three full-sized suiteasily be accommodated. and slightly aft. This seating position is by no means so uninteresting and unattractive as it sounds on the sur- face, for the very extensive side windows, coupled with the Perspex coupe roof which extends over the whole cabin, give a really magnificent field of view which, by itself, renders the aircraft extremely attractive. Further, there is a great deal of very useful space in the aft portion of the cabin where, in addition to a third person, at least three full-sized suitcases may be carried. Interior Quality Interior appointment is of fair quality, but is not at all luxurious. This must not be taken as a reflection on the aircraft, because the extremely reasonable purchase price has only been made possible by cutting out frills and fancy items. There is no doubt that the quality of the interior finish is quite adequate for all reasonable people; but the person who wants something more opulent will need to have a proportionally deeper pocket. Far more impor- tant than sumptuous appointment is, in the minds of most potential private owners and club authorities, the ability of the aircraft to be flown safel) without effort and also the ability to withstand an occasional hard knock. Aircraft as a general class are expensively fragile things at best, but it must be appreciated that this machine has a native robustness that will permit it to accept as an everyday occurrence treatment which in the general run of machines would necessitate quite expensive restorative attention. This robustness and ability to take really rough treatment as an everyday event is one of the most impressive single aspects of the Auster, and it was this quality, probably more than any other, which led to its adoption by the Army authorities as an Air Observation Post, for this type of work is extremely hard on a light aircraft. Prior to military adoption, two production line machines were given in- tensive trials consisting mainly of short flights with as many landings as possible being made in all types of fields, the idea being to simulate very closely the actual conditions in which the aircraft would be used in battle operation. The first Auster made a total of 1,110 land- ings during the test, and the second machine 1,212 landings, all at the maximum permissible;-cases can
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