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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0287.PDF
MARCH 6TH, 1947 FLIGHT 189 A.W.A., and the two Is have been allocated by the M. of S. to B.O.A.C. One of these, with a Tudor-trained B.O.A.C. crew, has recently completed a development flight on the Africa route. Since January a fourth Tudor has been collected and christened Elizabeth of England. Six- teen of the production Tudor Is will probably be allocated to B.O.A.C. and three with longer fuselages will go to B.S.A.A. How Many Marks ? A word on marks of Tudor would not be out of place at this point. Avros are somewhat alarmed that no fewer than seven marks have already developed out of two or three basic designs, giving the impression that there have been major structural changes. Certainly there have been many changes in the design and layout of furnishings and equipment to suit the whims and changing requirements of the customers, and this is one of the reasons for the! late appearance of the Tudors, but structures have not been much altered. It has been suggested that the original Tudor I should be called the Long-Range or Transatlantic Tudor and the II the Short-Range Transcontinental Tudor, these two types then being subdivided by mark numbers. The seven passenger-carrying marks existing at present are listed below, and in addition a Tudor II Freighter and an experimental jet Tudor II are contemplated. Tudor Ifuselage) Tudor IIfuselage) Tudor IIITudor IV B.S.A.ATudor V Tudor VI ways).Tudor VII = B.O.A.C. de luxe (long-range with short = B.O.A.C. de luxe (transcontinental with long V.V.I.P. version of Tudor I. I with 6ft extension to nose section for II as equipped for B.S.A.A. II as equipped for F.A.M.A. (Argentine Air- II with Hercules engines. Presumably the experimental Tudor II to be fitted with four Nene engines might be called the Tudor VIII, and still another mark must be found for the Tudor Us repor- ted ordered as transports for the R.C.A.F. These would be Canadian-built. Similar transports have also been considered by the Australian Air Staff. For readers' records, the registration numbers of the production Tudor Is from 1 to 22, omitting the two V.V.I.P aircraft, are: G-ACRE, D, F (Elizabeth of England), G,H, J, K, C, I, L and then G-AHNH, I, L, N, M, O, R, J, K, P, the last three being the B.S.A.A. extended-nftseaircraft to be called Star Lion, Star Tiger and Star Panther respectively. The Mk IV Tudors are arranged to carry 32 passengers,and it may be that, this make-do 6ft-longer Tudor will prove to be the best for its job of the three main types. The topof the crew compartment is perforated with flat astro-ports, astro-navigation being very important for the South Ameri-can route on which navigational aids become particularly scarce below Lisbon. It is not exactly a modification likelyto be welcomed by the pressure experts. Important structural changes which have been made tothe Tudors are the re-design of the fin and rudder to give increased area ; the enlarging and re-shaping of the mainwing fillets, and lengthening of the inboard engine nacelles (entailing a small flap modification) to improve drag andhandling characteristics. The shorter undercarriage legs can also be seen in the comparative photographs of proto-type and productions Is. The taller tail fin and rudder were not considered essentials at the time, but as internal equip-ment looked like delaying Tudor delivery for several months, it seemed better to anticipate 1951 A.R.B. require-ments rather than to withdraw the aircraft from service later. Recently announced defects in the I which came to lightduring the B.O.A.C. trial flights in Africa will necessitate further structural modification. As reported in our issueof February 13th, they are: tail buffeting within certain speed ranges in bumpy conditions ; pronounced tendency toswing on take-off; and high fuel consumption (reduced range). The Tudor wing may be described as a stiffened-up ver-sion of the Lancaster wing, and the cause of the tail buffet- ing can therefore be traced chiefly to the junction of thiswell-proved structure with the fat fuselage of the Tudor. A remedy will be sought in aerodynamical modifications,entailing the re-shaping of wing-root fairings and the tails of the inboard engine nacelles. It may also be necessary *_-._«•—w^S The Hercules engine nacelles of the second Tudor II blend well with the fuselage lines. installation. This is at present regarded as a trial
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