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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 2003.PDF
44 ~ FLIGHT THE AVRO 504 . . . 504Cs (at least 80) were built. Again the engine was the 80 h.p. Gnome. It was felt that the Avro was somewhat underpowered with the 80 h.p. Gnome, and A. V. Roe & Co. were asked to fit other types of engine to improve the performance. The 100 h.p. Gnome Monosoupape was fitted to a new 504 variant for the R.N.A.S. which differed considerably from all other war-time sub-types of the Avro 504: this version was designated 504E. It had a new fuel system with pressure feed from the main tank, which was installed behind the front seat; the rear cockpit was moved one bay further aft. The change in the position of the C.G. was taken care of by reducing the stagger from the standard value of 24in to about 9in. The front centre-section struts were attached to the upper longerons at the normal points, but the attachment points for the rear struts were moved one bay further aft. Thus the centre-section struts converged upwards in side elevation. Externally, the engine installation of the Avro 504E looked no different from that used on its predecessors, but in fact the steel tube "spider" which carried the nose bearing was altered to accommodate the larger engine. In construction the fuselage of the 504E recalled that of the prototype Avro 504, for the upper longerons were quite straight when seen in side elevation. The R.N.A.S.-pattern wings, ailerons and tail unit were fitted. Only ten Avro 504Es were built; some were used for training pur poses at Chingford and Fairlop, and one went to Cranwell. At the suggestion of the Admiralty, an installation of the six-cylinder Rolls-Royce Hawk in-line engine was made in 1916. This engine had a nominal output of 75 h.p., and was widely used to power the various S.S. types of non-rigid airships. The Avro in which the Hawk was installed was No. 8603, the last machine of a batch of thirty Avro-built 504Cs; and the designa tion 504F was given to the modified aircraft. Although it was said to be very pleasant to fly, the 504F was still underpowered and no production was undertaken; but there are indications that a second machine may have been fitted with a Hawk engine. A contract for 30 machines placed by the Admiralty with a firm of contractors was cancelled and replaced by one for the standard 80 h.p. Gnome Avro. At about this time an attempt was made to produce a two-seat fighter version, and an Avro two-seater appeared, powered by the 150 h.p. Sunbeam Nubian. The aircraft appeared to have standard 504 wings with normal stagger, and the fuselage resembled that of the 504E but had the cockpits well aft. A ring-mounting for a Lewis gun was fitted to the rear cockpit, and the Naval type fin and rudder were fitted. This machine was so much modified that it was given the new designation Avro 519. The rate of climb was poor; the pilot's forward view was blocked by the radiator, which was installed under the centre-section; and neither the War Office nor the Admiralty would believe that the Avro 519 was strong enough for such a powerful engine. Consequently the type was not developed. Almost contemporary with the 519 was the Avro 521, another attempt to produce a two-seat fighter. Powered by a Clerget rotary engine, the Avro 521 bore a family resemblance to the 504 series but was quite a different aircraft. It had single-bay wings (Top) Avro 504C, showing the placing of the single cockpit. Beneath Avro S04E, showing the greater distance between the cockpits, modified centre-section, reduced stagger, R.N.A.S. fin and rudder, long ailerons and quadrantal cut-outs in the lower wing roots. and a vee undercarriage. Twenty-six Avro 521s were built for the R.F.C., but the type was not particularly pleasant to fly and was never used operationally. The Avro 504G was a conversion of the 504B and was used by the R.N.A.S. as a gunnery trainer. A Scarff ring-mounting was fitted to the rear cockpit, and a fixed synchronized Vickers gun was fitted for the pilot's use. The engine was the 80 h.p. Gnome. In the article dealing with the Sopwith Pup (Flight, January 1st, 1954), mention was made of the aircraft catapult built by Waygood-Otis to the designs of Mr. R. F. Carey. The first aero plane to be launched from this catapult was a specially modified Avro 504C, which was suitably strengthened, provided with cata pult pick-up points, and fitted with a special padded seat with neck support for the pilot. The modified machine was redesignated 504H. The modifications were made under the supervision of Sqn. Cdr. E. H. Dunning, that great pioneer of deck-flying. Unhappily, before the tests of the catapult and the Avro 504H could be conducted, Dunning was killed on August 7,1917 in his third attempt to land a Sopwith Pup on the forward deck of H.M.S. Furious. Fit. Cdr. R. E. Penny volunteered to be catapulted in the Avro 504H. The launch was made successfully, and Penny landed safely. (To be concluded) Putting "Protect" in Protectorate: Aden-based Vampire Fighter-bombers De Havilland Vampire F.B.9s of the Middle East Air Force work-out near Aden. When "Flight" visited the Protectorate last year it was reported that an Aden-based unit of this sort had a range for guns and rockets at Khormaksar beach, a bombing range inland, and that it did its nor mal annual training in Nicosia, Cyprus.
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