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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1235.PDF
FLIGHT, 2 September 1955 ower Plant BUckbi panength rross weightlax. Speed i Boulndier 203. 36ft Sin . 23ft 8Jin. 2.125 lb 127 m.p.h. Above and right, A.0.P.9 lefow and (ower right, Aiglet Trainer •ova Plant DA Gipsy Major 10ipan 32ft -ength 23ft 2Jin5ross weight ... ... 1,9501b AM. Speed ... 127 m.p.h. AUSTER AIRCRAFT, LTD. 348-349 Rearsby Aerodrome, near Leicester " Teiephone: Rearsby 321 ^ni lu As the new standard air observation post of the British Army, the A.O.P.9 .Blackburn Bombardier 203 engine) represents a significant advance on the many hundreds of earlier Auster A.O.P.s supplied to air forces and armies throughout the world. This is partly by reason of the fact that it is a completely new aircraft and not a development of a civil type. By employing greater wing area, more power and large, highly effective flaps, in conjunction with drooping ailerons, it is able to undertake many other tasks than its primary A.O.P. role. It can, for instance, be used for casualty evacuation, light liaison, supply and mail dropping, cable-laying, photography, and light freighting. On the insistence of the British Army the fuselage is a welded-steel structure, fabric-covered, and generously provided with access panels. A unique feature is the rear cockpit-floor, designed to allow a complete and rapid change of role. Upon the removal of six bolts the floor may be lowered out of the aircraft and a new floor, complete with equipment for another duty, can be quickly substituted in a few minutes. Normally only a pilot and observer are carried, but provision is made for a third seat beside the pilot, whose position has detachable armour. Entry, even in arctic clothing, is simple by virtue of three wide doors. Cabin temperature can be controlled, there is adequate windscreen demisting, and cool air is circulated from scoops positioned around the cabin to avoid draughts. Some indication of the excellent field of view is the extent— 53 sq ft—of Perspex on all sides. Apart from plastic tips and a fabric covering aft of the main spar, the wings are all-metal and are built round a stiff leading-edge torsion-box. Operation of the split flaps is rendered effortless by an hydraulic assister; retraction rate is regulated and no "sink" results. Extra lift for short take-offs and landings and high drag for slow, steep approaches is conferred by the drooping ailerons. Aiglet Trainer More than fourteen nations are using the Aiglet Trainer (Gipsy Major 10 engine) for various civil and military duties. Normally a side-by-side two-seater, it can have a third seat at the rear. Handling, as frequently demonstrated in public, is excellent, and special attention has been paid to the feel of the ailerons, these being of a new acro- dynamically balanced type, specially geared. They are claimed, moreover, to reproduce the handling characteristics of larger and more powerful types of aircraft. Combined with the relatively short span (4ft less than on previous Austere) they confer a rapid rate of roll. The fuselage is of welded steel tube construction, and the wing has two wooden spars and light-alloy and steel ribs. In addition to dual controls there are two sets of wheel brakes. The pupil's set may be covered by a metal guard to prevent accidental application on touchdown. When required, a Plessey VHF radio can be installed.
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