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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1488.PDF
578 FLIGHT BUSINESS AND TOURING AIRCRAFT Current Types Reviewed GREAT BRITAIN Auster Agricola The Agricola has been designed forspraying, dusting, top-dressing and other agricultural duties, including fence-dropping,supply-dropping, baiting and light freighting. Welded tubular-steel construction, with fabriccovering, is used for the fuselage. The hopper- filling trunk is located behind the pilot in orderthat dust shall not be blown on to the wind- screen during filling, even though the engineis running. Aft of this trunk is a two-scat pas- senger compartment for the carrying of groundcrew. The rear fuselage is sealed to prevent the ingress of dust or spray fluids which, themakers observe, can easily lead to tail heaviness and dangerous flying characteristics. The con-trol cables to the tail unit run outside the fuselage and are protected by a tough nyloncovering. The cockpit is of very sturdy construction,to afford maximum protection, particularly in the event of the aircraft turning over. Visibilityis exceptionally gooc, and once the canopy is closed the cockpit is completely sealed, to pre-vent the admission of spilt dust. Wing con- struction is all metal, with fabric covering aftof the spar. Wings and ailerons are sealed to prevent contamination from chemicals and, asin the case of the fuselage, breathers are fitted to counter changes in atmospheric pressure.An hydraulically damped, wide-track (14ft 4in) undercarriage is fitted and is claimed by themakers to have the absorption capacity gener- ally associated with deck-landing fighters. The 240 h.p. Continental O-470-M enginehas a special Auster-developed cooling system. No attention is needed from the pilot as theexhaust gases control the flow of cooling air through the large ducts. At all times, themakers claim, cooling remains proportional to the amount of power being delivered by theengine. The system for air is particularly effective during idling on the ground (e.g.,whilst loading) when no ram-air is available for cooling. An electric starter is fitted and asa safety measure no battery is generally carried, though a battery and generator can be easilyinstalled if required. After flying the first Agricola last year arepresentative of Flight wrote: "... I spent most of the flight in close formation with theAuster Aiglet Trainer demonstrator while air- to-air photographs were being taken. Thisexperience of formation flying after only a few minutes in the air alone really impressed me.The aircraft was stable but responsive, easy to handle and practically free from trim changes. Auster Agricola (Continental O-470-M). Auster Atlantic (Continental E-l85-10). Shown without wheel fairings. Auster Alpine (de Havilland Gipsy Major 10). I dropped five hundredweight of pelleted fer-tilizer across the airfield in a matter of seconds at 70 tn.p.h. and could trace no trim or conuolchanges during that time. After one and a half hours in the air I was completely confidentof the machine and not at all fatigued." Atlantic A brand-new Auster to be marketedin 1958, the Atlantic is a four-seater with nose- Interior of Auster Atlantic Windsor de Luxe. wheel undercarriage. It is to be produced intwo versions, the first of which is styled Wind- sor de Luxe; the second will be the "thriftbudget" Winchester, with less extensive equip- ment, the precise nature of which has not yetbeen announced. The Atlantic interior was available forexamination, for the first time, at the recent S.B.A.C. Display, and Flight commented inthese terms: "The cockpit, perhaps for the first time on a British aircraft, has been styledmotor-car fashion to give it a definite sales appeal, and the result is very pleasing. On thefacia is a central blind-flying panel flanked by a manifold pressure gauge, tachometer, cylin-der-head thermometer, fuel contents and vacuum gauges, ammeter and flap and tail-trimindicators. The ignition is key operated with positions for left-hand, right-hand or both mag-netos. In addition, there are controls for vari- able intensity instrument lighting, cabin airconditioning (including a blower fan), a cigar lighter, coat-hangers and so on. The throttle,mixture and pitch controls are mounted cen- trally for either left- or right-hand operation,and below the facia is the fly-off parking lever for the differentially operated hydraulic brakes.Radio equipment is also built-in; the fuselage on the stand was equipped with a Broadcastrange Modej L.F.R.3 multi-channel low fre- quency receiver and a multi-channel V.H.F.receiver/transmitter. The structure follows the normal Austcr practice of welded steeltubes, but the horizontally opposed Continental E-185-10, spatted tricycle undercarriage, widercockpit and redesigned fuselage give the Atlan- tic an entirely different appearance from pre-vious Auster aircraft. The mainwheel spats carry the landing lamps and entry step andthe nosewheel is steerable." Standard equipment of the Windsor de Luxeincludes hydraulic brakes, parking brakes, steerable nosewheel, metal variable-pitch pro-peller, generator, suiter, battery. Multi-layer soundproofing; stainless-steel exhaust mufflers;washable upholstery; pile carpets with foam underlay. High-gloss fire-resistant finish inchoice of colour blends. Controlled heating and ventilation. Dual-control wheels. Indi-vidual ashtrays; map pockets; variable-inten- sity lighting for the instrument panel; parcelshelf; cabin lights and tailored travel cases. Autocar The Autocar is basically a four-seater, adaptable for crop-dusting, spraying and numerous other duties, and is also avail-able with a float undercarriage. The de Havil- land Gipsy Major engine can be of the Series 1(130 h.p.) or Series 10 (145 h.p.) rating. Dual controls are fitted. The interior is upholstered
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