The Auster J/5 Adventurer is a British-built three-seat light high-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

of the late 1940s.

Development

The Adventurer three-seat high-wing monoplane was developed from the J/1 Autocrat with extra power provided by the installation of the 130 h.p. Gipsy Major engine, to enable more flexible operations in the hotter climate of Australia and New Zealand, where most examples were sold. Unlike the similarly powered J/1 Aiglet and J/1N Alpha, the Adventurer retained the smaller tail surfaces of the Autocrat, the new engine being set back sufficiently far for the original fin area to remain sufficient. The prototype Adventurer was converted to the new standard from a J/1 Autocrat c/n 2093 and first flew on 15 November 1947. This was followed by a further 58 production examples delivered between 1948 and 1952.

Operational history

Most J/5s were sold to private pilot owners in Australia and New Zealand where they were given the name Adventurer. Eleven Adventurers were still in service in Australia in 2009 and one in New Zealand (see image). Six Adventurers were sold to the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

(RNZAF) and four to the

Royal Rhodesian Air Force The Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) was an air force based in Salisbury (now Harare) which represented several entities under various names between 1935 and 1980: originally serving the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, it was the ...

(RRAF). Five examples were completed for agricultural use as the J/5A Cropduster and served in Africa and Pakistan.Ellison, 1965, pp. 56-58

Variants

; J/5 : civil version, also operated by the RNZAF and RRAF (54 aircraft) ; J/5A : agricultural version with spray bars, spray tank etc. (5 aircraft)

Operators

; *

operated six J/5 Aiglets.Jerram ''Aeroplane Monthly'' January 1988, p. 54. ; *

Southern Rhodesian Air Force The Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) was an air force based in Salisbury (now Harare) which represented several entities under various names between 1935 and 1980: originally serving the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, it was the ...

operated four.

Specifications (J/5)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * {{Auster aircraft Auster aircraft 1940s British civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1947