The Auster B.4 was an unusual
British development of the Auster family of light
aircraft in an attempt to create a light cargo aircraft.
Design
The conventional
fuselage was considerably redesigned, turning it into a pod-and-boom configuration carrying the
tail unit on a high boom. The rear of the fuselage pod was equipped with
clamshell doors for easy loading and unloading, and a quadricycle
undercarriage
Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include:
*The landing gear of an aircraft.
*The ch ...
was fitted, retaining the mainwheels from earlier Auster designs, but adding a tailwheel to each side of the fuselage pod. The fuselage floor had fittings for seats, cargo tie-downs, or litters for the
air ambulance role.
Operational history
The prototype was exhibited at the
Farnborough Air Show
The Farnborough Airshow, officially the Farnborough International Airshow, is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors. Since its fir ...
in September 1953.
Although evaluated by the
British Army in military markings, neither civil nor military orders ensued, and no examples were constructed beyond the single prototype
Specifications
See also
References
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{{Auster aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
1950s British cargo aircraft
Auster aircraft
High-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1951