The Avro 547 was a prototype

triplane A triplane is a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with three vertically stacked wing planes. Tailplanes and canard foreplanes are not normally included in this count, although they occasionally are. Design principles The triplane arrangement m ...

airliner developed in Britain after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It utilised components from the highly successful

504 __NOTOC__ Year 504 (DIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Nicomachus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1257 ...

but added an extra set of wings and a new deep fuselage housing a fully enclosed cabin to seat four passengers. The aircraft was powered by a 160 hp (120 kW) Beardmore engine. The pilot sat in an open cockpit offset to port. The prototype flew well, having similar characteristics to a 504,Jackson 1990, p.184. the second example built was substantially modified, in order to compete in a British

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competition for a commercial aircraft, being fitted with a 240 hp (180 kW)

Siddeley Puma The Siddeley Puma was a British aero engine developed towards the end of World War I and produced by Siddeley-Deasy. The first engines left the production lines of Siddeley-Deasy in Coventry in August 1917, production continued until December 1 ...

engine. Designated 547A, this version turned out to be slow and unstable in the air and failed to win an award in the competition in August 1920. Damaged in a forced landing at the competition, the second prototype was scrapped in 1922.Jackson 1990, p.186. Despite this, Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (QANTAS) bought the first prototype in November 1920 for GBP 2,798 with the intention of using it on a route between

Charleville Charleville can refer to: Australia * Charleville, Queensland, a town in Australia **Charleville railway station, Queensland France * Charleville, Marne, a commune in Marne, France *Charleville-Mézières, a commune in Ardennes, France ** ...

and

Katherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

. It first flew after re-assembly in Australia on 2 March 1921, being damaged on landing and not being repaired for over a year. The 547 proved utterly unsuited to outback conditions and was quickly decommissioned, its fuselage ending its days as a chicken coop in Sydney.Jackson 1990, p.185.

Operators

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Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...

Specifications (547)

References

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External links

Avro 547
– British Aircraft Directory {{Avro aircraft 1920s British airliners

547 __NOTOC__ Year 547 ( DXLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 547 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...

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