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The Avro 627 Mailplane was a British
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
developed in 1931 by Avro
AVRO, short for Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep ("General Association of Radio Broadcasting"), was a Dutch public broadcasting association operating within the framework of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep system. It was the first public broad ...
from the Avro Antelope
The Avro 604 Antelope was a British light bomber which was designed and built in the late 1920s to meet a requirement for a light bomber to equip the Royal Air Force, competing against the Hawker Hart and the Fairey Fox II. It was unsuccessful ...
bomber as a mail plane
A mail plane is an aircraft used for carrying mail.
Aircraft that were purely mail planes existed almost exclusively prior to World War II. Because early aircraft were too underpowered to carry cargoes, and too costly to run any "economy class" ...
for use in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Only one was built which ended up being used as a test bed.
Development
The Avro 608 Hawk was a proposed two-seater fighter variant of theAntelope
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia.
Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...
, which was planned to be powered by a Bristol Jupiter
The Bristol Jupiter was a British nine-cylinder single-row piston radial engine built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Originally designed late in World War I and known as the Cosmos Jupiter, a lengthy series of upgrades and developments turn ...
radial engine. Although construction of a prototype began, it was incomplete when it was redesigned with a 540 hp (400 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Panther
The Armstrong Siddeley Panther was a 27-litre 14-cylinder twin-row air-cooled Radial engine, radial aero engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley. It was originally named the Jaguar Major.Lumsden 2003, p.72.
Applications
* Armstrong Whitworth A ...
engine as the Avro 622.
Following interest by Canadian Airways, who had a possible requirement for a mail plane, Roy Chadwick
Roy Chadwick, CBE, FRSA, FRAeS (30 April 1893 – 23 August 1947) was an aircraft design engineer for the Avro Company.
Born at Marsh Hall Farm, Farnworth, Widnes, the son of the mechanical engineer Charles Chadwick, he was the chief designer ...
again redesigned the incomplete prototype to the Avro 627 Mailplane . This was a single-engine, single-bay biplane, powered by a 525 hp (391 kW) Panther engine and fitted for wheel or float operation. The sole prototype (''G-ABJM'') was certificated on 2 August 1931, and was shipped to Canada for operational trials. While these trials were successful, the Canadian government cut the subsidy for civil aviation and so Canadian Airways was unable to afford new aircraft, so the mailplane was returned to England.
The Mailplane was converted in 1933 to a high-speed test bed for the Armstrong Siddeley Tiger
The Armstrong Siddeley Tiger was a British 14-cylinder air-cooled aircraft radial engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley in the 1930s from their Jaguar engine. The engine was built in a number of different versions but performance and dimensi ...
engine, the revised aircraft being known as the Avro 654.
Operational history
On return from Canada, the Mailplane was entered in the 1932King's Cup Race
The King's Cup air race is a British handicapped cross-country event, which has taken place annually since 1922. It is run by the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association.
The King's Cup is one of the most prestigious prizes of the ...
, where it recorded the fastest speed of 176 mph (283 km/h), although owing to the handicap system, it came 29th.
After conversion to the Avro 654, the aircraft operational life was short, it being dismantled at Woodford Aerodrome
Woodford Aerodrome is a former airfield and aircraft factory at Woodford, Greater Manchester, England, north of Macclesfield. It was opened by the Avro company after the First World War and became an important production centre for military ...
in 1934.
Variants
;Avro 608 Hawk: Proposed two-seat fighter, powered by 425 hp (317 kW) Bristol Jupiter engine. Prototype incomplete. ;Avro 622: Redesigned Avro 608, powered by 540 hp (400 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Panther II engine. Incomplete prototype converted to Avro 627. ;Avro 627 Mailplane: Single-seat mailplane, powered by 525 hp (391 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Panther IIA engine. One prototype built. ;Avro 654: Conversion of Avro 627 as high-speed test bed.Specifications (Avro 627 Mailplane)
See also
References
{{Avro aircraft 1930s British mailplanesMailplane
A mail plane is an aircraft used for carrying mail.
Aircraft that were purely mail planes existed almost exclusively prior to World War II. Because early aircraft were too underpowered to carry cargoes, and too costly to run any "economy class" ...
Biplanes
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1931