The Beagle A.61 Terrier is a British single-engined monoplane built by

Beagle Aircraft Beagle Aircraft Limited was a British light aircraft manufacturer. The company produced the Airedale, Terrier, Beagle 206, Husky and the Pup. It had factories at Rearsby in Leicestershire and Shoreham in Sussex. The company was dissolved ...

Development

The Auster Aircraft Company purchased a large number of former

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Auster aircraft Auster Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1938 to 1961.Willis, issue 122, p.55 History The company began in 1938 at the Britannia Works, Thurmaston near Leicester, England, as Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Limited, m ...

during the late 1950s. These were Auster AOP.6, T.7 and T.10 aircraft which were updated and modified with de Havilland Gipsy Major 10-1-1 engines. Initially two versions were offered for sale in the civilian market from 1960: * Auster 6A Tugmaster – a utility and

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

towing aircraft * Auster 6B – a three-seat luxury version. When the company became part of Beagle Aircraft in 1960, the Auster 6B was renamed the ''Beagle A.61 Terrier 1''. Auster Beagle A

In 1962 the Beagle A.61 Terrier 2 was introduced with a greater span tailplane, wheel spats and a metal propeller. The Terrier was not an economic success for the manufacturer as it was found that more man-hours were spent on rebuilding each aircraft after its military use than were spent in building the new aircraft for the Army. It was also out-dated as, by 1961, most competing manufacturers were introducing new designs which were all-metal, with tricycle undercarriages and powered by more modern engines such as Lycoming or Continental (e.g. the Cessna 150 and the Piper Cherokee). However the Terrier has found many adherents among vintage light aircraft owner pilots. Examples of the type were purchased by owners in the United Kingdom, Eire, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden. 23 Terriers were registered in the UK in 2013.

Production

*Terrier 1 :Eighteen Terrier 1 conversions were built. The first conversion flew 13 April 1961 from

Rearsby Rearsby is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. It is known for its Seven Arch Bridge, and is also home to the Preachers Stone. Location The parish has a population of about 1,000, being measured at ...

. *Terrier 2 :Forty-Five Terrier 2 conversions were completed at Rearsby. A small number of airframes were converted subsequently to this standard by other companies. *Terrier 3 :One Terrier 3 powered by a 160 hp Lycoming O-320-B2B engine was essentially complete at Rearsby when Terrier production was stopped in 1966. In 1967, an incomplete Terrier 2 was modified to this standard by British European Airways engineering apprentices and registered G-AVYK.

Specifications (Terrier 2)

References

Bibliography

*N.H. Ellison and R.O. MacDemitria, Auster Aircraft Production list, 1966, Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, ISBN none * *

External links