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By
Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auster_B.4
| Auster B.4 |
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| The Auster B.4 at the Farnborough SBAC Show in September 1953 |
| Role |
Light freighter |
| Manufacturer |
Auster |
| First flight |
7 September 1951 |
| Number built |
1 |
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 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 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
General characteristics
- Crew: one pilot
- Capacity: 3 passengers, or freight, or litters
- Length: 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)
- Wingspan: 24 ft 8 in (7.52 m)
- Height: 8 ft 5 in (2.55 m)
- Empty weight: 1,730 lb (785 kg)
- Gross weight: 2,700 lb (823 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Blackburn Cirrus Bombardier 702 inverted inline engine, 180 hp (134 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 121 mph (195 km/h)
- Range: 280 miles (450 km)
- Rate of climb: 670 ft/min (3.4 m/s)
See also
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Published in July 2009.
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