| Avro Ashton | |
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| Avro Ashton fuselage at the Newark Air Museum | |
| Type | experimental airliner |
| Manufacturer | Avro |
| Maiden flight | 1 September 1950 |
| Number built | 6 |
The Avro Ashton was a British prototype jet airliner made by Avro during the 1950s. Although it flew nearly a year before the de Havilland Comet, it represented an experimental program and was never intended for commercial use.
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Design and development
Based on the Avro 688 Tudor 8 piston-engined airliner, the Avro Type 689 Tudor 9 later renamed the Ashton was a four-jet engined research aeroplane powered by Rolls-Royce Nene engines paired in wing nacelles. Six were built using the Avro Tudor airframe, beginning with the conversion of Tudor I initially powered by Nene 5 engines. The Ashtons that followed incorporated the upgraded Nene 6 and featured an enlarged, "square-shaped" tail fin and tricycle landing gear replacing the original "taildragger" configuration. The engines were tightly grouped in two nacelles that were faired neatly into the wing but also extended below in streamlined pods. The four-engine arrangement compensated for the low thrust of the early jet engines and greatly reduced asymmetric affects in an "engine-out" scenario.[1] The crew was comprised of a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, flight engineer and radio operator clustered together in the cockpit and front compartment of the Ashton. A larger complement could be carried in the spacious fuselage when warranted.
Testing
Production was completed rapidly through modifications of surplus Tudor 2 airframes with a single example each of the Ashton 1 (WB490), Ashton 2 (WB491), Ashton 4 (WB494) and three Ashton 3s (WB492, WB493 and WE670), all built by Avro. Testing took place in 1950 with evaluations of jet operations, navigation and at least one Ashton (Mk 4) tested bombing equipment with two streamlined underwing bomb containers fitted.[2] Despite being the "first to fly," the Ashton was engaged in primarily experimental work and was soon eclipsed in technology by the first of the full scale production airliners, the de Havilland Comet. The fuselage of the Ashton 2 (WB491) is preserved at Newark Air Museum, UK. Bristol Siddeley used the Ashton as a testbed for its Olympus turbojet. The aircraft was fitted with two Olympus engines under the wings, outboard of the Nenes. This six-engined aircraft was later used to represent the fictional "Phoenix" jetliner in the 1960 film Cone of Silence.
Specifications (Avro Ashton)
General characteristics
- Crew: 5
- Length: 89 ft 6.5 in (27.31 m)
- Wingspan: 120 ft 6 in (36.58 m)
- Height: 31 ft 3 in (9.53 m)
- Wing area: 1421 ft² (39.5 m²)
- Max takeoff weight: 82,000 lb (37.195 kg)
- Powerplant: 4× Rolls-Royce Nene 6 turbojet, 5,000 lbf (22.24 kN) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 439 mph (707 km/h)
- Range: 1,725 miles ()
- Service ceiling 40,500 ft (12,344 m)
- Rate of climb: 2,900 ft/min ()
References
- Jackson, A.J. Avro Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 2000 (revised edition). ISBN 0-85177-797-X.
- Winchester, Jim. X-Planes and Prototypes. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2005. ISBN 1-904687-40-7.
External links
Related content
Related development
Designation sequence
688 - 689 - 691 - 694 - 696 698 706 Avro 707
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