Avro 531 Spider
| 531 Spider and 538 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Avro |
| Designer | Clifton Britt |
| First flight | April 1918 |
| Number built | 2 |
|
| |
The Avro 531 Spider was a British fighter aircraft built by Avro during the First World War. It did not proceed past the prototype stage.
Design and development
The Spider was a sesquiplane with a largely conventional configuration, but it used Warren truss-type interplane struts, hence the appellation "Spider". In tests, the aircraft demonstrated exceptional performance, handling, and pilot visibility. By the time it flew, the War Office had already selected the Sopwith Snipe for mass production.
A second, refined version, the 531A was apparently never completed, but some of its components seem to have been used to build a derivative design, the 538. This had standard interplane struts and was intended as a racing aircraft. It was never used for this purpose, however, since it was discovered that it had a faulty wing spar, so the Avro firm used it as a hack instead from May 1919 to September 1920.[1]
Specifications (531)
Data from Avro Aircraft since 1908 [2]
General characteristics
- Crew: one pilot
- Length: 20 ft 6 in (6.25 m)
- Wingspan: 28 ft 6 in (8.69 m)
- Height: 7 ft 10 in (2.39 m)
- Wing area: 189 ft2 (17.6 m2)
- Empty weight: 963 lb (437 kg)
- Gross weight: 1,517 lb (688 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Clerget 9B air-cooled rotary piston engine, 130 hp (97 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 120 mph (193 km/h)
- Range: 250 miles (400 km)
- Service ceiling: 19,000 ft (5,970 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,250 ft/min (6.4 m/s)
Armament
- 1 × fixed, forward-firing .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun
See also
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avro aircraft. |
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Donald, David, ed. The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 978-0-7607-0592-6.
- Jackson, A.J. Avro Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1990. ISBN 0-85177-834-8.
- Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989, p. 93.
- World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing, File 889, Sheet 94.