Avro 539
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Contents
Type Description
- Type 539
- Single seat twin float seaplane racer. A single-bay, unstaggered biplane of wire braced fabric covered wooden construction, the fuselage was of rectangular section with curved upper decking and aluminium covering forward of the cockpit. The single step twin floats were supported by a structure of streamline steel tubes. The upper wing, built in one piece, had no dihedral angle, but the bottom wings had marked dihedral; wing tips were elliptical with ailerons on all four planes. The tailplane leading edges were swept and an unbalanced rudder was hinged to a large fin. One 240 h.p. Siddeley Puma powerplant.
- Type 539A
- Type 539 modified with a larger fin and a horn balanced rudder. This was later converted into a landplane, with a rigid V-type undercarriage reminiscent of the Avro Baby, the fin being further revised, reduced in area and featuring a long curved dorsal extension.
- Type 539B
- Type 539A landplane modified to take the 450 h.p. Napier Lion powerplant. The nose was more streamlined, with small radiator units located on each side of the fuselage forward of the cockpit. The rear fuselage was strengthened by planking it with plywood and a more robust undercarrige, with rubber-in-compression shock absorbers.
| Type 539 Specification | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Range | Service Ceiling |
| 25 ft 6 in | 21 ft 4 in | 9 ft 9 in | 195 sq ft | 1670 lb | 2119 lb | ||||
| 7.77 m | 6.5 m | 2.97 m | 18.12 m2 | 757 kg | 961 kg | ||||
Production Details
| C/n | Initial Registration |
Notes |
| 1 aircraft built by A.V. Roe and Co. Ltd., Hamble, Hants, for the 1919 Schneider Trophy race. First flew August 1919. | ||
| 539/1 | G-EALG | |
| Type 539 converted into the Type 539A by A.V. Roe and Co. Ltd., Hamble, Hants, for the 1919 Schneider Trophy race. First flew September 1919. | ||
| 539A/1 | G-EALG | Converted to landplane at Hamble in 1920. |
| Type 539A converted into the Type 539B by A.V. Roe and Co. Ltd., Hamble, Hants. First flew July 1921. | ||
| 539B/1 | G-EAXM | |
| Total Production 1 | ||
| Total Conversions (2) | ||
Production Summary
All Aircraft By Type
| Type | Built New | Conv | Canc'd | Total |
| Type 539 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Type 539A | (1) | 1 | ||
| Type 539B | (1) | 1 | ||
| 1 | (2) | 0 |
Production References
- Avro Aircraft Since 1908, A.J. Jackson (Putnam, 1990)
- Avro An Aircraft Album, E.A. Harlin and G.A. Jenks (Ian Allen, 1973)
Page Revision History
Revised at Version 2.0.0- Improved Type Description and Added Specification details.
- Added user details.