Avro 548

Avro 548
Avro 548, 1922
Role	Civil utility aircraft
Manufacturer	Avro
First flight	October 1919
Produced	1920-25
Number built	38

The Avro 548 was a civil trainer aircraft built in Britain after World War I. Its design was based extensively on Avro's 504 military aircraft, but it had an inline engine and a third seat. The prototype, designated 545, first flew with a Curtiss OX-5 V-8 engine, but this proved impractical for the civil market on account of the engine's weight and the complexity of its cooling system. An air-cooled Renault engine was used instead, and the designation 548 applied to this configuration. In practice, these aircraft were usually customised for their buyers and most differed from each other in equipment and detail; some were actually retrofitted war-surplus 504s. Many were used as civil trainers, others for joyriding, personal transport, or racing.

A revised version, the 548A resulted when fitted with an ADC Airdisco engine, a development of the Renault which gave 120 hp (90 kW). This engine greatly improved performance.^[1]

Plans for a version with an enclosed cabin, designated 553 were never brought to fruition.

Operators

 Portugal

• Portuguese Air Force

 Latvia

• Aizsargi

 Ireland

• Irish Air Corps

Specifications (548)

Data from Avro Aircraft since 1908 ^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: one pilot
• Capacity: two passengers
• Length: 29 ft 5 in (8.97 m)
• Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.97 m)
• Height: 10 ft 5 in (3.18 m)
• Wing area: 330 ft² (30.7 m²)
• Empty weight: 1,338 lb (607 kg)
• Gross weight: 1,943 lb (881 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Renault 80 hp air-cooled V-8 engine, 80 hp (60 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 80 mph (129 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 65 mph (105 km/h)
• Range: 175 miles (282 km)
• Rate of climb: 350 ft/min (1.8 m/s)

References

• Jackson, A.J. (1990). Avro Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books. ISBN 0-85177-834-8. 
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 93. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avro 548.

• britishaircraft.co.uk