Avro 539/A 'Falcon'

摘要

The Avro 539 Falcon was designed by Roy Chadwick and built during the summer of 1919 at Avro's factory on the Hamble River in Hampshire for the 1919 Schneider Trophy air race which was held at Bournemouth in September of that year. It was the smallest biplane that could be built around the 240-hp Siddeley Puma engine, the wingspan was just 25 ft 6 in. Piloted by Captain H A Hammersley, the aircraft first flew on 29th August 1919. It's performance was disappointing. The Avro was used as a reserve aircraft and did not fly in the contest. Deprived of being able to show it's paces, it was returned to Hamble where it was eventually converted into a landplane known as the Avro 539A, which was entered in the Ariel Derby Race at Hendon on 24th July 1920. The aircraft was flown in the race by Captain D G Westgarth-Haslam who force-landed drenched in fuel at Abridge, Essex. No details of the aircraft's performance seem to have survived. Roy Chadwick went on to design many other aircraft. His most successful was the Royal Air Force's best heavy bomber of World War Two - the Avro Lancaster.