| Auster J/4 | |
|---|---|
 Auster J/4 at PFA Rally held at Cranfield, Bedfordshire, in July 1989 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Touring aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Auster Aircraft Limited |
| Number built | 27 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1946 |
| Developed from | Auster J/2 Arrow |
The Auster J/4 was a 1940s British single-engined two-seat high-wing touring monoplane built by Auster Aircraft Limited at Rearsby, Leicestershire.
Sales in the United Kingdom of the American-engined Auster J/2 Arrow were limited by import restrictions on the engines, so Auster re-engined the aircraft with a British engine, the 90 hp Blackburn Cirrus Minor I. The first aircraft flew towards the end of 1946. The two-seat aircraft proved less popular than the companies three-seat Auster J/1 Autocrat and only 27 aircraft were built. A number of aircraft were exported to Australia and these were known as the Archer in that country. [1]
Two J4 airframes (G-AIPH & G-AIJT) were modified with Continental O-200 engines in the late 1960s by the Rolls-Royce employees “Merlin Flying Club”. G-AIJT remains airworthy.
On 30 August 1955 an Australian aircraft VH-AET managed to take-off from Bankstown Airport Sydney without a pilot. It was followed out to sea by Royal Australian Navy Hawker Sea Furies and shot down. [1]
Data fromJane's all the World's Aircraft 1949-50, [2] The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage, [3] British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume I [4]
General characteristics
Performance
Related lists
The Zivko Edge 540 manufactured by Zivko Aeronautics is a highly aerobatic aircraft. Capable of a 420 degree per second roll rate and a 3,700 foot per minute climb rate, it has been flown to victory on the international Unlimited aerobatics circuit several times since the mid-1990s. A tandem-seat version is sold as the Edge 540T.
The CAP Aviation CAP-23x family is a family of aircraft designed for competition aerobatics. The CAP 230 airframe was a direct development of the CAP 21 competition single seater strengthened to cope with a 300 hp (220 kW) 6-cylinder Lycoming AEIO-540 engine instead of the 200 hp (150 kW) original 4-cylinder Lycoming AEIO-360.
The SAI KZ III Lærke ("lark") was a Danish light utility aircraft used by the Danish Air Ambulance Service and Danish Air Force.
The Bristol Type 170 Superfreighter Mk 32 was a larger, stretched version of the Bristol Freighter designed for Silver City Airways for use on the short air ferry routes to France.
The Blackburn B.48 Firecrest, given the SBAC designation YA.1, was a single-engine naval strike fighter built by Blackburn Aircraft for service with the British Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. It was a development of the troubled Firebrand, designed to Air Ministry Specification S.28/43, for an improved aircraft more suited to carrier operations. Three prototypes were ordered with the company designation of B-48 and the informal name of "Firecrest", but only two of them actually flew. The development of the aircraft was prolonged by significant design changes and slow deliveries of components, but the determination by the Ministry of Supply in 1946 that the airframe did not meet the requirements for a strike fighter doomed the aircraft. Construction of two of the prototypes was continued to gain flight-test data and the third was allocated to strength testing. The two flying aircraft were sold back to Blackburn in 1950 for disposal and the other aircraft survived until 1952.
The Auster J/1 Autocrat was a 1940s British single-engined three-seat high-wing touring monoplane built by Auster Aircraft Limited at Rearsby, Leicestershire.
The Auster J/5 Autocar was a late 1940s British single-engined four-seat high-wing touring monoplane built by Auster Aircraft Limited at Rearsby, Leicestershire.
The Auster J/1U Workmaster is a late 1950s British single-engined single-seat high-wing agricultural monoplane built by Auster Aircraft Limited at Rearsby, Leicestershire. Of traditional high-wing layout, it carries 90 gallons of spray fluid in a tank beside the pilot, an extra seat being provided for a passenger. The Lycoming 0-360-A engine of 180 h.p. driving a McCauley v.p. propeller giving it ample power; and slotted ailerons and balanced tail controls providing good handling. Oversize tyres were fitted. Take-off run at 2,550 lb gross weight and cruising speed at 65 per cent power are respectively 180 yd and 88 miles per hour (142 km/h). Britten-Norman spray gear was provided by Crop Culture, and this company ordered nine Workmasters.
The Partenavia P.64B/P.66B Oscar is an Italian two/four-seat, single-engined, high-wing monoplane built by Partenavia.
The Chrislea Super Ace is a 1940s British four-seat light aircraft built by Chrislea Aircraft Limited.
The Auster Avis was a four-seat light aircraft developed from the Auster Autocrat. It featured a redesigned fuselage incorporating four doors and a circular cross-section towards the tail, new undercarriage, and new wing flaps. It was planned in two versions, the Mk 1 for civil use, and the Mk 2 for military and air ambulance duties. However, only two prototypes were built, and Auster abandoned the project in favour of the Auster J-5 Autocar.
The Avro 701 Athena is a British advanced trainer aircraft built by Avro in the late 1940s. It was designed to replace the North American Harvard in the Royal Air Force, but was bought only in small numbers, the competing Boulton Paul Balliol being preferred.
The Isaacs Spitfire is a single seat homebuilt sporting aircraft design created by John O. Isaacs, a former Supermarine employee and retired schoolmaster and designer of the Isaacs Fury, as a 6/10th scale replica of a Supermarine Spitfire. Its first flight was on 5 May 1975.
The Zlin Z-526 Akrobat is a Czech sports plane used in aerobatics.
PIK-26 Mini-Sytky is a low-wing monoplane, conventional landing gear aircraft. Designed by the Finnish aircraft designer Kai Mellen. Its high performance allows it to cruise at 173 km/h while burning 7 litres/hour. Several aircraft of this design are now flying.
The Piper PA-6 Sky Sedan was a 1940s American four-seat light aircraft designed and built in prototype form by Piper Aircraft at its Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, factory.
The Vulcanair SF.600 Canguro was a feederliner developed in Italy in the late 1970s. Despite a number of attempts to put the aircraft into series production, only a small number were ever built.
The Bagalini Bagalini is an Italian homebuilt ultralight aircraft that was designed by Marino Bagalini. The aircraft is supplied in the form of plans for amateur construction.
The Zenair CH 180 Super Acro-Z is an aerobatic light aircraft, that was designed by Chris Heintz and built by Zenair in the 1980s.
The 1929 Curtiss Model 53 Condor, also known as the Curtiss Model 53 Condor 18 or the Curtiss CO Condor, was a civil passenger version of the Model 52 Condor bomber. A twin-engined biplane, it carried 18 passengers.
