| Avro 626 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Avro Prefect K5063 at Martlesham, July 1935 | |
| Role | General purpose |
| Manufacturer | Avro |
| Designer | Roy Chadwick |
| First flight | 1930 |
| Retired | 1945 |
| Number built | 198 |
| Developed from | Avro 621 |
The Avro 626 is a single-engined British biplane trainer aircraft produced by Avro during the (1918-1939) inter-war period.
The Model 626 was developed by Avro from the company's Model 621 (Tutor) for export to smaller air forces, the idea being that the 626 would be a single aircraft that could carry out general aircrew training as well as a number of other roles. The types 621 and 626 were both two-seaters, but the latter had an additional cockpit behind the rear seat of the 621 and accessible from it. This additional cockpit was fitted with a Scarff ring for a machine gun and carried equipment for air navigation, wireless and gunnery training. Structurally and aerodynamically, it was almost identical to the Tutor: it had a conventional fabric-covered, metal airframe with single-bay wings. Most of the 626s, like the Tutors had an Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVC engine of 240 hp (180 kW), but most of those supplied to the Egyptian and Brazilian Air Forces used a 260 hp (190 kW) Cheetah V from the same maker.
The usual undercarriage used split, fixed mainwheels and either a tailskid or later a tailwheel, but some 621s appeared on floats and on skis.
The prototype was first flown in 1930.
Avro employed an aggressive sales and marketing effort to introduce the Model 626 to customers throughout the world. An early production demonstration aircraft, marked G-ABFM [1] was sent by sea to South America in 1931. After demonstrations in Buenos Aires and a record-setting flight over the Andes, the aircraft was commandeered by Argentine military officials to help quell a local uprising. The 626 performed so well that an order was immediately placed for 14 additional aircraft. The biggest users were the Air Forces of Chile, Greece, and Portugal. Numerous sales were made to foreign air forces up to 1939, some of which survived in second-line service until 1945.
The 621 was not a civil type, though some did briefly appear on the civil registers of the UK (15) and Hong Kong (6). [2] These markings were worn for testing, demonstration and export; only two civil machines stayed on the prewar U.K.register. After the war, two R.A.F. Prefects were civilianised, as was one in New Zealand.
198 Avro 626s and Prefects were produced. [6]
Argentina 
Austria 
Belgium 
Brazil 
Canada 
China 
Chile 
Czechoslovakia 
Egypt 
Estonia 
Greece 
Ireland 
Lithuania 
New Zealand 
Portugal 
Slovakia [ citation needed ]
Spain 
United Kingdom NZ203, c/n 811, survived the war and was purchased by Mr. J. Frogley in 1948 who registered it as ZK-APC.The aircraft ceased flying in 1958 but in the 1980s it was acquired by the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum and returned to the air. It is the sole surviving active Avro Prefect.
Data from Avro Aircraft since 1908 [8]
General characteristics
Performance
Related development Avro 504 - predecessor of the Avro 621/626 Related lists
The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. In addition to the type's principal use for ab initio training, the Second World War had RAF Tiger Moths operating in other capacities, including maritime surveillance and defensive anti-invasion preparations; some aircraft were even outfitted to function as armed light bombers.
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and numerous other air forces before, during, and after the Second World War.
The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery roles throughout the Second World War.
The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by it thereafter. The Hudson was a military conversion of the Model 14 Super Electra airliner, and was the first significant aircraft construction contract for Lockheed — the initial RAF order for 200 Hudsons far surpassed any previous order the company had received.
The Avro 504 was a First World War biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the war totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind that served in any military capacity during the First World War. More than 10,000 were built from 1913 until production ended in 1932.
The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircraft in the inter-war period, but was obsolete and already side-lined for newer monoplane aircraft designs by the start of the Second World War, playing only minor roles in the conflict before being retired.
The Blackburn Shark was a carrier-borne torpedo bomber designed and built by the British aviation manufacturer Blackburn Aircraft. It was originally known as the Blackburn T.S.R., standing for torpedo-spotter-reconnaissance, in reference to its intended roles. The Shark was the last of Blackburn's biplane torpedo bombers.
The Avro 618 Ten or X was a passenger transport aircraft of the 1930s. It was a licensed version by Avro of the Fokker F.VIIB/3m.
The Hawker Tomtit is a British training biplane from the late 1920s.
The Cierva C.30 is an autogyro designed by Juan de la Cierva and built under licence from the Cierva Autogiro Company by A V Roe & Co Ltd (Avro), Lioré-et-Olivier and Focke-Wulf.
The Fairey Gordon was a British light bomber and utility aircraft of the 1930s.
The Avro Type 621 Tutor was a two-seat British radial-engined biplane from the interwar period. It was a simple but rugged basic trainer that was used by the Royal Air Force as well as many other air arms worldwide.
The Canadian Vickers Vancouver was a Canadian transport/patrol flying boat of the 1930s built by Canadian Vickers.
The Armstrong Whitworth Atlas was a British single-engine biplane designed and built by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. It served as an army co-operation aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the 1920s and 1930s. It was the first purpose-designed aircraft of the army co-operation type to serve with the RAF.
The Avro Type 584 Avocet was a British single-engined naval fighter prototype, designed and built by Avro. While the Avocet was not built in numbers, one of the prototypes was used as a seaplane trainer for the Royal Air Force's (RAF) High Speed Flight.
The Avro Cadet was a single-engined British biplane trainer designed and built by Avro in the 1930s as a smaller development of the Avro Tutor for civil use.
The Avro 636 was a single-engined British fighter-trainer built by Avro in the mid-1930s. Four were built for the Irish Air Corps.
The Avro 641 Commodore was a British single-engine five-seat cabin biplane built by Avro in the mid-1930s for private use. A total of only six were built, including the prototype.
The Gloster Grouse was a British biplane of the 1920s developed by the Gloster Aircraft Company. Often referred to as the prototype to the Gloster Grebe, the Grouse originally built as an experimental aircraft and then later developed as a trainer. Despite its compact design and maneuverability, the Grouse was not in itself a commercial success, although it formed the basis for the Gloster Grebe and Gamecock fighters which were used by Britain's Royal Air Force into the 1930s.
The Stampe et Vertongen SV.5 Tornado was a military trainer aircraft designed and built in Belgium in the 1930s. It saw service with the Belgian Air Force and Latvian Air Force, and Latvian firm VEF purchased a production license, although it is uncertain whether it built any examples.
