Auster J/4
| Auster J/4 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Auster J/4 at PFA Rally held at Cranfield, Bedfordshire, in July 1989 | |
| Role | Touring aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Auster Aircraft Limited |
| First flight | 1946 |
| Number built | 27 |
| 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.
History
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]
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]
Specifications (J/4)
Data from British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume I[2]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 23 ft 5¾ in (7.16 m)
- Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.98 m)
- Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
- Wing area: 185 ft² (17.19 m²)
- Empty weight: 955 lb (434 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 1,600 lb (727 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Blackburn Cirrus Minor I piston engine, 90 hp (67 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 108 mph (94 knots, 173 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 92 mph (80 knots, 148 km/h)
- Range: 320 miles (278 nmi, 515 km)
- Rate of climb: 746 ft/min (3.8 m/s)
See also
- Related lists
References
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Auster J/4. |
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Ellison, N.H. (1966). Auster Aircraft – Aircraft Production List. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd.
- Jackson, A.J. (1974). British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 1. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-10006-9.