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The Avro Type G was a two-seat biplane designed by A.V. Roe to participate in the
1912 British Military Aeroplane Competition
In 1911 the British War Office announced their first Military Aeroplane Competition for aircraft to meet the requirements of the Air Battalion Royal Engineers. The formal requirements were published in December 1911. By the time the trials were he ...
. It is notable in having a fully enclosed crew compartment, and was also the first aircraft to have recovered from a spin in front of witnesses.
Design and development
The Avro Type G was a two-seat two bay
biplane with a fully enclosed crew compartment. The fuselage occupied the entire gap between upper and lower wings, which were of Roe's characteristic high aspect ratio. Two prototypes were started, one with a
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...
engine, the other with an
ABC. The latter engine was not delivered in time, and the second prototype was abandoned.
At the trials, the Type G was placed first in the assembly tests (erected in 14½ minutes) and the fuel consumption tests, but its poor rate of climb prevented it from winning a major prize, although Avro were awarded £100.
However, the Type G did later set a British endurance record of 7 hours 31 minutes piloted by
F. P. Raynham at Brooklands on 24 October (a record broken only one hour later by
Harry Hawker).
It was the second British airplane to have recovered from a
spin, and the first to do so in front of witnesses.
Early on the morning of 25 August Lt
Wilfred Parke
Lieutenant Wilfred Parke RN (1889–1912) was a British aviator who was the first pilot to make an observed recovery from a spin.
Family
Parke was the son of Alfred Watlington Parke, the Rector of Uplyme, and Hilda Fort, and the grandson of C ...
, with Lt Breton as passenger, took off to make an endurance trial. After having flown for three hours, he was executing a series of dives and while turning entered a spin at about . By a combination of luck and cool nerves coupled with flying skill, he was able to recover when barely feet above the ground, the craft suddenly righting itself and flying off under perfect control. Parke's ability to clearly report on his experience to expert witnesses of the event was most important, since going into a spin had previously meant almost certain death.
Specifications
References
Further reading
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External links
Avro Type G– British Aircraft Directory
{{Avro aircraft
1910s British military utility aircraft
Type G
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Biplanes
Aircraft first flown in 1912