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The Airspeed AS.4 Ferry was three-engined ten-seat
biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
airliner designed and built by the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
aircraft manufacturer Airspeed Limited. It was the company's first powered aircraft to be produced. It was proposed for development in April 1931, shortly following Airspeed's founding. The Ferry was designed specifically for Alan Cobham's ''National Aviation Day'' events, performing 'air-experience' flights for the general public. On 5 April 1932, the prototype performed its
maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...
. Only four examples were produced at the company's facilities in
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
during the early 1930s. Two aircraft served with the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
during the opening years of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, although largely being used as instructional airframes.


Development

The origins of the Airspeed Ferry can be traced back to the company's first post-formation board meeting, held on 17 April 1931. Aviation innovator and Airspeed director Sir Alan Cobham sought a compact multi-engined
airliner An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest ...
to perform 'air-experience' flights in Cobham's ''National Aviation Day'' displays. Amongst the requirements for such an aircraft was an extraordinary short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability for the era due to the austere airstrips common at the time, which were often little more than fields. During June of that same year, an initial order for a pair of aircraft, each being priced at £5,195 and for delivery ten months later, was placed with Airspeed. Both the design and construction work were undertaken at Airspeed's York facilities. Work proceeded to schedule, with the prototype being conveyed to Sherburn-in-Elmet Aerodrome in March 1932 ahead of the type's maiden flight. To avoid the time and cost involved in its dismantling and reassembly, the prototype was instead towed in a completed state to the aerodrome, despite the risks and challenges involved, leading to the aircraft being escorted by local
police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
. On 5 April 1932, the first aircraft, G-ABSI ''Youth of Britain II'', performed its
maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...
, piloted by H. V. Warrall. According to the aviation author H. A. Taylor, there were only two serious faults identified during this initial 19-minute flight, these being a marginally overbalanced
rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...
and the weight distribution being offset towards the nose, both being quickly remedied. The prototype was determined to be within envisioned limits, including its weight, thus it was loaded to its maximum gross weight of and flown three days later. This time, its takeoff performance was less than had been hoped, thus it was refitted with finer-pitch propellers that improved its takeoff and climb performance when it flew again one day later. The certification process, which took four days to complete, revealed minor matters with the exhaust manifold as well as a sheared bolt on the undercarriage.


Design

The Airspeed AS.4 Ferry was an unusual biplane airliner designed around the needs of Alan Cobham, one of the company's directors. It featured an unorthodox configuration, particularly the mounting of its third
engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...
in the centre section of the upper wing, an arrangement which was principally adopted to provide the pilot with superior external visibility, although it also presented some aerodynamic benefits as well. The three engines installed upon the Ferry consisted of a pair of de Havilland Gipsy IIs mounted upon the upper surface of the lower wing, while the engine installed upon the upper wing was an inverted de Havilland Gipsy III instead. While the fuel tanks of the Ferry had sufficient size for around five hours of flight at cruising speeds, to best suit its air-experience role, the tanks were only ever partially filled, else it wouldn't be able to carry its maximum capacity of ten passengers. The Ferry was a biplane with equal-span wings, both of which were positioned high relative to the fuselage, with the lower wing being aligned with the top of the fuselage. According to Alan Cobham, this arrangement was to provide the passengers with an unobstructed view of the ground. The structure of the aircraft was conventional and largely composed of
spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
and
plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...
, featuring
monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...
construction across the fuselage. The wings were supported by box spars paired with wooden flanges and steel tubes for key areas such as the compression drag struts. While the Ferry had been designed specifically for short-haul pleasure flying, the design team made provisions towards its use in other roles, such as a longer distance airliner carrying five or six passengers with luggage. Despite having ten seats, which necessitated the fitting of a
radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
under British regulations of the era, it was certified for local flying without any radio present. To enable a faster turnaround, relatively rapid refuelling was facilitated via a pipeline to the tank from the side of the fuselage. An unusual feature of the design, believed to provide a beneficial ground-cushioning effect as well as possibly additional lift, was the aerofoil-section fairings present on the split-axle undercarriage.


Operational history

On 24 April, delivery of the prototype officially took place; it made the type's first public appearance following month. The prototype was quickly followed by the second aircraft, G-ABSJ ''Youth of Britain III''. Both aircraft were used as envisioned for Cobham's air-experience flights, attracting large numbers of the public to ride in them. According to the aviation periodical ''
Flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...
'', within their first season of operation alone, the two aircraft had carried around 92,000 passengers."The Work of the Airspeed Ferry."
''
Flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...
'', 17 November 1932, p. 1088.
This was achieved via a particularly fast turnaround rate, taking as little as 30 seconds, while refuelling only took one and a half minutes. In 1940, following the outbreak of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the first aircraft (G-ABSI) was impressed into service with the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF) and given the military registration ''AV968''. It was active at RAF Halton until November 1940, after which it saw use as an instructional airframe, registered as ''2758M''. The second aircraft received repairable damage from a crash in July 1932, only one month after its delivery. During 1934, the second aircraft was sold in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
to Himalaya Air Transport and Survey Company Limited as ''VT-AFO''. For around six months, it was used to ferry pilgrims from
Haridwar Haridwar (; ; formerly Mayapuri) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is s ...
to Gaucher. However, it was destroyed by
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in a
hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
fire in 1936. The third (G-ACBT) and fourth (G-ACFB) aircraft were built for the Midland and Scottish Air Ferries Ltd and used on services from
Renfrew Renfrew (; ; ) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former royal house, Renfrew gaine ...
to
Campbeltown Campbeltown (; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre Peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing port. The 2018 populatio ...
,
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and
Speke Speke () is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is southeast of the city centre. Located near the widest part of the River Mersey, it is bordered by the suburbs of Garston and Hunts Cross, and nearby to Halewood, Hale Village, ...
. However, these services were suspended after roughly 18 months of operation on 30 September 1934 due to the closure of the company, after which both aircraft were put up for sale. G-ACBT was not sold and was dismantled in 1941. G-ACFB returned to
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
to be used for pleasure flying for Air Publicity Ltd. It was pressed into service with the RAF in 1941 and later saw use as an instructional airframe. While Airspeed promoted the Ferry for sale at £3,975, and negotiations with prospective customers such as
Hillman's Airways Hillman's Airways was a 1930s British airline which later became part of British Airways. The company was formed in November 1931 as Hillman's Saloon Coaches and Airways Limited by Edward Henry "Ted" Hillman, who was a coach operator in Essex. ...
were undertaken, no further examples were built. This was in part due to competition from other contemporary airliners, such as the de Havilland Dragon, which typically offered higher cruising speeds.


Operators


Civil operators

;
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
* Himalaya Air Transport and Survey Company Ltd ; * Air Publicity Ltd * Midland & Scottish Air Ferries Ltd * National Aviation Day Displays Ltd * C.W.A. Scott's Flying Displays Ltd * Portsea, Southsea and Isle of Wight Aviation Ltd * Sir Alan Cobham * C.W.A. Scott


Military operators

; *
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
** Halton Station Flight


Specifications


See also


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * *


External links


Airspeed Ferry
– British Aircraft of World War II {{Airspeed aircraft
Ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...
1930s British airliners Trimotors Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1932