The Auster B.4 was an unusual
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 ...
development of the Auster family of light
aircraft
An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...
in an attempt to create a light cargo aircraft.
Design
The conventional
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...
was considerably redesigned, turning it into a pod-and-boom configuration carrying the
tail unit on a high boom. The rear of the fuselage pod was equipped with
clamshell doors
Clamshell may denote anything resembling the bivalve shell of a clam:
* Scoop stretcher, another name for this patient transport device
* Clamshell design, a form factor used for electronic devices, also known as a "flip" or "flip phone".
* Clamsh ...
for easy loading and unloading, and a quadricycle
undercarriage
Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include:
*The landing gear of an aircraft.
*The ch ...
was fitted, retaining the mainwheels from earlier Auster designs, but adding a tailwheel to each side of the fuselage pod. The fuselage floor had fittings for seats, cargo tie-downs, or litters for the
air ambulance
Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of urgent medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation an ...
role.
Operational history
The prototype was exhibited at the
Farnborough Air Show
The Farnborough International Airshow is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, Hampshire. Since its first show in ...
in September 1953.
Although evaluated by the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
in military markings, neither civil nor military orders ensued, and no examples were constructed beyond the single prototype
Specifications
See also
References
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{{Auster aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
1950s British cargo aircraft
Auster aircraft
High-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1951