The Avro Avian is a series of British light aircraft designed and built by Avro in the 1920s and 1930s. While the various versions of the Avian were sound aircraft, they were comprehensively outsold by the de Havilland Moth and its descendants.

Design and development

The Avro 581 Avian prototype was designed and built to compete in the Lympne light aircraft trials at Lympne Aerodrome in September 1926. Its wooden fuselage was based on that of the Avro 576 autogyro, but it was fitted with conventional biplane wings and powered by a 70 hp (50 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Genet engine. It performed well at the trials, but was eliminated due to engine failure. In early 1927 it was re-engined with an 85 hp ADC Cirrus engine as the Type 581A and sold to Bert Hinkler. Production aircraft were designated Type 594 and were built in a number of versions, mainly powered by Cirrus engines. A version with a welded steel tube fuselage was produced in 1929 as the Avro 616 Avian IVM to meet overseas requirements for an easier-to-repair structure. This version was built in the largest numbers, with approximately 190 built. The Avian was also produced under licence in Canada, by Ottawa Car Manufacturing Company in Ottawa, Ontario.

Operational history

While outsold by the de Havilland Moth and its derivatives—which first flew more than a year earlier than the Avian—the Avian was used extensively as a civil tourer or trainer, with many being sold overseas. Avians were assembled by the Whittesley Manufacturing Co., Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA, and the Ottawa Car Manufacturing Company, Canada, as well as by Avro itself. After further modifications to wings and undercarriage as the Avro 581E, Hinkler used this aircraft for a series of long-distance flights, culminating in a 15½-day solo flight from Croydon, UK to Darwin, Australia. In 1998 Lang Kidby recreated this flight in a 1927 Type 594 Avian VH-UFZ (ex G-AUFZ) Avro Avian 594 Avian III (SN R3/AV/101) was owned by Lady Mary Heath and Amelia Earhart. Earhart's Avian had an 84 hp Cirrus Mk II engine. It was originally registered to Lady Heath on 29 October 1927 and given the UK aircraft marking G-EBUG. When Earhart brought it to the United States it was assigned "unlicensed aircraft identification mark" 7083; aircraft not officially certificated in the United States were allowed to be flown as unlicensed but identified aircraft. Avian 7083 was used on Earhart's first long solo flight, which occurred just as Amelia was coming into the national spotlight. By making the trip in August 1928, she became the first woman to fly solo across the North American continent and back. In 2001 Carlene Mendita recreated this flight in Greg Herrick's Type 594 Avian which he had purchased from Lang Kidby. At the time Herrick purchased the Avian from Kidby, two years prior, it was the oldest flying aircraft in Australia. It is now based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Wilfrid R. "Wop" May used a 594 to make his January 1929 mercy flight with diphtheria antitoxin from Edmonton to Fort Vermilion, Alberta. An Avian (Red Rose) was used by Bill Lancaster on a successful long distance flight to Australia, and another (Southern Cross Minor) on his final record attempt to South Africa in 1933. In July 1930, Winifred Brown won the King's Cup Race flying Cirrus III Avian. One Avian, piloted by Sydney Thorn, took part in the Challenge International de Tourisme 1930 with moderate success (16th place). On 7 January 1931, Guy Menzies flew an Avian, the Southern Cross Junior, from Australia to New Zealand. He was the first person to fly solo across the Tasman Sea. A single Genet-powered Avian II was bought by the Royal Air Force, while Avians were also bought by the South African Air Force, the Chinese Naval Air Service, the Estonian Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Aviator Beryl Markham used an Avian extensively in East Africa in the 1930s.

Variants

Operators

Military operators

Surviving aircraft

Specifications (Avian IVM)