Airspeed AS.5 Courier

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Contents

Type Description

• AS.5 Courier
• Prototype low wing airliner with retractable undercarriage. The wing center section was built integral with fuselage, the outer sections, of tapering chord and thickness, attached to center section by four bolts. The fabric covered outer wing structure consisted of two box spars of spruce and birch three-ply. (The birch ply consists of three laminations, with girder type former ribs. A special system of interspar bracing consisted of built-up diagonal struts. The leading edge was of veneer bound with fabric strips midway between each nose rib. Frise type ailerons were fitted. The fuselage was built in three sections. The front section, from engine mounting plate plate to instrument board, was of welded steel tube, while the middle and rear sections had spruce longorons and bulheads, all covered with plywood. The cantilever stabilizer and fin was a wooden framework with fabric covering, the tail[lane being adjustable via a screw jack mechanism. The rudder was aerodynamically balanced and had its hinge line inclined forward. It has the distinction of being the first British aircraft fitted with a retractable undercarriage to go into quantity production.
  This Courier differed from all subsequent variants, and was designed specifically for Sir Alan Cobham flight refuelling experiments. It featured accommodation for a crew of two, seated side by side, with dual controls. Special tanks for a maximum of 275 gallons of fuel and 17 gallons of oil were fitted, enough for 25 to 26 hours flying. The aircraft was unable to take off with a fuel fuel load, but the tanks were topped up after take off via aerial refuelling, the refuelling inlet being located in the cabin roof. One 215 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVC powerplant.

• AS.5A Courier
• Standard six-seat production version. Structurally the same as the AS.5 prototype, accommodation was provided for crew of two and four or five passengers. The two front seats had dual controls. The control columns were detachable, so that either seat could be used by the pilot and the other by a passenger, when five were carried. Entrance to the cabin was through a large door at back on port side, with an emergency exit in roof. Two standard alternative fuel tank arrangements could be supplied: either one or two 28 gallon tanks located between the spars of center section, plus one 10 gallon gravity tank in front of instrument panel. One 215 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVC powerplant.

• AS.5B Courier
• As AS.5A but fitted with one 270 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah V powerplant.

• AS.5C Courier
• As AS.5A but fitted with one 340 h.p. Napier Rapier IV powerplant. Engine trials aircraft only.

• AS.5J Courier
• As AS.5A but fitted with one 310 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX powerplant.

Production Details

Notes

1. Serial X9427 is quoted for this machine, but this number was not officially allocated to an aircraft.
2. Various attempts were made to supply the indicated aircraft to the Spanish Republican forces before the next indicated ownwership, but were blocked.

Production References

1. Airspeed Aircraft Since 1931, H.A. Taylor (Putnam, 1970)
2. Impressments Logs, Peter W. Moss (Air Britain Publications, 1962-66)
3. http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/airspeed_prewar.pdf