Avro 508
Role	Reconnaissance Type of aircraft
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	A.V. Roe & Co. Ltd.
First flight	April 1915
Number built	1

The Avro 508 was a prototype British reconnaissance aircraft of the 1910s.

Development

The Avro 508 was built at Avro's Manchester works in December 1913 and assembled at Brooklands in January 1914.^[1] First exhibited in Manchester in January 1914, the 508 was a wooden fabric-covered pusher biplane of unusual shape, resembling a back-to-front Avro 504. Its top and bottom three-bay wings were equal in length, made of fabric-covered wood.

Operational history

It was completed by March 1914, and shown at the Olympia Aero Show in London,^[2] however its first flight was at the start of official testing in April 1915 at Brooklands.^{[citation needed]} The Royal Flying Corps showed no interest in the sole prototype and therefore the aircraft remained a training aircraft and engine tester at Hendon Aerodrome until it was dismantled in April 1916.^{[citation needed]}

Specifications

Data from Avro Aircraft since 1908^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: two
• Length: 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
• Wingspan: 44 ft 0 in (13.41 m)
• Height: 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m)
• Wing area: 468 sq ft (43.5 m²)
• Empty weight: 1,000 lb (454 kg)
• Gross weight: 1,680 lb (762 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Gnome Monosoupape 7 Type A , 80 hp (60 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 65 mph (105 km/h, 56 kn)
• Endurance: 41⁄2 hr

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avro 508.

• "The Olympia Exhibition: The Exhibits: Avro (A.V. Roe & Co.)". Flight, 21 March 1914. pp. 295–297.
• Jackson, A.J. Avro Aircraft since 1908. London:Putnam, 1990. ISBN 0-85177-834-8.