Avro 547
title: "Avro 547" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1920s-british-airliners", "avro-aircraft", "single-engined-tractor-aircraft", "triplanes"] topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_547" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | 547 |
| image | Avro_547.jpg |
| type | Airliner |
| manufacturer | Avro |
| first_flight | February 1920 |
| primary_user | QANTAS |
| number_built | 2 |
| :: |
|name=547 |image=Avro_547.jpg |caption= |type=Airliner |manufacturer=Avro |designer= |first_flight=February 1920 |introduction= |retired= |status= |primary_user=QANTAS |more_users= |produced= |number_built=2 |variants=
The Avro 547 was a prototype triplane airliner developed in Britain after the First World War. It utilised components from the highly successful 504 but added an extra set of wings and a new deep fuselage housing a fully enclosed cabin to seat four passengers. The aircraft was powered by a 160 hp (120 kW) Beardmore engine. The pilot sat in an open cockpit offset to port. The prototype flew well, having similar characteristics to a 504, the second example built was substantially modified, in order to compete in a British Air Ministry competition for a commercial aircraft, being fitted with a 240 hp (180 kW) Siddeley Puma engine. Designated 547A, this version turned out to be slow and unstable in the air and failed to win an award in the competition in August 1920. Damaged in a forced landing at the competition, the second prototype was scrapped in 1922.
Despite this, Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (QANTAS) bought the first prototype in November 1920 for GBP 2,798 with the intention of using it on a route between Charleville and Katherine. It first flew after re-assembly in Australia on 2 March 1921, being damaged on landing and not being repaired for over a year. The 547 proved utterly unsuited to outback conditions and was quickly decommissioned, its fuselage ending its days as a chicken coop in Sydney.
Operators
;
Specifications (547)
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Avro_547_3v_040320_p259.png" caption="Avro 547"] ::
|prime units? = imp |ref=Avro Aircraft since 1908 |crew=one pilot |capacity=4 passengers |length m=9.10 |length ft=29 |length in=10 |span m=11.36 |span ft=37 |span in=3 |height m=4.40 |height ft=14 |height in=5 |wing area sqm=46.3 |wing area sqft=498 |empty weight kg=942 |empty weight lb=2,077 |gross weight kg=1,360 |gross weight lb=3,000 |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Beardmore |eng1 kw=120 |eng1 hp=160 |max speed kmh=154 |max speed mph=96 |cruise speed kmh=134 |cruise speed mph=83 |range km=370 |range miles=230 |climb rate ms=1.7 |climb rate ftmin=333
References
References
- Jackson 1990, p.184.
- Jackson 1990, p.186.
- Jackson 1990, p.185.
- Jackson 1990, p.185–186.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::