Avro Type E (Avro 500)

Avro · United Kingdom · first flew 1912 · light aircraft

The Avro Type E, later the Avro 500, was an early British military aircraft and A.V. Roe's first truly successful design.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — WingsMid-mounted, straight
E — Engines1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — FuselageDeep rectangular-section fuselage with no fixed fin
T — TailConventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

A tractor biplane with a rectangular fuselage and no fixed fin. Wing position is by catalogue convention for biplanes. The candidate name Avro Duigan 1911 resolves to this article, and the Duigan itself has no dimensions given.

Specifications

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

The Type E was designed in parallel with the Avro Duigan, and was slightly larger with a 60 hp E.N.V. engine. The Avro 500 first flew on 3 March 1912, flown by Wilfred Parke.

Variants

The family comprised the Type E, the Type 500 and the Type 502. A second aircraft was fitted with a 50 hp Gnome rotary engine.

Where you'll see it

The War Office bought the aircraft after it met the Military Aeroplane Competition requirements, and 18 were built. It was the first Avro type built in any quantity.

Related aircraft

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