Auster J/4

Auster J/4
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Auster J/4 at PFA Rally held at Cranfield, Bedfordshire, in July 1989
Role	Touring aircraft
Manufacturer	Auster Aircraft Limited
First flight	1946
Number built	27
Developed from	Auster J/2 Arrow

The Auster J/4 was a 1940s British single-engined two-seat high-wing touring monoplane built by Auster Aircraft Limited at Rearsby, Leicestershire.

History

Sales in the United Kingdom of the American-engined Auster J/2 Arrow were limited by import restrictions on the engines, so Auster re-engined the aircraft with a British engine, the 90 hp Blackburn Cirrus Minor I. The first aircraft flew towards the end of 1946. The two-seat aircraft proved less popular than the companies three-seat Auster J/1 Autocrat and only 27 aircraft were built. A number of aircraft were exported to Australia and these were known as the Archer in that country.

On 30 August 1955 an Australian aircraft VH-AET managed to take-off from Bankstown Airport Sydney without a pilot. It was followed out to sea by Royal Australian Navy Hawker Sea Furies and shot down.

Specifications (J/4)

Data from British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume I

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 23 ft 5¾ in (7.16 m)
• Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.98 m)
• Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
• Wing area: 185 ft² (17.19 m²)
• Empty weight: 955 lb (434 kg)
• Max. takeoff weight: 1,600 lb (727 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Blackburn Cirrus Minor I piston engine, 90 hp (67 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 108 mph (94 knots, 173 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 92 mph (80 knots, 148 km/h)
• Range: 320 miles (278 nmi, 515 km)
• Rate of climb: 746 ft/min (3.8 m/s)

See also

Related lists

• List of civil aircraft

References

Notes

Bibliography