| Ashton | |
|---|---|
 Avro Ashton prototype | |
| General information | |
| Type | Experimental airliner |
| Manufacturer | Avro |
| Number built | 6 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1 September 1950 |
| Developed from | Avro Tudor |
TheAvro 706 Ashton was a British prototype jetairliner made byAvro during the 1950s. Although it flew nearly a year after thede Havilland Comet, it represented an experimental programme and was never intended for commercial use.
The Avro 689 Tudor 9 was based on theAvro 689 Tudor II piston-engined airliner using experience on work on theRolls-Royce Nene jet-powered experimental variant, the Tudor 8, which made its first flight on 6 September 1948.[1] The Avro Type 689 Tudor 9, later renamed the Avro 706 Ashton, was a four-jet-engined research aeroplane powered byRolls-Royce Nene engines paired in wing nacelles.
Six were built using the Tudor airframe, beginning with the conversion of Tudor I initially powered by Nene 5 engines. The Ashtons that followed incorporated the upgraded Nene 6 and featured an enlarged, "square-shaped" tail fin and tricycle landing gear replacing the original "taildragger" configuration. The engines were tightly grouped in two nacelles that were faired neatly into the wing but also extended below in streamlined pods. The four-engine arrangement compensated for the low thrust of the early jet engines and greatly reduced asymmetric effects in an "engine-out" scenario.[2]
The crew was composed of a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, flight engineer and radio operator clustered together in the cockpit and front compartment of the Ashton. A larger complement could be carried in the spacious fuselage when warranted.
Production was completed rapidly through modifications of surplus Tudor 2 airframes with a single example each of theAshton 1 (WB490),Ashton 2 (WB491),Ashton 4 (WB494) and threeAshton 3s (WB492,WB493 andWE670), all built by Avro at Woodford. Test flights began in 1950 with evaluations of jet operations, navigation and at least one Ashton (Mk 4) tested bombing equipment with two streamlined underwing bomb containers fitted.[3]
Despite being one of the first jet-engined air transports, the Ashton was engaged in primarily experimental work and was soon eclipsed in technology by the first of the full-scale production airliners, thede Havilland Comet.
AshtonWB491 was modified with an under-fuselage mounting for testing turbine engines. It was used byRolls-Royce for trials with theConway andAvon.
Bristol Siddeley used AshtonWB493 as a testbed for itsOlympus turbojet. The aircraft was fitted with two Olympus engines under the wings, outboard of the Nenes. This aircraft had a starring role in the 1960 British movieCone of Silence, masquerading as the "Atlas Phoenix". Later the same aircraft was used as a test bed for theBristol Siddeley Orpheus, its port engine having been upgraded to the Orpheus features for trials.
The forward fuselage of Ashton 2 (WB491) is preserved at theNewark Air Museum,Winthorpe, UK.
Data fromJane's.[4]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
