| P.531 | |
|---|---|
 First P.531-0,G-APNV at the Farnborough show 1958 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Five-seat utility helicopter |
| Manufacturer | Saunders-Roe |
| Primary user | Fleet Air Arm |
| Number built | 6 |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1959 |
| First flight | 20 July 1958 |
| Variants | Westland Scout Westland Wasp |
TheSaro P.531 (or Saunders-Roe P.531) is a British all-metal five-seat helicopter designed and built bySaunders-Roe Limited (Saro). The P.531 was a larger development of the two-seatSaro Skeeter to use turbine power and formed the basis of the militaryWestland Scout andWestland Wasp helicopters.
Design of the P.531[1][2] was started in November 1957 as a private venture improvement of the company's earlier Skeeter.[3] The first prototypes were powered by a derated 325 shpBlackburn Turbomeca Turmo 600, afree turbine engine allowing clutchless transmission. The P.531 first flew on 20 July 1958.[1] Three more developed P.531-0s followed and these were delivered to the Royal Navy'sFleet Air Arm for trials and familiarisation. Following evaluation by the Navy a batch of 30 developed aircraft were eventually ordered as theWestland Wasp.
Two militiarised P.531-2s were completed in 1959, powered by theBlackburn Nimbus and thede Havilland Gnome H1000 free-turbine engines, both derated to 635 shp now that the transmission tests had proved such powers acceptable. Like the Turmo installation, these engines were mounted, uncowled behind the cabin for easy servicing. There were aerodynamic shape revisions and a floor extension to allow six, rather than five seats. The vision was improved withperspex panels in the doors, tankage was increased and all-metal rotors introduced. These modifications increased gross weight by 1,200 lb (544 kg).
Saro had an order for eight pre-production aircraft from theBritish Army′sArmy Air Corps for evaluation and trials; these would have been known as the Saro Sprite, but the company was taken over byWestland Helicopters and the aircraft became the firstWestland Scout A.H.1s.
Another P.531-2 was built for evaluation by the Indian government[4] but following a lack of interest was re-worked as Scout standard for the Army Air Corps.
The second and third prototypes are held by theFleet Air Arm Museum for display whilst one of the P.531-2's is on display at theHelicopter Museum, Weston-super-Mare.
Data from[5]
General characteristics
Performance
Related development
Related lists
