| Cadet | |
|---|---|
 RAAF Avro Cadets | |
| General information | |
| Type | Trainer |
| Manufacturer | Avro |
| Number built | 104 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1932–1939 |
| Introduction date | 1932 |
| First flight | October 1931 |
| Developed from | Avro Tutor |
| Variant | Avro 638 Club Cadet |
TheAvro Cadet is a single-enginedBritishbiplanetrainer designed and built byAvro in the 1930s as a smaller development of theAvro Tutor for civil use.
TheAvro 631 Cadet was developed in 1931 as a smaller, more economical, derivative of theTutor military trainer, for flying club or personal use. The first prototype,G-ABRS flew in October 1931.[1] It was publicly unveiled at the opening of Skegness airfield in May 1932, although by this time, the first orders for the type, for the Irish Army Air Corps, had already been placed and the order (for six Cadets) delivered.
The Avro 631 Cadet was replaced in production in September 1934[2]by the improvedAvro 643 Cadet, which had a revised rear fuselage with a raised rear seat, retaining the 135 hp (101 kW)Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major 1 engine of the Avro 631. In turn, this formed the basis for the more powerfulAvro 643 Mk II Cadet; it was also strengthened and had improved parachute egress. This model entered service in 1935, and was built in the largest numbers, including 34 fitted with a tailwheel for theRoyal Australian Air Force.[1]
The Cadet, while smaller and more economical than the Tutor, was still more expensive to run than competing two-seat light civil aircraft and was harder tohangar because of its lack offolding wings, so it was used mainly as a trainer for flying schools or the military. By far, the largest civil user wasAir Service Training Ltd, which operated 17 Avro 631s atHamble, together with a further four operated by itsHong Kong subsidiary, the Far East Aviation Co. Air Service Training also operated 23 Mk II Cadets, with both these and the earlier Cadets remaining in service with Reserve Training Schools run by Air Service Training until they were impressed as ATC instructional airframes in 1941.[1]
The other major operator was the RAAF, which acquired 34 Mk II Cadets, delivered between November 1935 and February 1939.[1] These remained in service until 1946, when the surviving 16 were sold for civil use.[2] Two of these were re-engined in 1963 with 220 hp (160 kW)Jacobs R-755 engines for use as crop sprayers. In the UK, only two Cadets survived the war.
Data from Avro Aircraft since 1908[1]
General characteristics
Performance
Related development
Related lists
