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The Avro 510 was a large two seat seaplane built for the 1914 Circuit of Britain Race, but purchased by the Admiralty after that race was cancelled due to the outbreak of war.
The Avro 510 was significantly larger than earlier Avro aircraft, with a wingspan on the upper wing of 63ft. The lower wing was much shorter at 38ft 0in. The extra outer panels of the upper wings carried the ailerons. In order to support the outer panels kingposts were added above the upper wing to carry bracing cables. Despite the large wingspan the 510 was only a two bay aircraft. It had a tall narrow fuselage, unlike the almost square fuselages of earlier Avro military aircraft. Only the rudder looked familiar, sharing the same ‘comma’ shape as the Avro 504.
The aircraft is often said to have been powered by the Sunbeam Nubian engine, but that didn’t exist until 1916, so the engine was almost certainly the V-8 water-cooled 150hp Sunbeam Crusader.
The most significant development on the Avro 510 were its floats. Most existing floats were flat backed and pontoon shaped, keeping the same width all the way to the end. On the Avro 510 the floats had a single step, and tapered in width behind the step. This produced much smoother landings than the older type.
A third float was carried below the tail, with a rudder for use in the water.
The Avro 510 was built at Manchester in July 1914, then sent by rail to Calshot ready for the race. However between the arrival of the aircraft and the planned date of the race war was declared against Germany, and the race was cancelled. However the Avro 510 was still assembled and tested. It flew well, and the floats were a success.
After the trials were over the Admiralty purchased the prototype, with the future Air Vice Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore handing over the cheque! An order for five more production aircraft was also placed, but these replaced the new float with conventional pontoon floats, removing the aircraft’s one advantage.
In RNAS service all six aircraft were given a fixed fin in front of the comma shaped rudder. All six used the Sunbeam engine although stats were published for the aircraft with a 160hp Gnome rotary. In June 1916 five of the six aircraft were sent to Supermarine at Woolston for modifications. One was still in service at Calshot in September 1917.
Engine: Sunbeam Crusader
Power: 150hp
Crew: 2
Span: 63ft 0in (upper), 38ft 0in (lower)
Length: 38ft 0in
Tare weight: 2,080lb
All-up weight: 2,800lb
Max speed: 70mph
Climb Rate: 4.5 min to 1,000ft
Service ceiling:
Endurance: 4.5 hours