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| The first Brabazon Committee, in its February 1943 report, recommended the Type IIA as a short-haul piston-engined aircraft for British operators and for sale to European airlines. This recommendation resulted in the AS.57 Ambassador, which first flew on 10 July 1947. The Ambassador was a very good-looking high-wing monoplane with triple fins, retractable nosewhecl undercarriage and two Bristol Centaurus engines. The trials programme was prolonged, but with 47 seats and 2,012kW Centaurus 661 the Ambassador entered service with British European Airways in March 1952 as the Elizabethan class. BEA operated a fleet of 20 and the total built including prototypes was 23. However, although the Ambassador was a good aircraft, it was too late to attract other orders, the Viscount entering service only a year later.
After service with BEA the Ambassador passed to several independent airlines including BKS, Dan-Air and Globe Air of Switzerland - some serving as freighters and horse transports. Three were used for a time by Butler Air Transport in Australia, and one was owned by the King of Morocco.
Ambassadors also served as engine test-beds, being fitted with Bristol Proteus, Rolls-Royce Dart and Tyne and Napier Eland turboprops.
 | A three-view drawing (800 x 738) |
| CREW | 3 |
| PASSENGERS | 28-50 |
| ENGINE | 2 x Brist. "Centaurus 661", 1930kW |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 24959 kg | 55025 lb |
| Empty weight | 18025 kg | 39739 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 35.1 m | 115 ft 2 in |
| Length | 25.0 m | 82 ft 0 in |
| Height | 5.6 m | 18 ft 4 in |
| Wing area | 111.5 m2 | 1200.17 sq ft |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Cruise speed | 463 km/h | 288 mph |
| Ceiling | 7600 m | 24950 ft |
| Range w/max.fuel | 1930 km | 1199 miles |
| Range w/max payload | 934 km | 580 miles |
| Simon Morrison, e-mail, 20.09.2011 12:08 Wonderful aeroplane. My first flight too. In Spring of 1952 so exiting as a ten year old to fly in luxury. Leaving drab dreary post-war Britain for Vienna with my Mum and six year old brother. Post-war Austria was occupied by the Russians and it's capital city divided into British, American, French and Russian zones, much like Berlin. Beautiful day to fly, amazing to watch continental countryside from 10,000 feet. Our Dad and my favourite uncle both army intelligence officers so both we and our cousins were to pretend not to know them if our adventures took us to parts of the city where they might be! Kids imagination did the rest. We were little Dick Barton special agents! reply | | David, e-mail, 23.05.2011 17:54 The first aircraft I ever flew on, July 1958. Watched oil leaking from engine all the way from Belfast to Newcastle! Otherwise wonderful. Such a brilliant view. Would love to fly in one again. reply | | Michael, e-mail, 28.04.2011 04:29 I worked on this aircraft after leaving the Air Force. I enjoyed running the engines and taxying the aircraft. Yep ground engineers could do that I actually taxied the aircraft into the hanger with about three feet on either side of the wing tips. It wasn't oficial to do that and I am sure the boss would have hung up by my balls but it was night shift and I was very young. Things were a bit more relaxed around smaller airports then. This aircraft wasn't viable and the engines were a problem a lot of the time. reply | | Oliver Bandmann, e-mail, 05.10.2010 13:45 As a kid in Hamburg, I saw the BEA "Elizabethan" come in daily from London, and on to Berlin. It replaced the previous Avro "York", coverted WWII bomber,surely one of the boxiest, ugliest, and loudest aircraft ever built (taking off, conversation all over town was impossible for minutes), this one hummed, "sang" - we called them The Beauty and The Beast. My first-ever flight to Berlin was on the "Beast", back on the "Beauty": unforgettable. reply | |
| | peter norton, e-mail, 18.06.2008 20:40 What a beautiful airplane. I flew on many airtests in this type, its high wing allowing superb views through the enormous cabin windows and was later involved in recovering G-AMAD when it was, sadly, lost on landing at Heathrow. A four-engine turbine-powered version was planned but never built. The Vickers Viscount had arrived. reply |
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All the World's Rotorcraft
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4 /11 /'54 LGW - Le Bourget in lovely BEA "Elizabethan". 10 /11 /'54 back ex Orly in quiet BEA Viscount with cabin less comfortably appointed than the Airspeed Ambassador. Between 1940 & '45 several trips to boarding school in Reg Ansett's Airspeed Envoy Hamilton, Victoria to Essendon, Melbourne. Also twice in the ill-fated cute little Percival Q6. Second flight beside the pilot operating the retractable u /c for him. Much later enjoyable years hiring and flying light 2 and 4 seaters. Great to see an Ambassador is preserved
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