E3 - XS605 - No.115 Sqn., RAF Benson
Coming in to land at RAF Lossiemouth. These aircraft perform
numerous 'fake' landing approaches in a day, working their
way around all the airfield runways.
TYPE
Short range transport with STOL capability, now used primarily
for radar calibration
MANUFACTURER
Hawker Siddeley - British Aerospace
ENGINES
two Rolls Royce Dart 201A turboprops, 3,245 e.s.h.p.
DIMENSIONS
- span : 98'(29.8m)
- length : 77'11"(23.75m)
- height : 29'3"(8.92m)
- wing area : 831 sqft(77.2mē)
WEIGHTS
- basic operational : 27,700lb(12,565kg)
- maximum loaded : 50,000lb(22,680kg)
PERFORMANCE
- maximum speed at 15,000' : 302mph(486km/h)
- normal cruise with 40,000lbs : 270mph(434km/h)
- ceiling : 24,000ft(7,315m)
- maximum range with 10,000lb payload : 1,186miles(1,908km)
FIRST FLIGHT
- Prototype : 21st December 1963
- C.1 : 8th July 1965
AVIONICS
- IRFIS - Inertial Reference Flight Inspection System
- Decca/TANS, VOR, TACAN, ADF
- Litton INS - Internal Navigation System
ACCOMMODATION
Three crew - pilot, co-pilot & navigator, and up
to 44 passengers. In the calibration role there is an
Air Electronics Officer and one or two radar assessors.
NOTES
Derived from the commercial Hawker Siddeley 748, but
with redesigned rear fuselage, undercarriage and freight
floor.
ROLE
Originally seen as a short range transport capable of
carrying personnel, casualties and small wheeled or
tracked vehicles for air-dropping, (e.g. Land Rovers),
the Andover survives today primarily for radar calibration
duties. Operated by 115 Squadron from RAF Benson, the
red and white Andover E.3s will continue on into the
next century checking airfield radar and instrument
landing systems.
E3 - XS640 - No.115 Sqn., RAF Benson
Taxiing out for take-off at RAF Valley, Anglesey, North
Wales, ready to return home to RAF Benson in Oxfordshire
after a long day of alignment checking.
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