  
Anson
Restoration Project 
By Colin Ainsworth, Project Leader
30 November, 2005
The
past month has seen Ernie Killen and Mike Dandurand complete the
installation of all the windows and escape hatches in the Anson's
cabin. Chuck Calder and Jerry Aucoin finally figured out how to
install and adjust the rudder cables and linkages that run from the
pilots control pedals to the aircraft rudder assembly This installation
seemed a very straightforward project, however, not having all the
manufacturing drawings the installation became very complex.
 The problem was
the main pulley bracket located under the cockpit floor. The two pulley
wheels in the
bracket are mounted off centre and will only allow the cables to be
connected one way, needless to say the first time it was installed it
was backwards. The rudder cables then had to be disconnected, the
bracket removed and reversed, then the rudder cables rerouted
through the turnbuckles and reconnected to the pilots rudder pedals. The
lack of drawings has plagued us on this project since we started, mind
you it just adds to the fun.
A
few weeks ago while Chuck Calder was in Winnipeg he managed to drive
down to visit the museum in Brandon, Manitoba who have already restored
an Anson Mk2. While Chuck was there he visited a number of Ansons that
are stored outside in various stages of disrepair and was fortunate to
obtain a few of the items that we require to complete our
restoration. Some of the items were: the main cabin door complete with
all the mounting fixtures; a pilot/radio operators seat; parachute
stowage assembly and a throttle control assembly pedestal plus many
other pieces.
Peter
Miller and Keith Brenson have been helping Al Sheppard make up the
remaining electrical wire bundles; once these are done they will be
installed and connected at various locations in the aircraft.
This
past Monday we were again fortunate to have twelve veterans visit us. We
really enjoy their visit. Don Neily was a pilot instructor during WW II
and used to fly the Anson, so he is a source of information to us,
and tells us what it was like to fly the Anson.
Next
month hopefully the cabin door will be completed and installed and the
wing fillets returned to us from 14 Wing workshops.
This
month's "Anson Trivia" is about the Anson's development prior
to WW II.
The
following is from Flypast Magazine July 1989 Page 55 by Ken Wixey.
Although
famous as a World War Two military aircraft, the Avro Anson owed its
origins to a pre-war civil design. Having constructed Fokker F.V11B/3
trimotor passenger aircraft under license as their Type 618 Ten, Avro
had to rethink on design and production methods. A scaled-down 618 Ten,
the 619 was built as a new design followed by a larger version, the 624,
but in 1934 the 642/2 and 624/4 emerged as much refined aircraft.
Experience
with such types induced Avro to respond to an Imperial Airways
specification in which a four passenger, twin-engined monoplane for use
on charter flights was required. Roy Chadwick, Avro's chief designer,
produced the Type 652, a low-wing monoplane with a retractable landing
gear, and two Armstrong Siddley Cheetah V engines. An order for two Avro
Type 652 placed in April resulted in the prototype,
G-ACRM
Avalon, making its initial flight on January 7, 1935.
Meanwhile
in 1934 the Air Ministry had been seeking a new twin-engined coastal
reconnaissance and patrol land-plane, Avro quickly responded with their
Type 652A which closely resembled the 652. Another contender came from
de Havilland with a "militarised" version of the DH.89 Dragon
Rapide designated DH.89M.
Both
designs were selected by the Ministry for prototype development and
a contract drawn up. It was stipulated delivery of prototypes must be by
March 1935, which gave Avro less than six-months to complete detailed
design work and construct a prototype based on a civil type which itself
had not flown!
External
visible changes to the military 652A included replacement of the civil
aircraft's porthole windows by three of rectangular style and installation
in a dorsal position of an Armstrong Whitworth turret housing a single
.303-in Lewis machine-gun. This turret not only provided a defensive gun
position, but also an ideal vantage point for reconnaissance duties. It
was a 1933 design in which the combined weight of the gunner and his
seat was balanced against the weight of the gun.
A
.303-in Vickers machine-gun was housed on the port side of the nose
firing through a fairing. It was fixed to fire forward and operated by
the pilot.
Next
month we will continue this article on the development of the Avro
Anson.
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