Talk:Avro Lancastrian/Archive 1

Archive 1

Date of conversion

Check the dating of that first conversion; Encyclopedia of World Aircraft (David Donald, ed, Orbis, 1997) has it 1942 by Victory on a Lanc 3, eval xTCA, later went to Avro for more work including extra tank. Also, re Stardust (Star Dust?), I've seen a TV doc that names her Captain as Reginald North. Trekphiler 07:28, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

First flight

Do we know the exact date of first flight? Drutt (talk) 13:51, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

The first conversion Lancastrian Mk I was G-AGLF which had a certificate of airworthiness issued on 7 February 1945. Dont know the first flight date but presumably shortly before. MilborneOne (talk) 14:46, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

The first in-service flight of a Trans-Canada Air Lines Lancaster was on July 22, 1943, Dorval (Montreal) to Prestwick, in 12 hours 25 minutes, with four tons of mail. Total payload was up to 25,000lb/11,350kg, but mail has more bulk than weight. The TCA aircraft, of which there were eventually eight keeping up a regular non-stop mail service for the rest of the war, were Lancasters rather than Lancastrians as they were fitted for cargo and not passengers, but they were the origin of the Lancastrian. See World Aircraft, Vol. 5, Commercial Aircraft 1935-1960, Enzo Angelucci and Paolo Matricardi, Mondadori 1978 / Sampson Low 1979, pp.101-2. 87.114.104.125 (talk) 10:07, 9 November 2012 (UTC)Hugo Barnacle

The Canadian conversion official designation IIRC was 'Lancaster XPP' for 'Lancaster Mark X Passenger Plane' so no it wasn't a Lancastrian as-such. [1] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.24.215.177 (talk) 16:28, 14 September 2014 (UTC)

re stendec incident

I have read (but cnnot quote refs), that an exRAF signaller reinterpreted the "STENDEC" morse code message as "ST"[stardust]"descending". His view was that the non-Enlish speaking radio guy in Chile misread a gew morse characters; this view was accepted by the british board of inquiry —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.64.122.105 (talk) 19:34, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

I would suggest you comment at Star Dust (aircraft) which has a section about STENDEC and some of the theories. MilborneOne (talk) 19:42, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

And do check the talk page, which probably answers your question and is a fascinating read in its own right. -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 12:35, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

The message at issue actually read ETA SANTIAGO 1745 ST END EC. It was sent by a British operator and the Chilean operator in Santiago appears not to have understood it. 'ST' probably meant year-round Standard Time, but Chileans know that as Chilean Time or CLT, not ST. 'END' meant 'End', obviously, and 'EC' is the Morse code for '+', which is used by Morse operators as a full stop. Khamba Tendal (talk) 20:17, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

unpressurised?

presumably the lancastrian was unpressurised - was the passenger cabin heated? Did passengers get oxygen masks? It must have been grim being a civilian passenger. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.64.122.105 (talk) 19:23, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Yes, it was unpressurised. The passengers wore oxygen masks if the flight was at a height that needed it. The Lancastrian had a heater so the passengers could wear their normal clothes, it also had some soundproofing but it was still noisy inside. The cabin was nicely furnished, so wasn't as uncomfortable as you might think, the seats being all down one side of the cabin (facing to port {left} IIRC), as the fuselage was quite narrow. The Lancastrian really only existed because it had an immense (for the time) range, over 4,000 miles, and it was quite fast ~300mph, so it was used for 'high priority' passengers and cargoes on routes were there was no other service, so a fare could be charged that was reasonably economic. This was why it was used on the London - South America route, mostly by BSAA. It was only ever meant as an interim type, the planned 'proper' airliner being the Avro Tudor.

My mistake, BSAA Lancastrians had normal single-aisle seating; [2] - the all down one side was for the 'VIP' version. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.24.215.177 (talk) 16:19, 14 September 2014 (UTC)

Survival

Do any of these planes survive anywhere in a museum, etc? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rob (talk • contribs) 20.23, 4 September 2009

No. MilborneOne (talk) 20:28, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

circumnavigation

Yes Aries did circumnavigation the globe, but surely it was preceded by others not least of which the Douglas World Cruisers.--Petebutt (talk) 09:26, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

IIRC, Aries circumnavigated via the North and South Poles. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.7.147.13 (talk) 17:57, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

Lancastrian T-102

This accidents puzzles me, but the internet is none the wiser. The death toll is listed as 23 passengers and eight crew, for a total of 31 - it's referenced, but that seems an extraordinary number for an aircraft that only had a capacity of nine passengers and five crew. It's three times as much as the next-highest death toll for the aircraft. Was it being used for e.g. parachute training? Or did it have soldiers sitting on the floor? -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 21:43, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

There has always been a desire on some people's part to overload by cramming as many people in as will physically fit, ferry or tour boat operator (capsizes), nightclub owner (fire), sporting venue ( crushing) and planes are not necessarily any different. Maybe this was a case of wanting to move as many people as possible "the quick and easy way". Not likely soldiers though as was an international flight from Peru to Argentina. As I say, just a guess of course. Pieter1963 (talk) 18:20, 27 November 2022 (UTC)