Avro 501
The Avro 501 was a biplane aircraft of the British manufacturer Avro.
General
In the fall of 1912, Avro moved its production from Brooklands to Shoreham. This was due, not least, the growing interest of Avro to seaplanes; Shoreham had a harbor.
And so was formed in November 1912 based on the Avro 500 Avro 501 model, a machine with an amphibious landing gear. It consisted of a broad, relatively flat central float, in which three wheels were installed; so both water - and land -offs and landings were possible. In addition to the wing tips auxiliary float were attached for additional stabilization. The dimensions were slightly larger than those of Avro 500
The first flight of the 501 took place in January 1913.
The first tests were not satisfactory and so the central float was replaced by a double float, now without a wheeled undercarriage. An additional rear float was attached directly to the rudder and was thus steered.
After flight tests in the British Navy, these criticized the serious swimmer, but the machine accepted as a land plane. Thus, the swimmers were replaced with a wheeled undercarriage. Furthermore and more conversions, so the previously symmetrical ailerons were replaced by unusually unbalanced and unwieldy rudder. Thus, the aircraft seemed so misshapen that it was " Rickety Ann " ( Rickety Anne) the nickname.
The Avro 501 was a single piece and is therefore a prototype for the Avro 503