G-BEJD Avro/BAe 748
In 1951 Avro started design work on a DC-3 replacement in an attempt to re-enter the short to medium range civil aviation market. They had previously produced the Lancastrian which was a passenger variant of the Lancaster bomber, the York and the Tudor with varying degrees of success. By 1958 theproject was well under way and the first flight took place on 24th June 1960.
The 748 was built at Chadderton and Woodford near Manchester, A total of 381 were produced including 89 built under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics in India. The last example was delivered in 1989.
G-BEJD is the last and oldest remaining Series 1 HS748 in existence.
Series 1 748 Specifications
(Source: Avro Aircraft since 1908 by AJ Jackson, Putnam Publications)
Wingspan: 98 ft 6 ins (30.02 m)
Length: 67 ft 0 ins (20.42 m)
Height: 24 ft 10 ins (7.57 m)
Powerplant: 2 x Rolls Royce Dart R.Da6 turboprop 1740 eshp
Cruise speed: 293 mph (471 kmh)
Range Maximum: 1565 nm
Number of passengers: 40-58 depending on configuration
Timeline
(Source: NWAN)
19/05/1962 First flight at woodford with import registration LV-PUF.
13/06/1962 Delivered to Aerolinas Argentinas,allocated LV-HHE.
18/04/1975 Sold to YPF, the Argentine state oil company.
17/12/1976 Sold to Dan Air and re-registered G-BEJD.
28/03/1992 Retired and stored at Manchester.
15/07/1992 Sold to Janes Aviation.
29/09/1993 Janes Aviation renamed as Emerald Airways.
18/02/2005 Withdrawn from service snd stored at Blackpool.
12/06/2005 Transferred to PTB Pty following Emeralds entering receivership.
02/04/2010 Permanently withdrawn from use, reg cancelled, 48948 total hours.
20/10/2011 Tranferred to SAHG Liverpool and currently under restoration.