What was special about the Avro 539's floats?

Short answer

Two wooden floats sat beneath a small single-seat biplane with a short, stubby fuselage. During early test flights they were damaged by floating debris and had to be repaired; Avro used the pause to rework the tail surfaces, with a balanced rudder and extended fin.

Published: November 4, 2026 · Updated: November 4, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

What was special about the Avro 539's floats?

Swiss Avro RJ 100; HB IYU@ZRH;08 06 2013 709atAero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland (CC BY SA), vía commons

Two wooden floats

The Avro 539 was a small single-seat tractor biplane, with a short, stubby fuselage and two wooden floats. The pilot had a single open cockpit located behind the wings, and the powerplant was a 240 hp (180 kW) Siddeley Puma driving a two-blade propeller.

Damaged by floating debris

During the early test flights, the floats were damaged by debris floating on the water and had to be repaired. Avro took the opportunity to modify the aircraft's tail surfaces, with a balanced rudder and an extended fin, and to display its registration, G-EALG.

A seaplane for the 1919 Schneider Trophy

In August 1919, Avro designed and built this seaplane to compete in that year's Schneider Trophy, due to be held at Bournemouth in September. The aircraft first flew at Avro's Hamble works on 29 August 1919. The race took place on 10 September 1919, but was ruined by fog and declared void.