Australian Aircraft & Engineering Company Biplane ?

[hesham]

Hi,

this company designed a six-seat biplane called commercial B1 of 1920s,
I don't know if it was built or not ?.

 

[fortrena]

Please note that information on that aircraft can be found on pages 3 to 6 of the following document... https://www.saam.org.au/history_gro...rst Aircraft built in Australia AVRO 504K.pdf

 

[Apophenia]

.. I don't know if it was built or not ?.

Yes, it was built. The sole AA & E Commercial B1 (later registered VH-UDT) first flew on 03 Feb 1923. However, by then, the Australian Aircraft & Engineering Company had gone bankrupt (1922) and went into liquidation within a month of the aircraft flying. Here is a link for details on the one-off Commercial B1:
-- https://aeropedia.com.au/content/aaec-b-1/

The Commercial B1 was designed by Harry E. Broadsmith, AFRAeS, AMIAe. Broadsmith had been a designer with A.V. Roe & Co (eg: the Avro 511) before securing the Australian agency for Avro after WW1. [1] There, Broadsmith met two former-AFC pilots - Lt Nigel Love and Lt Walter Warneford - who wanted to begin aircraft-building in Australia. Together, the three registered the Australian Aircraft & Engineering Company in Sydney on 01 Oct 1919 (with £50,000 in capital - about £3.5M in 2025 GBP).

While Broadsmith was penning the Commercial B1, AA & E began production of Avro 504Ks at Mascot, NSW. In reality, at least some of these were probably conversions of British-made airframes to Avro Dyak standard (ie: an Avro 504 powered by a 100 hp Sunbeam Dyak 6-cylinder). But 6 x Avro 504Ks built from local Australian timber were ordered for the RAAF in 1922. It seems to have been that contract which pushed AA & E over the edge financially.

_______________________________

[1] Broadsmith had actually been sent to Australia by A.V. Roe & Co to coordinate production of an Avro design by Larkin Aircrfat (LASCo) to RAAF specification AC.35 for an army co-operation aircraft. The Jupiter IV-powered LASCo AC.35 reached the mockup stage but the RAAF never fulfilled specification AC.35.

 

[Apophenia]

I forgot to mention ... the alternative designation for the AA & E Commercial B1 was Broadsmith B.1 after its designer. With the demise of Australian Aircraft & Engineering Company, Harry Broadsmith continued designing aircraft. His Australian 'B' series was:

Broadsmith B.1 = AA & E Commercial B1

Broadsmith B.2 = 1924 single-seat single-engined sports biplane
- B.2: For Australian Aero Club's 1924 Lightplane Competition
- B.2: 1 x 25 hp Anzani air-cooled V-2 engine; span 6.70 m
- B.2: Constructrion work carried out mainly by Hector Ross
- B.2: aka Broadsmith-Ross Bett I; cantilevered biplane wings
-- https://aeropedia.com.au/content/broadsmith-ross-bett-biplane/

Broadsmith B.3 = 1924 single-seat single-engined sportsplane
- B.3: For Australian Aero Club's 1924 Lightplane Competition
- B.3: 1 x 25 hp Anzani air-cooled V-2 engine; span 6.07 m
- B.3: Low-winged light monoplane; some conf. with Bett I*
-- * Possibly a 2nd design for Hector Ross; or just muddled

Broadsmith B.4 = 1924 single-seat single-engined sports biplane
- B.4: For Australian Aero Club's 1924 Lightplane Competition
- B.4: 1 x 33 hp ABC Scorpion HO2 engine; span 7.49 m
- B.4: Built for and flown by Capt. Edgar W Percival at AAC meet
- B.4: Won AAC contest; conventional, braced single-bay wings
-- https://aeropedia.com.au/content/broadsmith-b-4-biplane/