About This File
FS98 Airspeed AS.4 Ferry G-ABSI, 1932. British three-engined biplane airliner for one pilot and ten passengers, built by Airspeed Limited in 1932. It was powered by three 120 hp de Havilland Gipsy II/III engines and had a top speed of 97 knots. Although only four units were built, it was the aircraft that introduced the British general public to flying. Two units were built for Sir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Day tours to be used for joyriding, and carried 92,000 passengers in the first six months of operating. The first of these was G-ABSI, the aircraft in this release. It had good visibility for both pilot and passengers, due to the unusual mounting of the central engine on the top wing instead of in the nose, and the cranked lower wings attached to the upper fuselage. As its designer often said, the Ferries were "good, reliable work-horses, built with no data and no money, but none the worse for that!". Custom panel included, for default and FSFS Gauges. Textures by Udo Entenmann. By Stephan Scholz.