British Aerospace BAe 146-200

Air UK, Edinburgh Airport 1990.

Revell's rather expensive BAe146 /RJ85/100 kit has appeared in a number of guises. These are Welsh Models' after-market decals.  Link to Build page

The BAe146 started life as a Hawker DeHavilland project in the early 1970s (DH.146/HS.146), which was shelved due to the fuel crisis. British Aerospace re-launched the project in the early 1980s, emphasising the 146's four-engine safety and reliability, short take off and landing, operating economy and very low noise levels.

It was highly successful on short haul duties, including AirUK's Edinburgh/Aberdeen/Glasgow/Amsterdam/Channel Islands routes, inherited in the late 1980s from the defunct British Caledonian. BAe 146 "Whisperjets" were also the first jet aircraft permitted to fly into London's City Airport, thanks to their low noise and STOL abilities.

Originally built at the old DeHavilland factory in Hatfield, an advanced version, known as the Avro RJ (Regional Jet) was built from 1998 to 2003 at the old Avro factory at Woodford.







Friends & Allies - Part 5 - Civil Aviation


Friends & Allies Index RAF 1918-45 RAF 1945-80 RAF 1980 on US Aircraft NATO Other Nations French Aircraft

Airbus A319

“Sir George White” EasyJet - Bristol/Edinburgh 2016.

The Airbus 320 family first flew in 1987 and consists of 4 types: the basic A320, the shortened A319 and A318 variants, and the stretched A321.  Airbus A319s are assembled in Hamburg using components from across Europe, including wings manufactured by Airbus in the UK at Filton and Chester.


Over 1,400 Airbus A319 aircraft are currently in service with 106 operators.  Easyjet and American Airlines operate the largest A319 fleets, consisting of 144 and 125 aircraft respectively.


Easyjet operate A320s and A319s from Bristol airport on a range of European routes, including up to 3 flights a day to Edinburgh. Link to build

Embraer E195

Air Dolomiti - Munich 2017.

Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer has seen considerable success with its E-Jet family.  Based around a common fuselage design, but built in different lengths (and with slight differences in wing design) the narrow body E-Jet uses a double-bubble fuselage section to maintain reasonable headroom and width for two rows of two seats, allowing up to 120 passengers to be carried.   First flying in 2004, the E190/195 over 350 are currently in service around the world.  Air Dolomiti is a Lufhansa subsidiary, flying 10 E195s from a hub in Munich to regional Italian airports. Link to Build

#Trident #146 #A319 #Embraer

Hawker Siddeley HS121 Trident 1c

British Airways - Edinburgh 1980.

Rather like the TSR2, the Hawker Siddeley Trident  epitomised the fatal flaws in the post WW2 British aircraft industry.  Technologically advanced and superbly engineered, its original design might have been a world-beater, but was scaled back to meet a very tight and specific market requirement (set by government owned BEA) which had disappeared before it was ready to enter service.  In its original form it would have competed on equal terms with the Boeing 727, but it ended up underpowered and too small.  Along with the (even smaller) BAC1-11 and BAe 146, a lack of strategic market awareness, with an overemphasis  on costly technological advances condemned the British civil aircraft industry to oblivion by the end of the 1980s.

Nevertheless, the Trident was a successful aircraft that pioneered the use of automated landing systems, and is still one of the fastest airliners ever built.  Link to build

BAC One-Eleven

British Caledonian Airways - Edinburgh 1970.

The BAC 1-11 emerged in the early 1960s as one of the first products of the the newly formed British Aircraft Corporation.

Unlike its Hawker Siddeley, Bristol and Vickers contemporaries, it was not constrained by the specific requirements of BOAC and BEA, allowing BAC to design it with a wider customer base in mind and maximise its export potential.  

Over 244 one-elevens were eventually built, making it one of Britain’s most successful airliners. and many remained in widespread service until the 1990s, when tightening noise regulations and the relative thirst of its Rolls Royce Spey jet engines led to its gradual replacement by more modern types.. Link to build

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Main Index #One #Embraer190

Embraer E190

KLM Cityhopper - Bristol 2019.

KLM Cityhopper operate a large fleet of small E175s and larger E190s on short haul routes around European cities.  The E190 uses the same wings, engines and tail as the E195 above, but is 2.5 m shorter, giving it a smaller passenger capacity, but longer range.  Link to build