what is it?
The Airspeed AS.4 Ferry was three-engined ten-seat biplane airliner designed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Airspeed Limited. It was the company's first powered aircraft to be produced. It was proposed for development in April 1931, shortly following Airspeed's founding.
How to recognise it: 3 piston engines with propellers · 16.8 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 94 years ago, in 1932.
- Wingspan of 16.8 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1932
- introduced
- 1932
- retired
- 1941
- status
- retired
- number built
- —
- role
- ten-passenger airliner
- makers
- Airspeed Ltd.
- engines
- 3× de Havilland Gipsy II and III / de Havilland Gipsy Major / de Havilland Gipsy
- crew
- 1
- passengers
- 10
- length
- 12.1 m
- wingspan
- 16.8 m
- height
- 4.3 m
- max take-off weight
- 2,449 kg
- top speed
- 180 km/h
- cruise speed
- 161 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 4,724 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q409161, Wikipedia: Airspeed Ferry (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.