Bristol Freighter

what is it?

The Bristol Type 170 Freighter is a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner. Its best known use was as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively short distances. A passenger-only version was also produced, known as the Wayfarer.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · shoulder wing · fixed tailwheel (taildragger) · 32.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 362 km/htop speed
• seats 56passengers
• size 20 tmax take-off weight
• built 214made in total

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 81 years ago, in 1945.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 32.9 m: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 3 African elephants (~6 t each).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1945-12-02

introduced

1948

retired

2004

status

retired

number built

214

role

cargo aircraft

origin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

makers

Bristol Aeroplane Company

engines

2× Bristol Hercules 734

crew

3

passengers

56

length

20.8 m

wingspan

32.9 m

height

6.6 m

max take-off weight

20 t

top speed

362 km/h

cruise speed

264 km/h

range

—

ceiling

7,010 m

wings

shoulder wing

landing gear

fixed conventional landing gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family