The Beagle Husky (originally, the Auster D.5 and initially designated the Auster J/1Y) was a three-seat British light aircraft built in the 1960s which originated from a Portuguese Air Force requirement for a liaison/training aircraft,[1] a development of the Auster Alpha. It first flew as an Auster design in January 1960, but that company was taken over by Beagle Aircraft in September that year. It was initially available with a 160 hp Lycoming O-320 engine as the Auster D5/160.
Twenty-two D5/160 were built for Portugal by Auster Aircraft at their Rearsby, Leicestershire, factory, in addition to a single D5/180 (the first such aircraft, with a 180 hp Lycoming O-360 engine). 141 sets of components for D5/160s were built by Auster and shipped to Portugal from Rearsby for assembly by the Oficinas Gerais de Material Aeronautico OGMA under licence, and 5 modification kits to bring a D5/160 to D5/180 standard were also sent. The exact number of aircraft completed by OGMA is a point of contention[2] [3] [4] but it is probable that 138 D.5 aircraft were completed with one kit becoming a test airframe and two kits remaining as a source of spares.[5] The Portuguese Air Museum preserves two; one in flying condition.[6]
A further three Auster D5/160 were sold to the Congo. Subsequently, Beagle developed the D5/160 as the "Beagle D5/180 Husky" with a 180 hp Lycoming O-360 engine, the first being G-ASBV first flown in 1962. Only 15 Huskys were made before production was discontinued in 1967.[7] Since each aircraft was made to order to each customer's specification and there was no standard design of a Beagle Husky, production was accordingly uneconomic.[8] [9] It was estimated that the cost of each Husky was £6,045, which was £1,747 more than the UK market price.[10]
The last[11] Husky, OE-DEW (c/n 3691), was the last of approximately 3868 aeroplanes[12] in the Auster line to be produced by Auster/Beagle; this aircraft is now back in the UK, registered G-AXBF and is still airworthy (2018). Later a few more airframes of a variety of Auster models were completed from spare fuselages or converted privately.
The designation "A.113" was only a design number and was not used in promotional material or in aircraft registrations with the Civil Aviation Authority where the term 'D5/180' was preferred. Additionally, the name Husky was only given to this version and not to the D5/160.