{"id":19027034,"date":"2026-09-01T21:17:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T19:17:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/avro-707-delta-research-aircraft-vulcan-testbed\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T23:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T21:02:08","slug":"banc-dessai-vulcan-de-lavion-de-recherche-avro-707-delta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/fr\/avro-707-delta-research-aircraft-vulcan-testbed\/","title":{"rendered":"Avro 707 : Le petit Delta qui a r\u00e9duit les risques li\u00e9s au Vulcain"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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It became the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/avro-vulcan\/\">Avro Vulcan<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n<p>There was a problem. In the late 1940s nobody knew how a thick delta wing behaved at low speed, which is precisely the regime in which an aircraft takes off, lands and kills its crew. So Avro built a small one first, and a test pilot died finding out.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:17px\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px;line-height:1.8\"><li><strong>Type:<\/strong> Avro 707, experimental delta research aircraft<\/li><li><strong>Purpose:<\/strong> To explore the tailless delta wing chosen for the Avro 698, later the Vulcan<\/li><li><strong>Scale:<\/strong> Aerodynamically about one-third the size of the Vulcan<\/li><li><strong>Specification:<\/strong> Ministry of Supply Specification E.15\/48<\/li><li><strong>First flight:<\/strong> 4 September 1949, from RAF Boscombe Down<\/li><li><strong>Engine:<\/strong> A single Rolls-Royce Derwent centrifugal turbojet<\/li><li><strong>Variants:<\/strong> 707, 707B, 707A and the two-seat 707C<\/li><li><strong>Fate:<\/strong> Last flying example grounded in 1967; three preserved in museums<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A scale model you could sit in<\/h2>\r\n<p>The 707 was principally the work of Stuart Davies, Avro's chief designer. It was small, simple and built quickly &mdash; so quickly that the canopy of the first prototype was lifted straight off a Gloster Meteor. The wing carried about 50 degrees of sweep, with inboard elevators and outboard ailerons on the trailing edge, a conventional fin and rudder, and retractable airbrakes above and below the wing.<\/p>\r\n<p>Avro had also planned a half-scale aircraft, the Avro 710. It was cancelled once it became obvious that developing a faster version of the little 707 would be quicker.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/avro-707c-wz744-two-seat-delta-trainer.jpg\" alt=\"The two-seat Avro 707C WZ744\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The two-seat 707C was intended to give RAF pilots delta-wing experience. No production order followed. Photo: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Twenty-six days<\/h2>\r\n<p>The first 707, VX784, flew from Boscombe Down on 4 September 1949 in the hands of Squadron Leader Samuel Eric &ldquo;Red&rdquo; Esler, Avro's deputy chief test pilot, who had been made responsible for all flying on the type in the chief test pilot's absence.<\/p>\r\n<p>Twenty-six days later, on 30 September, VX784 crashed near Blackbushe and Esler was killed. The investigation pointed to a suspected control circuit failure that left the airbrakes locked open, causing the aircraft to stall.<\/p>\r\n<p>It is worth being precise about what that did and did not prove. The accident was traced to a system fault, not to the delta wing. But it cost Avro its pilot and its first aircraft within a month of first flight, and the programme had to start again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;A suspected control circuit failure, causing the air brakes to be locked open and creating the stall.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Official accident investigation<\/strong> &mdash; On the loss of Avro 707 VX784 and its pilot, 30 September 1949<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/avro-707c-wz744-delta-research-preserved.jpg\" alt=\"The preserved Avro 707C WZ744\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Three Avro 707s survive in museums. They look like a Vulcan someone left in the wash. Photo: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The aircraft that taught the Vulcan to fly<\/h2>\r\n<p>It did start again. The second aircraft, VX790, was completed to a revised 707B standard with a longer nose, a different canopy, 51 degrees of sweep and a lengthened nose leg to sit the aircraft at a higher angle for take-off and landing. The third, the first 707A, took on the higher-speed work from late 1953.<\/p>\r\n<p>Crucially, the second and third aircraft flew before the Vulcan did. Most of what Avro learned about how its delta would behave came from those two small jets, and it fed directly into the leading edge and the control surfaces of the full-size bomber.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ac4cwoUL46c\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p>The four surviving 707s went on flying long after the Vulcan was sorted out, doing general research for the Royal Aircraft Establishment and, later, for the Aeronautical Research Laboratories in Australia. Britain also used them as showpieces: the little deltas appeared at the Farnborough airshows through the early 1950s, at exactly the moment the country wanted to look like it was winning the jet age.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/a_VDLWQ1Pgw\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why it still matters<\/h2>\r\n<p>The Avro 707 is a reminder of how aviation actually advanced before computational fluid dynamics: you built a small one, you flew it, and sometimes it killed somebody. The Vulcan went on to serve for more than three decades and to fly the longest bombing mission in history at the time. It could do that partly because four little research jets had already found the edges of its wing.<\/p>\r\n<p>The last 707 was grounded in 1967. Three survive in museums, and they look exactly like what they are: a Vulcan that someone left in the wash.<\/p>\r\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What was the Avro 707?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Avro 707 was a small British experimental jet built to explore the tailless delta wing chosen for the Avro 698, which became the Vulcan bomber. Aerodynamically about one-third the size of the Vulcan, it was ordered to Ministry of Supply Specification E.15\/48 and powered by a single Rolls-Royce Derwent turbojet.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why did Avro need a scale model you could fly?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">In the late 1940s nobody knew how a thick delta wing behaved at low speed, which is precisely the regime in which an aircraft takes off, lands and kills its crew. Rather than risk finding out on a full-size nuclear bomber, Avro built a small aircraft first and flew it.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What happened to the first Avro 707?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The first aircraft, VX784, flew from RAF Boscombe Down on 4 September 1949 with Squadron Leader Samuel Eric Red Esler at the controls. Twenty-six days later, on 30 September, it crashed near Blackbushe and Esler was killed. The investigation pointed to a suspected control circuit failure that left the airbrakes locked open.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Did the crash prove the delta wing was dangerous?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">No. The accident was traced to a system fault rather than to the delta wing itself. But it cost Avro its pilot and its first aircraft within a month of first flight, and the programme had to begin again with a revised second aircraft, the 707B.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How did the Avro 707 help the Vulcan?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The second and third aircraft flew before the Vulcan did, and most of what Avro learned about how its delta would behave came from them. That data fed directly into the leading edge and the control surfaces of the full-size bomber, which went on to serve for more than three decades.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many Avro 707s survive?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Three are preserved in museums. Variants included the original 707, the revised 707B with 51 degrees of sweep and a lengthened nose leg, the higher-speed 707A, and the two-seat 707C intended to give RAF pilots delta experience. The last flying example was grounded in 1967.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What was the Avro 707?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Avro 707 was a small British experimental jet built to explore the tailless delta wing chosen for the Avro 698, which became the Vulcan bomber. 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The investigation pointed to a suspected control circuit failure that left the airbrakes locked open.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Did the crash prove the delta wing was dangerous?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"No. The accident was traced to a system fault rather than to the delta wing itself. But it cost Avro its pilot and its first aircraft within a month of first flight, and the programme had to begin again with a revised second aircraft, the 707B.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How did the Avro 707 help the Vulcan?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The second and third aircraft flew before the Vulcan did, and most of what Avro learned about how its delta would behave came from them. 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The last flying example was grounded in 1967.\"}}]}<\/script><p><em>Sources: Wikipedia, BAE Systems Heritage, Aviation Safety Network, and Aeroflight.<\/em><\/p>\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/avro-vulcan-delta-v-bomber-howl\/\">The Avro Vulcan: The Delta That Howled<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/britains-v-bombers-three-aircraft-one-nuclear-mission\/\">Britain&rsquo;s V-Bombers: Three Aircraft, One Nuclear Mission<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Share this story In 1947 Avro proposed a bomber shaped like nothing the Royal Air Force had ever bought: a vast tailless delta with no fuselage worth the name, meant to carry a nuclear weapon at high altitude across a continent. It became the Avro Vulcan. There was a problem. In the late 1940s nobody [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":19026610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19027034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Avro 707: The Little Delta That De-Risked the Vulcan | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Avro built a third-scale delta to learn how the Vulcan would fly. 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