Can anyone steer me to background on Alverston Engines?

I feel, this Aircraft is Historically important after Wright brother's aircraft as the Three First Aviators from different Countries were involved in its design and development,which ultimately helped to AVRO to deliver the world's FIRST AND BEST TRAINER AIRCRAFT (AVRO-504).

A minor correction to my comment below "It is also most likely S.V. Setty played a major role the design of the Avro D / 500" should in fact refer to the "Avro E / 500" series of aircraft developed in 1912 after the Avro-Duigan, not the "Avro D" that predated the Avro-Duigan by flying its first flight in April 1911.

In some ways the Avro-Duigan can be considered a development of the Avro Type D customised to John Duigan requirements? Apparantly the Avro-Duigan was first fitted with a 40 HP Alverston (inline 4 or 6 cyl?) that was not successful and that engine was replaced at John Duigan's request with a 35 HP ENV V8 engine.

He is also understood to undertake futher modifications to the aircraft including propellor changes.

Having reviewed the information referred to by Jaya, I would happily agree his Grandfather is acknowledged as being responsible for the drawing of the Avro-Duigan, design of the propellor, and collaboration on the design with A.V. Roe. It would seem that John Duigan's input to the design may have revolved around selection of the engine, and other "output" specifications, rather than detailed design inputs other than the engine? It is also most likely S.V. Setty played a major role the design of the Avro D / 500, following his involement with the Avro-Duigan, despite competing claims elsewhere that this was a product of Roy Chadwick, who had started at Avro in 1911 as an 18yo. it would seem S.V. Setty had departed Avro's by April 1912 and therefore nearly 18 months prior to the first flight of the Avro 504 in September 1913, this design therefore is more likely to be correctly attributable to Roy Chadwick, but it has always been acknowledged to have inhereted design aspects from the earlier Avro 500.

Given their overlapping service from 1911 to 1912, it is interesting to consider that S.V.Setty's departure from AVRO perhaps allowed Roy Chadwick to move into the Chief Draughtsman and later chief designer role at the company.

Despite all of that, S.V. Setty certainly deserves acknoledgement of his role in the design and drawing of these early Avro aircraft, and his role as a pioneer aviator in India.

This aircraft was named as Avro Duigan as he purchased the aircraft from AVRO. Hence he has no role to play in its design. S.V. Setty’s original design was called AVRO- e or 500. The demonstration of his design, named after John Duigan was called AVRO Duigan
I repeat, this aircraft has been designed, built and tested by S.V.Setty
all by himself. Before leaving AVRO, he designed one more aircraft, which later became world famous, as a Trainer aircraft called AVRO -504. All this can be understood by the Experience certificate and the Gold Medal presented to him by A.V. Roe in June 1912.

It would seem from the earlyaviator.com site http://www.earlyaviators.com/esetty1.htm that S.V.Setty did work in the Avro drawing office and most likely played a part in the design and construction of this aircraft.

This aircraft was specified and ordered from A.V.Roe by John Duigan of Australia in 1911, and used by him to gain his formal pilots licence in the UK, however Duigan had previously designed and flown his own pusher Biplane in Australia in 1910, and is understood to have played a major role in the design of this aircraft, hence his name being included by A.V.Roe for the type. He later designed and built a similar tractor biplane in 1913 in Australia using the ENV engine from this aircraft. http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/duigan_bio.html

This aircraft was designed by my great grand father s.v.setty. The detail can obtained in web site early aviator