The rare made commonplace – G-AIYS, DH 85 Leopard Moth March 6, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, Museums, Royal Air Force, Second World War, aircraft.Tags: aeronautical engineer, Air Show, aircraft, aircraft disposal sales, airfield, Aston Martin, Baghdad, Biggin Hill, communications aircraft, De H 85, De Havilland, De Havilland Gipsy Major 1 engine, DH 80, Egypt, England, fabric-covered, folding wings, Geoffrey De Havilland, Gipsy Major engine, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, GVFWE, hangarage, impressed aircraft, Iraq, Keevil, King's Cup Air Race, Leopard Moth, liaison type, Mr Ronald Gammons, Mrs Valery Gammons, oil companies, plywood, prototype, Puss Moth, RAF, RAF Kemble, RAF Museum, Scotland, Second World War, Sir William James Denby Roberts, steel tube, Strathallan Collection, Surrey and Kent Flying Club, Torquil Norman, Victor Guantlett, Wiltshire, WW2
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- The rare made commonplace – De Havilland DH 85 Leopard Moth
Geoffrey De Havilland was a skilled aeronautical engineer, of that there was no doubt, but he was also a passionate lepidopterist, and named many of his early creations after various species of moth. The Leopard Moth was designed in the 1930s to provide a relatively swift (c. 130 mph) ‘gentleman’s aerial carriage’ (one pilot, two passengers). The prototype won the King’s Cup Air Race in 1933 at over 139 mph, flown by Geoffrey De Havilland himself. The fact that De Havilland had forsaken the fabric-covered steel tube formula of the Leopard Moth’s predecessor, the DH 80 Puss Moth, and instead built a strong, sturdy ‘box’ from plywood, giving a structure of lower weight, enabled the aircraft to fly faster and further. The DH Gipsy Major 1C engine puts out around 142 hp, which gives a cruise speed close to 120mph, and a range of over 700 miles.
G-AMMS, not an Alpha, but alphabet soup again! February 16, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, England, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, aircraft.Tags: aerobatic, Auster, Auster Aiglet Trainer, Auster Aircraft Ltd, Auster J-1N Alpha, Aviation, Blackburn, Blackburn Cirrus Major 3 engine, Cirrus Major, De Havilland, De Havilland Gipsy Major 1 engine, England, Fairey Reed, G-AMMS, Gipsy Major engine, GVFWE, Hullavington, J5F, J5K, J5L, Leicestershire, metal propeller, Pakistan, Pakistan Air Force, Rearsby
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- G-AMMS
Sorry about the terrible Auster pun at the start of the post, but I could not resist this opportunity. G-AMMS isn’t an Auster J-1N Alpha, of course, but a much changed Aiglet Trainer. Built in 1951 by Auster Aircraft Ltd at Rearsby, it was retained by the company until 1954, being completed as a J5F, then modifed as a J5K (the only such aircraft) and J5L. The airframe was fitted, at various times, with a De Havilland Gipsy Major 1 of 130hp or a Blackburn Cirrus Major 3 of 155hp, and had the Auster Aiglet Trainer’s shortened wingspan (from 36 ft to 32 ft, to increase the aircraft’s roll rate) and strengthened structure to enable aerobatics to be performed. Aiglet Trainers were popular abroad, and the Pakistan Air Force used them in quantity.
100 and counting – so here is a WW2 classic to celebrate with! January 29, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in 'warbird', Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, RAF, Royal Air Force, Second World War, aircraft.Tags: 'Maggie', 'squadron hack', 'warbird', 1940, 74 Sqn, Air Schools Ltd, Al Deere, Ankara, Anopheles mosquito, Anopheles sacharovi, atomisers, Battle of Britain, British Midland Airways, Burnaston, Calais, Calais Mark, DDT, DDT tank, Derby, DSO, Elementary Flying School, Flt Lt James Leathart, Gipsy Major engine, Hawk Trainer III, Hullavington, Hurricane, Magister, Me109, Miles, Miles Hawk Trainer, Miles M-14A, mosquito, pump, RAF, Royal Air Force, Second World War, Spitfire, Spitfire Mk1, T.H.K Ucak Fabrikasi, Turkey, Turkish Air Force, Turkish Air League, Turkish Air League Schools, Turkish Ministry of Hygiene, WW2
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Miles Magister
Amazingly, I seem to have been around the circuit 100 times now – this is my 100th post – and so I could hardly be described as being on short finals anymore. Perhaps I should rename this thing ‘circuits and bumps’? Anyway, to mark this semi-auspicious landmark, I have chosen something used for ‘circuits and bumps’, the beautiful Miles M-14A Magister (ex Miles Hawk Trainer III). Developed from the Miles Trainer, and Miles Hawk Major (both used by the Royal Air Force), this handsome aircraft was used in numbers by the RAF from 1937, and was an ideal ‘lead-in’ to the world of the Hurricane and Spitfire, aircraft which many of their pilots would soon use in the Battle of Britain. Over 1,200 Magisters had been built by the time British production finally ceased in 1941.
As well as use their use by 16 Elementary Flying Schools, some Magisters were issued directly to fighter units as ’squadron hacks’. Indeed, one of these ‘Maggies’ was used to perform a most daring feat on 23 May 1940, when then-Flt Lt James Leathart of 74 Sqn, landed at Calais Mark airfield to pick up an officer who had been shot down, whilst his escort of Spitfire Mk1s fought off 12 attacking Me109s (the soon-to-be legendary Al Deere making his first kills in this combat). Flt Lt Leathart got clean away, after picking up the downed officer. For this amazing piece of flying he was awarded the DSO.
This ‘Maggie’ is one of the many converted after the Second World War for the civilian market, where they were known as the Hawk Trainer III (along with those built for civilian and non-RAF users). Indeed, there is a chance that I might have seen this actual aircraft when it was with Air Schools Ltd (the forerunner of British Midland Airways) at Burnaston, Derby from 1953 to 1958. Eventually extensively rebuilt as a Magister, this superb example of the breed, originally built in 1941, is seen here taxying at Hullavington during the GVFWE, its 130 hp De Havilland Gipsy Major 1 engine barely ticking over. This particular aircraft contains major components from at least two machines, and you have to admire the immense effort that went into the restoration to flying condition.
A little-known piece of Miles history is the production of Magisters in Turkey. The Turkish Air League founded a factory near Ankara, the T.H.K. Ucak Fabrikasi, which by 1949 was employing 1,200 people. Amongst other things, it was still producing Magisters under licence, as well as undertaking the overhaul and repair of their Gipsy Major engines. A total of one hundred Magisters were built for the Air League Schools and the Turkish Air Force. In 1946 T.H.K. were asked to produce a special version of the Maggie capable of spraying DDT. The front cockpit was faired over, and the area formerly occupied by the seat was fitted with a tank, pulverizer, pump and atomisers. These aircraft were operated under the direction of the Turkish Ministry of Hygiene, who waged a campaign against a particular mosquito species Anopheles sacharovi (the Anophelid which is the principal vector for malaria in that region). I dare say that this is the ONLY time a Magister fought a Mosquito – and won!
A magnificent obsession – G-ADWT January 20, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, aircraft.Tags: Abingdon, aircraft, Aviation, Berlin Air Lift, Blackburn and General Aircraft Co. Ltd, Blackburn Beverley, CF-104, coal, Germany, Gipsy Major engine, Handley Page Hastings, Handley Page Ltd, Miles, Miles M.2W Hawk Trainer, No 47 Sqd, No. 3 Wing, Oxfordshire, Phillips & Powis, RAF, RCAF, Starfighter, Wiltshire, Zweibrucken
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- Miles M.2W Hawk Trainer
In 1934, the Phillips and Powis Aircraft Co. produced yet another of their brillant series of Miles designs – the M.2W Hawk Trainer. Powered by the popular Gipsy Major 1c engine, this aircraft had prominent ‘trousered’ undercarriage legs. The company had a history of producing streamlined designs which delivered sparkling performance on not too much horsepower. The aircraft has been through many hands including being owned by the private Flying Club of No. 47 Squadron, RAF at Abingdon, who had achieved an excellent record flying the Handley Page Hastings during the Berlin Airlift, (carrying mostly coal!) and were in the process of transitioning to the Blackburn Beverley. G-ADWT was owned in the 1960s by a member of No. 3 Wing, RCAF, stationed at Zweibrucken, Germany – this must have been a huge contrast for the pilots that flew her, for the wing was equipped at the time with CF-104 Starfighters!
Lining up for departure January 20, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, aircraft.Tags: Air Unique, aircraft, An-2, Antonov, Aviation, De Havilland, DeH 85, Empire Test Pilots' School, Gipsy Major engine, GVFWE, Hullavington, Leopard Moth, Mr & Mrs Gammons, RAF, Scottish Aviation, Twin Pioneer, Wiltshire
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- An-2, Twin Pioneer, Leopard Moth
Sometimes the line-up for departure at the end of each day of a Great Vintage Flying Weekend can get rather interesting. Here we can see Air Unique’s An-2 ‘Baltic Bear’, in front of Air Atlantique’s Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer in Empire Test Pilots’ School livery getting ready for departure from Hullavington, Wiltshire. The De Havilland DeH 85 Leopard Moth in the background belongs to Mr and Mrs Gammons, and is kept in beautiful working order. It was built in 1934, and its Gipsy Major 1c has kept it flying for more than 3,300 hours, a distance in excess of 400,000 miles – or 15 times around the Earth!
Auster mix and match – the J5R Alpine January 16, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, aircraft.Tags: Abingdon, Aiglet Trainer, Auster, Auster Alpine, Autocrat, Fairey Reed, Gipsy Major engine, GVFWE, J5R, Kenya, nose art, propeller, rhino, rhinoceros, Richard Webber, tail art
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Tail art on Auster J5R Alpine
We have seen that nose art has a long and distinguished history on military (and sometimes civil) aircraft. Here is a splendid example of artwork at the opposite end of an aircraft – tail art, no less. This painting of a rhinoceros adorns a smartly turned-out example of the rare Auster J5R Alpine, owned by Richard Webber. During the 1950s a whole multitude of Auster varients were produced almost by a process of ‘mix and match’. In this case, you took the fuselage of an Auster Aiglet Trainer, the wings from a J-1 Autocrat, added a De Havilland Gipsy Major 10 engine (130hp) driving a Fairey Reed propeller, stirred it all about and, voila~ a J5R Alpine. Only ten of this variant were built, so this makes the survival from 1953 of G-ANXC something of a minor miracle. The aircraft has, at one time been on the Kenyan registry as 5Y-UBD – hence the rhino!
This was taken early one morning at GVFWE, Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
‘Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright….’ January 2, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, RAF, Royal Air Force, aircraft.Tags: aircraft, Aviation, De Havilland, Gipsy Major engine, GVFWE, RAF, Royal Air Force, Thruxton Jackaroo, Tiger Moth
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De Havilland 82A Tiger Moth II
‘Is it a bird, is it a ‘plane, no it’s……Super Ace!’ December 7, 2008
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend.Tags: Aviation, Chrislea, Chrislea CH3 Super Ace, Gipsy Major engine, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, GVFWE, high-wing cabin monoplane, Keevil, WW2 control tower
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Is a bird, is a plane, no it’s…Super Ace!
Here we have that rara avis of British aviation, one of only two examples of the Chrislea C.H.3 Series 2 Super Ace still flying in the UK. These aircraft were built immediately postwar, and despite sharing certain design characteristics (high-wing cabin monoplane, Gipsy Major engine) with aircraft such as Austers, they proved to be a commercial failure. They were overweight and had strange control arrangemants – a car-like steering wheel which customers disliked. I have been lucky enough to fly in this one!
The Super Ace is parked at Keevil, an early arrival at GVFWE; to the left, and partially obscured, is the WW2 Control Tower.
Chrislea C.H.3 Series 2 Super Ace
