When is a moth a better moth? When its made of metal…. August 3, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, Royal Air Force, aircraft.Tags: ADC Aircraft, aero clubs, aircraft, Aviation, Cirrus engine, Danish register, De Havilland, DeH Gipsy I, DeH Gipsy II, Denmark, DH60, DH60 Moth, DH60M, DH60T, DH82a Tiger Moth, differential ailerons, First World War, flying schools, French, Geoffrey De Havilland, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, GVFWE, Major Frank Halford, Metal Moth, RAF, Renault V-8 engine, Roy Palmer, Royal Air Force, WW1
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Geoffrey de Havilland’s line of biplane sports/training aircraft, which culminated in the DH82 Tiger Moth, began with the first flight of the DH.60 Moth prototype, at the hands of De Havilland himself, in February 1925. That aircraft, G-EBKT, was powered by a rather unusual engine, built by ADC Aircraft – the Cirrus. This consisted, essentially, of one half of a surplus WW1 Renault V-8 engine, and was, therefore, incredibly cheap. The Moth quickly established itself as the prefered equipment for flying schools and aero clubs everywhere. The Moth was so ubiquitous that soon any light aircraft was refered to as a ‘Moth’.
By 1927, De Havilland had a problem; the huge ‘pile’ of WW1 Renault engines had almost run out, and a new engine for the Moth line was needed. In conjunction with Major Frank Halford, a four cylinder, 100hp engine was designed and built for the DH60; the DeH Gipsy I.
The aircraft you can see is a DH60M Moth, built in 1929. Powered by a DeH Gipsy II of 120hp, it represents the state-of-the-art in light aeroplane design for this period. Several significant changes had been made to the original DH60, including the use of a metal tube primary structure for the fuselage, as opposed to wood (hence the ‘M’ for ‘Metal Moth’). If you look closely, you can still see that De Havilland has retained his ‘differential ailerons’ on the lower wing only, and the wings and tail are in the traditional ‘any colour so long as it is silver’ factory finish (the aero club, or individual customer, chose the fuselage colour). This fine example of the breed is seen here at GVFWE 2009, at Kemble, and is now owned by Mr Roy Palmer; it was on the Danish register, prior to being recovered to Britain.
As well as examples for the civilian market, the DH60 (as the DH60T) was sold to various military customers. The Royal Air Force was not totally convinced, however, and it wasn’t until the sweep of the wings were altered, to enable pilots to bail-out easier in an emergency, and an inverted version of the Gipsy engine fitted, that it finally adopted the Moth as the DH82a Tiger Moth. The rest, as they say, is history.
Nanchang CJ-6A, G-BVVG June 14, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in 'warbird', Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, Kemble, aircraft.Tags: 'warbird', aircraft, Albania, Aviation, Bangladesh, Bracknell, brakes, Cambodia, Chinese, CJ-6A, engine cooling gills, flaps, G-BVVG, GVFWE, Huosai-6JIA, Huosai-6JIA radial engine, Kemble, Kemble Airfield, Marlow, NAMC, Nanchang, Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Company, Nanchang CJ6A Group, North Korea, oil cooler, Peeking Duck Group, People's Liberation Army Air Force, PLAAF, pneumatics, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, USA, Yak-18A, Zambia
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It would be perhaps wrong to describe this Chinese trainer as ‘universal’, but with over 10,ooo built it is, indeed, popular. Despite appearances, it is not a direct copy of the Yak-18A, but has been extensively re-engineered to suit Chinese requirements by the Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Company. The prototype first flew on August 27, 1958, and entered PLAAF service in 1960, followed by over 3,000 examples for the Chinese armed forces. Since then, it has been exported to Albania, Bangladesh, Cambodia, North Korea, Tanzania, Sri Lanka and Zambia. Powered by a Nanchang Huosai-6JIA radial engine of 285hp, the CJ-6A is heavily reliant on pneumatics to operate flaps, brakes and start the engine. The control of various aircraft systems, such as the oil cooler and engine cooling gills are all manual, so there is a lot to manage during any flight.
The example seen here, G-BVVG, is parked at the GVFWE, Kemble and is in typical PLAAF markings. It was on the French register for a while, from 1999 to 2002, but is now owned by the Nanchang CJ6A Group of Marlow; prior to this it had been operated by the amazingly-named ‘Peeking Duck Group’ of Bracknell !
A very popular ‘warbird’, the CJ-6A is now being released in batches by the Chinese authorities, and several specialist companies in the USA are currently importing and overhauling these aircraft for re-sale.
CEA Jodel DR. 1050/M-1 ‘Sicile Record’ June 7, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, Kemble, aircraft.Tags: aviation industry, CEA, Centre Est Aeronautique, Continental Motors Corporation, D.9 Bebe, dihedral, DR.100A, Dr.1050, Edouard Joly, EVRA propeller, French, G-BAEE, German, GVFWE, Jean Delemontez, Jodel, Jodel DR.1050/M-1 'Sicile Record', Kemble, Luftwaffe, O-200 engine, outer wing panels, Pierre Robin, plywood, Round Sicily Rally, Second World War
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- CEA Jodel DR.1050/M-1 ‘Sicile Record’
Following the Second World War, much of French aviation industry was either bombed flat, or still producing German designs, continuing on from Luftwaffe contracts. Edouard Joly, who ran an aviation repair business, and his son-in-law, Jean Delemontez, designed and built a light single-seat aircraft, the D.9 Bebe. This little plywood gem, with distinctive dihedral outer wing panels, first flew in 1948, and a whole series of developments and varients of what became the Jodel family of aircraft flowed from this, and were were either built by licencees or home-built.
A short-lived company, but a long-lived Civilian April 2, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, London, Second World War, Wales, aircraft.Tags: 'push-rods', A.B.C. Hornet engine, Air Show, aircraft, airports, Armstrong Siddley, Armstrong Siddley Genet Major 1A, auctioneer, auctioneer's hammer, Aviation, Biggin Hill, Cardiff Airport, Carmarthen, Civilian Aircraft Company Ltd, Civilian Coupe 2, D H Mosquito, Derby, Derbyshire, England, Flight magazine, fuselage, G-ABNT, Glynn Rees, Great Depression, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, GVFWE, hangar, Hedon, Heston, historic aircraft, Hull, Hullavington, London, municipal airports, passenger seat, plywood, plywood panelling, port, propeller, radial engine, River Humber, Second World War, Secretary of State for Air, Shipping & Airlines Ltd, South Wales, Wales, wings, wire, Yorkshire
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- Civilian Aircraft Company Coupe 2
Throughout the 1930s many towns like Derby and the Yorkshire port of Hull joined the rush towards modern transport by establishing municipal airports. Hull’s was sited about 5 miles out of town at Hedon on the banks of the River Humber, and the civic authorities tried to attract aviation concerns to the new airfield. ‘Flight’ magazine in its March 27th, 1931 issue, mentioned that the Civilian Aircraft Company Ltd. had established a small manufacturing works on the southern edge of the site and was producing a two seat aircraft. Sadly, the first example of the ‘plane, which was first shown to the public at Heston in 1929, was powered by an A.B.C. Hornet radial engine, which vibrated rather badly. The Series 2 of the Civilian Coupe had solved the engine problems by fitting the Armstrong Siddley Genet Major 1A of 100hp. The aircraft’s fuselage was so narrow that the passenger seat had to be offset slightly behind and to one side of the pilot’s (rather like the much later D H Mosquito). There was some use of metal tubing in the fuselage, but the majority of structure, including the wings, was covered with stressed plywood panelling. Technically interesting, because it was one of the first aircraft to use ‘push-rods’ to connect the controls, rather than wire (leading to crisper responses), the Coupe was the right aircraft at the wrong time, as it appeared just as the civilian market was under immense pressure due to the Great Depression. A small series of aircraft was built, but it was already too late, and ‘Flight’ noted the demise of the company in its April 15th, 1932 issue.
One of the breed survived by sheer chance; Serial No. 03, a Civilian Coupe 2, was bought by Mr Glynn Rees of Carmarthen, South Wales and hangared at Cardiff Airport. Little flying took place (a total of 130 hours only), and he stored the aircraft before the outbreak of the Second World War. The aircraft’s registration was cancelled, by order of the Secretary of State for Air, on 1st December 1946.
After being stored for more than 40 years, G-ABNT went under the auctioneer’s hammer in Wales in February 1978. It was sold to Shipping & Airlines Ltd of London, along with a quantity of spares, including wings and a propeller. Careful restoration, and a move to a hangar on the historic Biggin Hill airfield, ensured that this highly significant aircraft is still with us today. Here she is in the historic aircraft park at GVFWE, Hullavington.
The feisty Fennec – a fiercer fox March 24, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in 'warbird', Aviation, England, France, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, United States, aircraft.Tags: Aviation, Air Show, GVFWE, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, England, Hullavington, Museums, nose art, France, Wright R-1820 engine, 'warbird', Hurricane, French, Sud-Aviation, Imperial War Museum, Duxford, .50 calibre machinegun, Browning, Algerian civil war, Algeria, close-support aircraft, North Africa, COIN, T-6G, T-6G Texan, underwing gun pods, observer, North American Nomad, North American, T-28A, Trojan, USAF, primary trainers, St. Nazaire, R-1300, R-1300 Cyclone engine, R-1820-76B, Pac-Aero, Fennec, desert fox, T-28S, SNEB rockets, 87mm rockets, napalm containers, 'iron' bombs, light strike unit, Escadrilles d'Aviation Legere d'Appui, EALA, 7/72 'Fennec', Armee de L'Air, Haitian Air Force, Radial Revelation Inc, Wilmington, Delaware, The Aircraft Restoration Company, 'Little Rascal', Metropolitan France, Mirage IIIC, air exercise 'Carte Blanche', European, Haiti, Dassault Mirage IIIC, Dassault, 51-7545, hardpoints, armour protection, radio gear
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North American T-28S Fennec
In the late 1950s, with war raging in Algeria, French forces needed a close-support aircraft urgently. Their light strike aircraft being used in North Africa (in what would now be called a COIN role) included large numbers of the T-6G Texan. This aircraft had been upgraded, fitted with underwing gun pods and thrown into the fray. Standard French operating procedure was to use a pilot and an observer in the Texan on missions. This left the aircraft slow, underarmed and very vulnerable.
Two North American Nomads (civilianized versions of the T-28A) were purchased by the French for test purposes, quickly followed by 146 ex-USAF T-28A Trojans. These primary trainers were handed over to Sud Aviation at St. Nazaire, who oversaw the rebuilding of the machines; this included fitting standard French radio gear, armour protection for the engine and crew, and additional underwing hardpoints. The aircraft lost their 800hp R-1300 Cyclone engines, and were upgraded with a Wright R-1820-76B putting out 1425hp (these were sourced through Pac-Aero, who had produced the Nomad conversions). The aircraft was named Fennec, after the swift, cunning desert fox of North Africa, and the designation changed to T-28S; first flight took place on 10 March 1960, with each aircraft conversion taking approximately two months.
The war in Algeria was being fought over rugged mountain terrain, as well as in urban settings, and the Fennec suited the task. As well as being faster, more powerful, with extra armour protecting the engine and crew, the armament fit included a mix of .50 calibre Browning machine pods, SNEB rocket packs, 87mm rockets, napalm containers and ‘iron’ bombs.
The Fennec seen here is based at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, and is one of only two T-28 aircraft in the country. It was originally built by North American in 1951 (51-7545) as a T-28A, but was converted as the 119th Fennec. It carries the markings of one of the French light strike units (Escadrilles d’Aviation Legere d’Appui) EALA 7/72 ‘Fennec’ of the Armee de L’Air. Eventually, this example was disposed of to the Haitian Air Force, where it served until 1978. After a time on the US civil register, it was bought by Radial Revelation Inc, of Wilmington Delaware, and shipped to the UK, under management of The Aircraft Restoration Company.
This aircraft carries nose art, as ‘Little Rascal’, and the badge of 7/72, appropriately a fennec under the moon, under the cockpit. This feisty fox has been described as ‘a poor man’s Hurricane’; indeed, when the Fennecs were withdrawn to Metropolitan France after the Algerian War was over in 1962, they were issued to training and secondline defence units, and it is a matter of record that a Fennec claimed a ‘kill’ on an ‘opposing’ Dassault Mirage IIIC during air exercise ‘Carte Blanche’ in 1963!
‘Little Rascal’ is a fine performer on the European air show scene, and is shown here parked in the warbirds section at the GVFWE, Hullavington. A splendid conversion of an already successful type.
Staaken Flitzer Z-21A – ‘If the name’s German, the engine’s German, and it looks German, it must be…German’ (Captain Edmund Blackadder’s Theory of Aeronautics) March 20, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in 'warbird', Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, Wiltshire, aircraft.Tags: 7-cylinder radial, Aerovee VW engine, aircraft designer, Alan Newton, Australian, aviation artist, Avions Pierre Robin DR 400/180, beechwood, biplane, Blackadder, Captain Edmund Blackadder, components, Deutsche Luftstreitkrafte, Dudley Patterson, engine bearers, firewall, Flight-line, Flitzer Z-2 Schwalbe, Flitzer Z-21A, G-DUDZ, G-ERIW, G-FLIZ, German, Gloster Gamecock, grass strips, GVFWE, Jabiru 2200 engine, Keevil, Lynn Willliams, maximum loaded weight, PFA-approved, Popular Flying Association, radial engine, RAF Lossiemouth, Rotec radial engine, Rupert Wasey, Staaken, Swindon Aircraft Timber Company, VW engine, wire wheels, wooden propeller, World War One
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- Staaken Flitzer Z-21A – ‘If the name’s German, the engine’s German, and it looks German, it must be…German’ (Captain Edmund Blackadder’s Theory of Aeronautics)
In this case, (as in most cases), the esteemed Captain Blackadder has it wrong. Despite the name, the motive power, and the ’sit’ of the aircraft, it is actually a product of the fertile brain of the British aviation artist and designer Lynn Williams. It must be admitted that the ’round-tailed’ version of this PFA-approved kit ‘plane looks like something you would have found on the flight-line of some unit or other of the Deutsche Luftstreitkrafte during World War One. The Flitzer may be operated safely from small grass strips (provided they are level) and the relatively light weight (750lbs, maximum loaded weight) gives its modified Aerovee VW engine, driving a traditional wooden propeller, the chance to provide a sprightly performance for such a small unit (the aircraft will also take the 4-cylinder Jabiru 2200).
Backbone of the ATA – the Fairchild Argus March 12, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, RAF, Second World War, aircraft.Tags: 'Eager For The Air', Aetheris avidi, air taxis, Air Transport Auxiliary, airfields, airframe, Airspeed, Airspeed Oxford, Amy Johnson, Argus, Argus II, Argus III, ATA, ATA HQ, aviatrix, Avro, Avro Anson, Berkshire, brass, communications, Consolidated, factories, Fairchild, Fairchild 24R-46, Fairchild Engine & Airplane Company, Fairchild Model 24, Fairey, ferry pilot, G-BCBH, GVFWE, inverted air-cooled engine, laminated spruce, Lancaster, Liberator, Maidenhead, main spar, Maintenance Units, Model 24, oleo-damped undercarriage, Oxford, post-war, radial engine, Ranger L-440 engine, Ranger L-440-C2, rate of sink, Repair Stations, South African, Spitfire, Swordfish, Thames Estuary, twin-bladed, twin-bladed propeller, twin-engined, UC-61, units, utility type, Vickers-Supermarine, Warner Scarab engine, White Waltham, wooden propeller, ZS-AXH
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Fairchild Argus
Elegant and efficient, this product of the Fairchild Engine & Airplane Corporation formed the backbone of the Air Transport Auxiliary fleet during World War Two. The ATA had been set up in 1940 to transport urgent items (including mail) between airfields. It rapidly evolved into an organisation which ferried the planes themselves, from factories, Maintenance Units and Repair Stations to the frontline units. A wholly civilian staffed organisation, the ATA (motto, Aetheris avidi, ‘Eager For The Air’) was headquartered at White Waltham, near Maidenhead, Berkshire, and took female as well as male applicants. They eventually flew everything from Vickers-Supermarine Spitfires to Avro Lancasters, from Fairey Swordfish to Consolidated Liberators. One of the needs of this organisation was for a fleet of air taxis, four-seat machines, which could pick ferry pilots up and return them either to base, or on to another ferry job. The Fairchild Model 24 had been in production in the USA since 1932, as a comfortable 4-seater, but was quickly subject to a wartime order for the US Forces as the UC-61, and was an excellent communications and utility machine. Powered either by a Warner Scarab radial engine (this machine was called the Argus II in RAF parlance) or the Ranger L-440 inverted 4-cylinder inline engine of 200hp (the Argus III), it was the latter which was the main version used by the ATA. The Argus was supplemented by numbers of twin-engined Avro Ansons and Airspeed Oxfords, for the larger jobs. The war-time flying took its toll; 173 members of the ATA lost their lives, including the world-famous aviatrix, Amy Johnson, who died in 1941 after crashing an Airspeed Oxford into the Thames Estuary.
The Argus has a specially designed, oleo-damped undercarriage, which allows a high rate of sink during landing. This, along with immensely strong main spars in the wing, made from laminated spruce, all contributed to a rugged airframe, and, therefore, a fair number of post-war survivors. Production of the Argus continued into peace-time, and the last civilian Model 24 left the factory in 1948 – a most creditable run.
This aircraft, G-BCBH, is a Fairchild 24R-46A (Modified); it was the 975th aircraft of the type to be built, and is powered by the Ranger L-440-C2 engine. Note also the brass sheathed leading edges of the wooden twin-bladed propeller, which helped prevent damage. Bravo Hotel is in a rather splendid yellow and white finish, which reflects the afternoon sunshine at GVFWE. It returned to the British register in 1983, having spent some time on the South African register as ZS-AXH. A most pleasing sight to see, and a very handsome restoration.
Air Speed Indicator – the root of it all March 9, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, aircraft.Tags: 20th century, air speed indicator, aircraft, aircrew, airliner, Airspeed, altitude, ambient pressure, analogue, ASI, atmospheric conditions, Aviation, back-up, basic six, bulkhead, cockpit, commercial airliner, De Havilland, dead reckoning, DH 84, DH 85, digital sensors, Dragon, electric torch, end plate, flaps, flight envelope, French, French enginer, fuselage, G-AIYS, glass cockpit, graduated scale, GVFWE, Henri Pitot, Keevil, Leopard Moth, never exceed speed, night flying equipment, pilot, pitot tube, port, ram-air pressure, Royal Air Force, spring wire, stall, stalling speed, static pressure, stick and string aircraft, undercarriage
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Air Speed Indicator!
Every since the first fragile ’stick and string’ aircraft staggered into the sky during the first years of the 20th century, the pilot has needed to know just how fast he is going. Not only because he uses this value to help him determine his position by ‘dead reckoning’ (time x speed = distance run), but also when he is entering dangerous areas of the ‘flight envelope’ of his aircraft. Being close to the stalling speed of the machine is lethal, but also there is a ‘never exceed speed’, above which lies structural failure. There are various other speeds which it is important to know, such as the safe speed at which flaps may be deployed, or the speed at which the undercarriage must not be extended (if retracted, of course).
Modern aircraft often have a ‘glass cockpit’ display which gives readouts of airspeed from digital sensors, but even these have an old-style analogue dial, as a back-up. The usual two inputs needed to produce an ASI readout are the static and ram-air pressures, one being the ambient pressure (which changes with altitude and atmospheric conditions) and the other being the pressure due to the aircraft’s movement through the air. These are usually obtained from a Pitot tube (named after the French engineer, Henri Pitot), located a little distance from the fuselage, to avoid air disturbances. The ASI became part of the ‘basic six’ instruments ,which were instantly recognizable by any Royal Air Force aircrew member from the 1930s onwards
Up until the mid-1930s there was another method – crude but adequate – used in some low-performance machines. Here we see a photograph of the air speed indicator on a DH 85 Leopard Moth , G-AIYS, parked at GVFWE, Keevil. All it consists of is a flat plate, with a few holes drilled in it, secured to a length of spring wire. As the air pressure builds up due to movement of the aircraft, the plate is forced backwards, giving a readout of the estimated speed on the graduated scale. There is even a red section, indicating when you are approaching the stall! Needless to say, this device IS crude, but it works well enough. The Leopard Moth’s bigger brother, the De Havilland DH 84 Dragon airliner has a similar indicator, and I dare say that this was the last time a commecial airliner flew with such a device. By the way, the first time I entered the cockpit of a DH 84 Dragon, I noticed an electric torch clamped to the left hand side of the bulkhead. When I asked what it was, I was told that it was an essential piece of the night-flying equipment….at night, you shone it out to port, and illuminated the graduated scale between the wings to find out your airspeed!
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.
Two classics – a Pietenpol Air Camper and Arthur Ord-Hume! March 1, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, aircraft.Tags: 'British Light Aeroplanes 1920-1940', Air Camper, aircraft, Alan James, Arthur Ord-Hume, Aviation, Berkshire, Bernard Pietenpol, Concours d'Elegance, Continental C90-8F engine, front seat, G-BUCO, Great Depression, GVFWE, Hullavington, Minnesota, Model A Ford engine, Modern Mechanics, musicology, Panama hat, Popular Flying Association, Reading, Sitka spruce, Wiltshire, wing struts
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- Pietenpol Air Camper
Sometimes the fates allow a most appropriate meeting. In this photograph (taken in the Historic Aircraft Park at GVFWE, Hullavington) we can see not one, but two classics of aviation.
