Home › Forums › Historic Aviation › Hawker Hector, Avro Cadet & Simmonds Spartan – the legacy of Cloughjordan Sawmill › Feroxeng, as per the post a…
Feroxeng, as per the post a wee bit up I can confirm a set of Hector engine bearers are in Australia, pictured in the Napier Dagger thread, and these came, via another restorer, originally from K8203 leftovers. These are in remarkably good condition, and do not suggest being left out in the weather. My understanding is that a further airframe from Northern Ireland was obtained for donor material for K8203 and these bearers originate from this source. The Hector has a longer engine than the Kestrel fitted to the Demon. Consequently the Hector Main fuel tank is shorter and the actual pilots cockpit dimensions slightly different. There is no radiator occupying the area under the pilot. The tube dimensions are different from the pilot’s backrest forward, as are many of the stainless fishplates, between the Demon and Hector. I am not sure how much forward Hector donor tube could have been used in the Demon, however this project seemed to accumulate much of what was out there. It would be very useful to see a photo of the Hector panel, if one exists. Without photos of the mill in the 60’s we can only rely on witness reports, which are fascinating. In Australia, much of the aviation heritage was preserved by farmers buying airframes just for their sheetmetal, fasteners and tubes. Even in the 60’s, materials were scarce as the postwar economy readjusted from rationing and financial deficit. The theme of airframes slowly disappearing as ‘bits and pieces’ were used to ‘fix various things’ is very familiar. It may be possible that a buildup of derelict material at Baldonnel was cleared out by a spring cleaning IAC Engineering officer in the late 50’s, and various scrappies and dealers took ‘useful stuff’ to various corners. What was there at the mill in 1960 may have been less so in 1962 and subsequent years. The material still existed, but perhaps as an anonymous stand for a bench grinder or bracket on a plough.