AVIA 40P glider – lost in Musee de l'Air fire?

The only AVIA 40P that i knew in the country was restored by the late Mike Birch 10-15 years ago at Booker for a frenchman Mr Ragot. I believe was his name. I met him once when he came to my father’s workshop to look at the Dunstable Minimoa. I dont know what happened to the glider when it went back to France.
Dave

Avia 40 P no. 19 is listed as being in the reserve collection of the Musée de l’Air in November 2009 – as indicated here http://www.pyperpote.tonsite.biz/julien_villiere/inventaire_mae_novembre_2009_pour_pyperpote.pdf – but as your Avia 40 P was no. 117, Soggy, it looks as if it was not to the Musée de l’Air that yours went.

G-ASEA and avion ancien – both replies are very helpful and intriguing, for perhaps our Avia is still alive and well after all, but she was not the airframe restored at Booker. I will enquire of the Vintage Glider Club in the hope that they might know of her.

G-ASEA the Avia 60P known to you was a French version of the L-Spatz produced by a firm called Avialsa. ie AVIAL Société Anonyme and is called the A60 Fauconnet. M. François Ragot was a French glider pilot so successful in the World Open Championships in the 1970s, and I hope still flying.

I now only fly gliders in my make-believe world of Microsoft Flight Simulator X, with a very pleasant bunch of folks in a virtual gliding club. One day I want to make a virtual model Avia for FSX.

Thank you both very much.

Soggy

to François Ragot, Booker .92 and restored 5.96; François Ragot, St.Auban, France; expired 7.98; restored 8.06; reserved as F-AZQP 7.07

K8B, with what registration mark (if any) did/does it fly in France? I can’t find any Avia 40 Ps listed on the DGAC website – either inscrit or radié. As to the mark F-AZQP being reserved for it, a DGAC search against this mark draws a blank. What is the source of your data?

History of BGA 680:
Avia 40P (117) ex ? (Built by Roche Aviation, 1942)
British Gliding Association; Don Burgoyne; Hereford GC 5.9.52; Alan Brook, J A Brook & Col. Geoff Benson, Long Mynd .53; Alan Brook & Bill Lewis, Perranporth; Dave Penticost & Bill Lewis, Perranporth; Ron Keeping, John Woolbridge and Peter Arthur, Perranporth by .71; expired 1.74; stored at Perranporth; to Ron Keeping, Culdrose .91; to François Ragot, Booker .92 and restored 5.96; François Ragot, St.Auban, France; expired 7.98; restored 8.06; reserved as F-AZQP 7.07

G-ASEA – my apologies, it seems you are right M. Ragot may well have brought BGA680 to Booker!

Thank you K8B – if that glider is still extant I will be very pleased indeed.

Soggy

Avia 40p

Here’s my old Avia 40p, BGA 680, she’s alive and well at Angers:

http://www.musee-aviation-angers.fr/?page_id=514

Not quite as interesting as a certain P-40, but I am so pleased that someone has brought her back into flying condition.

That’s me in the cockpit, my avatar, c. 1970. One day I am going to go and see her again.

Soggy

Phil if you still visit this site can you email me at [email]johnsshaw@sky.com[/email] re the avia 40p. John

Now there’s a handsome beast – no, I’m talking about the Avia!

:highly_amused:

Now there’s a handsome beast – no, I’m talking about the Avia!

Well, here’s me in it, about to auto-tow off 27 at Perranporth, around 1972:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]216468[/ATTACH]

It was not that pleasant to fly actually, once in a turn you had to hold in some opposite aileron as it tightened up otherwise, but it would soar on a sparrow’s f**t. It had received a substantial rebuild after its move from France to Slingsby Sailplanes so perhaps there was some new glue, but the technical officer at Perran, also an Avia syndicate member Pete Arthur, thought that it had casein glue and it was grounded for many years until it seems it was sold as related in this thread.

Best wishes, ndeges, we must have met way back then and the Airedale was probably one which belonged to Mike Armstrong or another which suffered prop failure whilst towing at Bodmin and which George Collins so expertly field-landed on Bodmin Moor, and avion ancien,many thanks perhaps one year I’ll visit.

Phil Hawkey

If you’re tempted to do so sooner rather than later, might I suggest you pencil into your diary 25/26 August next, which is the weekend of the museum’s annual flying display, when often some of the collection’s older sailplanes get tugged into the air by their MS.500 Criquet!

Sadly it didn’t happen last year and if it’s going to happen this year, so far there’s no advance publicity for it and nothing on the museum website. But the museum’s worth a visit nonetheless.

Just read with interest the forum on the Avia which was at Perranporth in the 70s. I used to fly over from St Mawgan in ’72 with my Auster GVF and spend the odd weekend helping out with towing together with an Airedale if I remember correctly. During this time the Avia was offered for sale, and self and CFI St Mawgan Gliding Club Mark Boyle took it on a trailer to Mawgan to test fly it. If I remember we towed it with VF onto the cliffs off the end of Trebelzue and ridge soared it. However for some reason and I believe it was the talk of the glue and that it had some strange characteristics we decided discretion was better and returned it to Perranporth. I was always curious as to what happened to this and was very surprised to see its still about. Does any one have any pix of the a/c at Perranporth in the 70s..

Thank you, avion ancien; that might just be possible too.

Here’s my old Avia 40p, BGA 680, she’s alive and well at Angers. One day I am going to go and see her again.

Soggy

If you’re tempted to do so sooner rather than later, might I suggest you pencil into your diary 25/26 August next, which is the weekend of the museum’s annual flying display, when often some of the collection’s older sailplanes get tugged into the air by their MS.500 Criquet!

I found her!

Here’s my old Avia 40p, BGA 680, she’s alive and well at Angers:

http://www.musee-aviation-angers.fr/?page_id=514

Not quite as interesting as a certain P-40, but I am so pleased that someone has brought her back into flying condition.

That’s me in the cockpit, my avatar, c. 1970. One day I am going to go and see her again.

Soggy