The Victa Airtourer is 50

Dave
How close? and,
any chance of it making it to the Air-Britain Fly-In at North Weald for the Airtourer anniversary gathering on 20-21 June?

You will be most welcome, drop me a line if you would like more details.
Thanks
Phil

G-ATCI after a forced landing in 1967.

The aircraft was eventually written off in a short field take off

G-ATCL is still very much alive. I was fortunate enough to pay it a visit last Thursday. It is not far from CofA renewal

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=75957 has pictures of TCI & TCL

G-ATCL

Pictures of G-ATCL can be found here:

http://www.abpic.co.uk/results.php?q=G-ATCL&fields=all&sort=latest&limit=10

Any pictures of G-ATCI??

Now have the notes from Steve Marples the ex-CFI at Sunderland who has 1970 hours on type

Many years ago I asked the CFI at our flying club if he would check me out for aeros on the club 150 Airtourer. He said “you don’t need me to do that, you can teach yourself can’t you.” (that shows how long ago it was!) So off I went. The club’s opinion was that the Airtourer was a safe, straightforward and strong aircraft. It spun enthusiastically, I seem to remember, but then we were taught how to spin in those days.
Undaunted I set myself a good safety altitude and began to probe the stalling and spinning characteristics. Eventually I worked up to a loop but without any entry speed (I can’t remember there being any Pilot’s notes either). I guessed it with the aid of Neil William’s book on Aerobatics. I think I chose 110 knots and pulled. The Airtourer was very kind to me. It went around the loop in pre-stall buffet. It taught me something that day in a very gentle way, another aeroplane may have flicked or departed the maneouvre in an alarming fashion, but not the Airtourer.
I remember it had a purposeful, military feel about the cockpit and it handled like a fighter; a cracking little aeroplane.
Oh and the loop. I gave it another 10 kts on the entry speed and it went around like a dream.

Interesting, but not very accurate as far as the New Zealand ones are concerned.

An Airtourer List

http://www.cosmic.com.au/cgi-bin/ata.asp?action=msn

I found myself upside down over Henlow once in a Monarch Flying Club example! The four mentioned at Southend I think were at one time operated by Monarch from Luton (and a PA-28)?

Further to Ozplane’s earlier mail I can confirm that we have 5 Airtourers already “booked” (subject to the usual caveats of weather and servicability) with hopefully more to confirm before the event for the Air-Britain Fly-In at North Weald on 20-21 June.

We will aim to park the aircraft together to maximise the uniqueness of the gathering.

Hope to see some forumites at the event

G-APDK

Interested in hitching a ride with us JDK to Broken Hill for the next one- (hopefully via Beechcraft Baron)?

That’s a very kind offer. Check your PMs!

A further reminiscence about the Airtourer. In my albeit short lived attempt at having the Right Stuff I was a member of the Royal Victorian Aero Club. They had several Airtourers on strength.

There were two versions – the basic no frills one and the deluxe edition which had a very nicely frilled up cockpit (i.e. nicer seats and bits of panelling IIRC). Normally one had one’s lessons in the ordinary models. On one day we discovered that the aircraft assigned to us had had a previous passenger who had been profoundly airsick, and having not cleaned it up properly had left it in the sun with the canopy closed. On opening the canopy both the instructor and myself decided that it was not a nice place to be.

We were then assigned the deluxe model – it was more comfortable but that, unfortunately, did not improve my piloting skills. Yes I know this is not the sort of thing that make it to the Boys Own Annual of Great Flying Stories bit I just thought I’d mention it. Hell everyone has to have at least one great flying story.

🙂

Thanks for all the replies chaps, it’s just the kind of stuff I was looking for. If you could pursue your ex-CFI Thunderbird, I’d be most grateful and it might bring some more stuff to light. With regard to a couple of the criticisms on the type there are a few comments I’d like to make. With regard to the fuel tank, Alan Wood is the guru on all things Airtourer, as he was chief engineer for Victa in their heyday, and has been the “man” since the Airtourer Co-op took over design authority for the type. Anyway he has engineered an approved long range tank which sits behind the seats and gives another 90 minutes range. The 115 has about 3.5 hours safe endurance without it, which is as much as my bladder will stand.
The Airtourer over Scarborough would probably have been G-AZOE, which is based up near Newcastle.
As for looking weird, well beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I concede that it is a bit dumpy. However that may be due to not having an unecessary swept fin along with all the Pipers and Cessnas that just aped the airliners of the day. The early Cessna 150s have the straight fin and that causes the same effect.
The South African one is interesting and must be a rebuild of one of the two originally registered there. Do you know the former reg?
Keep it coming chaps, there’s always room for more

Thinking about it I’ve come to the conclusion that the reason I find it a weird looking aircraft is that the shape makes it look as though it’s leaning forward trying to make a fast getaway

Here’s another that has recently returned to the air after an inactive period – taken last weekend. I believe one of two or three in South Africa.

Of course they did. I knew when the Airtourer came out that the Victa name rang a bell for some obscure reason. I think they should have stuck With what they knew instead of getting involved with those new fangled flying machine things

Pardon me for saying it but the fuselage looks too short to my untrained eye. Nothing proportionate about it atall. Still they seem to be popular so I guess they fly OK even if they do look weird.

Well the company that produced them started out making lawn mowers. 🙂

Pardon me for saying it but the fuselage looks too short to my untrained eye. Nothing proportionate about it atall. Still they seem to be popular so I guess they fly OK even if they do look weird.

Took flying lessons in the Air Tourer – no don’t worry there is no danger. Instructors and myself agreed I wasn’t quite the Right Stuff. The cockpit shot brings back memories.

I saw an Airtourer flying around the other week (possibly up near Scarborough), one that I vaguely remember seeing being assembled at Staverton back in the early 70s.

I like a long weekend…

Any weekend that begins a day early, that gets you out of the office and catching up with your pals (followed by a round or two of refreshments) and viewing some aeroplanes has got to be a good thing, good weather or not!

Interested in hitching a ride with us JDK to Broken Hill for the next one- (hopefully via Beechcraft Baron)?