Another whatever happened to question – in this case with regard to the pair of Skywriting Harvards D-FDOK and D-FGAL, which used to be a regular feature together in UK skies at the end of the 1950s and possibly into the early 1960s?
Who owned them and where did they operate from?
Also what products did they advertise and what events did they commemorate as I certainly seem to recall them drawing a heart and a hot cross bun in the sky with their smoke?
Wicked Willip :diablo:
By: avion ancien - 1st May 2008 at 20:05
Marathons
It looks as if the mods ought now to rename this thread ‘Miles Marathons’ !
By: alertken - 1st May 2008 at 10:08
G-ALVY (intended to be)restored ex-XA252; and (intended to be)G-AMHT, ex XA274. I saw them there 30/3/59; LVY scrapped 2/62, MHT, 5/64.
By: chumpy - 30th April 2008 at 23:19
Hi all,
Attached a shot of G-AMER at Shoreham 1959, also around at the time was G-ALVY, along with ‘MGR.
Cheers, Chumpy.
By: avion ancien - 30th April 2008 at 20:59
Do you have any photos of the Shoreham Marathons? I’ve been wanting to see images of them for a long time. I have, I think, a photo of one of the Derby Airways Marathons at Burnaston. I’ll have to look it out, scan it and post it.
I seem to have two – of G-AMEP and G-AMGR – but there is no indication of their ownership or location. Any ideas, anyone?
By: avion ancien - 30th April 2008 at 20:37
They were XA261 (G-AMER), XA269 (G-AMGR), ex the ANS at Thorney I. F.G.Miles had bought them intending to put them on the Channel Airways Dove route (Southend/Rochester/Shoreham/Sandown), but money, paperwork did for that, and they were scrapped, 1962.
Derby A/W had equally improbable Marathon summer routes, 1958/59: something like: Burnaston/Sywell/Kidlington/Staverton/Jersey!
Do you have any photos of the Shoreham Marathons? I’ve been wanting to see images of them for a long time. I have, I think, a photo of one of the Derby Airways Marathons at Burnaston. I’ll have to look it out, scan it and post it.
By: alertken - 30th April 2008 at 14:19
They were XA261 (G-AMER), XA269 (G-AMGR), ex the ANS at Thorney I. F.G.Miles had bought them intending to put them on the Channel Airways Dove route (Southend/Rochester/Shoreham/Sandown), but money, paperwork did for that, and they were scrapped, 1962.
Derby A/W had equally improbable Marathon summer routes, 1958/59: something like: Burnaston/Sywell/Kidlington/Staverton/Jersey!
By: avion ancien - 29th April 2008 at 17:43
No – Prentices – nothing to do with Latin!
Couldn’t recognise all that lot at that distance, but saw a couple of Marathons, complete, at Shoreham the same year
Now wait until Willip reads that………………….. !
By: Arabella-Cox - 29th April 2008 at 15:02
(piles of Prentii…)and Harvards, piled beyond the far fence, and Tudors, and a Marathon.
No – Prentices – nothing to do with Latin!
Couldn’t recognise all that lot at that distance, but saw a couple of Marathons, complete, at Shoreham the same year
By: alertken - 29th April 2008 at 10:41
(piles of Prentii…)and Harvards, piled beyond the far fence, and Tudors, and a Marathon.
By: Arabella-Cox - 28th April 2008 at 12:33
Thanks for this question – I saw D-FDOK at Southend on 8/4/61 and was too young to know what it was! It hasn’t actually been bugging me for 47 years, but it’s awfully nice to get an answer to that sort of question after all these years (and I wrote down D-FOOK which didn’t help).
NB Was also impressed by the huge pile of Prentices on the far side of the airfield on the same day, but my Dad wouldn’t pay 5/- for a ride in an Auster…
By: Archer - 27th April 2008 at 21:42
The FY code is said to be meant as a middle finger for the authorities..
They did not want to give it a PH registration.
Actually it already had a PH- registration, it had been PH-NKD since 1961, but the then owner re-registered the aircraft to N13FY in protest to the authorities. Both to get them out of his hair and to protest against the authorities stand on foreign registered aircraft operating in The Netherlands. I’ve seen the letter he wrote to the then director-general of the RLD about it, there’s no doubt what the FY stands for! 😀
By: aerovet - 27th April 2008 at 17:14
N13FY at Lelystad
Here is N13FY at Lelystad…..
The FY code is said to be meant as a middle finger for the authorities..
They did not want to give it a PH registration.
Greetz
Aerovet
By: Consul - 25th April 2008 at 10:19
Another whatever happened to question – in this case with regard to the pair of Skywriting Harvards D-FDOK and D-FGAL, which used to be a regular feature together in UK skies at the end of the 1950s and possibly into the early 1960s?
Who owned them and where did they operate from?
Also what products did they advertise and what events did they commemorate as I certainly seem to recall them drawing a heart and a hot cross bun in the sky with their smoke?
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Ahhhh memories – I recall them flying over Birmingham skywriting “The New Ford Anglia” across the heavens!
Tim
By: Archer - 25th April 2008 at 07:56
The first one in that list flew for Skylight in Hilversum for years, also as a skywriting machine at first but that activity became less and less over the years. It was put on the American registry in 1993 and as the skywriting kit was not an approved modification it was removed. It was later sold to its current owner.
Interesting sidenote: the move to an N-number was partly because of a disagreement between the owner and the Dutch authorities at the time. The last two letters of the N-number reflect this. 😀
By: alertken - 24th April 2008 at 17:40
Overseas Avn (linked with UK Viking operator), Rotterdam.
D-FGAL AT-6A (ex 41-16614,Fv.16291, OY-OYE,D-IGAL); to PH-NKD 6/61; 1993: N13FY, Eelde;
D-FDEM AT-6F (ex 44-81778, D-IDEM); 1982: Hermeskeil Museum;
D-FDOK AT-6F (ex D-IDOK); crashed 3/62. I saw that at Southend, 7/60 and I think UK banned them as polluters shortly after. Continued awhile on Continent.
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April 24, 2008 at 10:52 am