Does Anyone Remember The Tawney Owl? (Updated)

Stapleford Flight Centre  25 Jan 2021

”It is with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Eric Thurston OBE yesterday, aged 101 years. Eric’s contributions to aviation are enormous. From his role on the Pilots Committee of the Ministry of Aviation and subsequently the Advisory Committee to the CAA to being a pioneer in air taxi and charter work. His ambulance flights around Europe earned him the Order of St. John for his commitment to making life-saving flights whenever he was asked to.

He was a founding member of the British Light Aviation Centre (now AOPA) a member of the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators (GAPAN) and was recently awarded their Sword of Honour.

He was Chief Flying Instructor here at Stapleford for many years, continuing to visit the clubhouse up until his 100th Birthday.

Once we have further information on the funeral arrangements, these will be posted.”

Barry please can you make contact with me, regarding the Tawney Owl ?

Regards,

Andy Shiner

Email: andrew.shiner@btinternet.com

Is any more known concerning the fuselage? I’m assuming that it was not located – but I’d be delighted to be told that my assumption is erroneous!

Eddy, I have mailed Barry Clay and will pm you his email address.

He, too, would like to see your photo and I know he will be glad to show you the Tawney Owl if you are able to get to his workshop (just south of Leamington Spa).

Roger Smith.

As many will know Barry has been trying to find a new home for this lady and after much consideration we have negotiated with Barry to see if we can take her on and he has very kindly agreed so during next week she will be making a journey over to North Yorkshire. Photo’s of the move and her in her new surroundings will be posted soon.

Mike E

www.aircraftrestorationgroup.org

…….Would love to see it again…………. I have a photo taken pre flight, when I can work out how to attach it I will post here…………….

Eddy, I have mailed Barry Clay and will pm you his email address.

He, too, would like to see your photo and I know he will be glad to show you the Tawney Owl if you are able to get to his workshop (just south of Leamington Spa).

Roger Smith.

Welcome, Eddy. If you need any help determining how to post images or you’d like me to do it for you, send me a PM.

I clearly recall the Tawney Owl being built at Stapleford but missed the maiden flight.Would love to see it again, it caused a big stir back then in amongst the aircoupes
being assembled around that time …………. I have a photo taken pre flight, when I can work out how to attach it I will post here !
…. If it isn’t obvious the Tawney came from Stapleford TAWNEY not the bird spelling.
Golden days…………….

Thanks Tim!!!

I have now put captions with the photos a couple of posts back. Just to add to Tim’s pic (taken at Baginton 25th July) – my transference into baldness wasn’t helped by holding the silver plastic curtains up with my head whilst trying to extract the bits from behind them 😀 The aircraft at the rear is, of course, Twin Pioneer G-APRS.

Re the Tawny Owl Drawings. Barry has emailed me what he has been told and I have to be a bit diplomatic but won’t use that favourite word of news bulletins “allegedly” :p
The previous owner of the nacelle/centre section (Mr. A) said the aircraft had been promised to two different people (Mr. A and Mr. B) which is how the components got split up. However the drawings somehow got to a third party (C – an organisation not a million miles from Thurston’s works). C offered to sell the drawings to Mr. A who was angered and, believing they were rightfully his, contacted the Police. C panicked and destroyed the ‘evidence’ by burning it (ie the drawings) 😡

Eric Thurston is believed to be unwell and not able to contibute to knowledge of the aircraft.

Mr Creedon, the Tawny Owl’s designer, is a bit of a mystery as no info seems to exist about him or where he went after his Technical Directorship at Thurstons – anyone know?

Mr. McDonald, the pilot on the first flight, worked later for Rogers Aviation at Cranfield.

Harry Ratcliffe was a former 607 Sqdn Royal Auxiliary Air Force member and is believed to be still alive.

Roger Smith.

Here’s a shot of the wings during their preparation for move to Barry’s workshop. In this view you can see the registration. In the background is a certain Mr RPS. 🙂 I do have some pictures of the rest being loaded onto a vehicle but that’s censored as it shows Barry in shorts and his knees are classified. 😀

Tim

Excellent news and fascinating photographs. It will be interesting to hear if the fuselage can be traced, is extant and can be re-united with the components that Barry has. I suspect that Barry doesn’t want to name the technical college yet but when he concludes this particular line of inquiry, hopefully you can elaborate on this aspect of the aeroplane’s history.

Hopefully the photos attached now. Some captions and the story of the drawings later.

Captions (added 10th September)

1. the aircraft looking from the port wingtip, nose to left (where the spade handle is) rear of engine nacelle to right. Although a snug fit it does go in Barry’s workshop beautifully.
2. Some of the original fitting integrated into the build. The item with “LOWER” on it is the bottom of two brackets that each main undercarraige leg slides through to be fixed into the wing centre-section.
3. On the left the two ailerons, centre the engine bay cowls, right part of the three-section flap, then one of the undercarraige legs.
4. Model Barry made some time ago which gives a good idea of what the finished project will look like (not neccessarily red though).
5. Underside of port wing (without aileron) before cleaning.
6. Underside of port wing (without aileron) after cleaning.

Roger Smith.

Photos – yes, sorry, I’ve asked Barry to resend them to me in a different form in the hope I can transfer them 😮

Barry does seem fairly certain, from fairly extensive enquiries, that the drawings no longer exist – I’ll ask him to relate again what he told me about them.

Roger Smith.

Is it definite that no drawings exist? Having kept the airframe for so many years it seems possible that Thurstons may have kept drawings as well. I just wondered if anyone had tried an approach to them. The Tawney Owl was kept at Thurston Engineering’s works near Chipping Ongar in Essex not too far from North Weald.

Photos please! 😉

A progress update on the Tawny Owl. The aircraft (or most of it) is now in the safe/skilled hands of Barry Clay.

It had been in store with Classic Flight at Baginton and had survived all the moving around and preparation that went on for the opening of Airbase earlier this year remarkably well.

Removed from store on 25th July and moved to Barry’s new workshop in The Old Fire Station, Bishops Tachbrook airfield, Warwickshire on the 25th and 29th July – he is proceeding with a rebuild at a cracking pace.

Barry has been carrying out research into the aircraft’s history and the (possible) whereabouts of the fuselage/centre section. After being stored in a builder’s yard in Herefordshire it was donated by it’s then owner to a Technical College for use in a flight simulator project. Barry is trying to make contact with the college to find out if they still have it. Amongst the photos and references Barry has unearthed is some cine film showing the Tawny Owl being prepared for it’s first (and only) flight – then the flight itself – the cameraman being onboard a blue Miles Messenger. It finishes with a short clip of the Tawny Owl after it’s “crash” – to my untrained eye it looks more like it overturned during a forced landing damaging the roof of the cockpit and the two rudders. The booms (said to have been destroyed in the “crash”) look intact/undamaged.

Barry has been sorting through what there is – and there is a suprising amount. Both wings and ailerons, one rudder, both main undercarriage legs/yokes/wheel/tyre and nose yoke/wheel/tyre, full set of engine bay cowls, the three-part flaps from under the centre-section and lots of brackets and small components – some, Barry thinks, from the intended second machine.

The plan is to build new (non flying) structure/components to represent what is missing and use/attach as much original material as possible. There are no drawings so Barry is working it all out from photos, ‘Flight’ sketches and the cine film. He would like a Porsch 678/4 engine (as fitted to Mooney M21) to install/to have as a side exhibit but, if he can’t find one will make a wooden replica with an electric motor inside. Progress is rapid and with the two outer wings and centre-section flap unit jigged up a new centre-section and fuselage are well advanced.

Barry is hoping to acquire a trailer and then the Tawny Owl, when completed, might become a road-travelling exhibit serving in an educational role.

He has received various offers of help for bits and has an ex Beech Musketeer instrument panel plus a few instruments promised but would like two sets of (small) rudder pedals, a pair of small control spectacles, further u/s standard instruments, small wheel spats, a couple of door map pockets, a nose cone that could be fettled/modified (or any dome shape panel), “steal, beg or borrow” a pusher propeller and the afore-mentioned Porsche 678/4 (or ANY Porsche) engine.

Barry will be happy to receive visitors (I think by prior arrangement though) and I’ll pass on an email address to anyone interested or for offers of help.

Hopefully are attached some photos Barry has supplied.

Roger Smith

I was standing in hangar 7 speaking to Dave a couple of weeks ago. He told me ‘ownership’ had passed to John Corley – AA Classic Flight’s Chief Pilot.

No news on the fuselage but next time I get to speak to John (I’m talking weeks, not days) will ask him.

Roger Smith.

Any more news on this one?

AA – I could only see the wings but presume as mentioned earlier (wings, u/c and tail) pictured in post 47.

Perhaps DGH might visit to confirm?

Roger Smith.

It’s a shame that the fuselage hasn’t yet been traced. But one day, may be. In the meantime, what parts of the Tawney Owl are now stored in Hangar 7 at Baginton?

And the car behind it is a Renault……..well someone will ask!:D

The plane doesn’t look like a successful design to attempt an inverted landing, hope the pilot survived.:(

Renault Dauphine i beleive