G-ATBH Aero 145 current status?

Back in the 80’s when I was a sprog engineering student one of our lecturers asked if anyone wanted to work on a restoration. I volunteer along with some friends on my course. We were given a name & address around the corner and told to be there at a certain time on Saturday morning. We turned up at the appointed hour in a suburban street thinking we would get a lift to the airfield where the A/C was kept.

Wrong, he had the Aero 145 in the back garden with the wings off ! it was a very tight fit. His neighbour gave a sigh of resignation when he came out of his house as myself and one of my friends were getting a fuel tank out of one of the wing sections on the drive. Not enough space in the garden you see. Here are some photos that I posted on the forum ages ago of the restoration.

Given the description above I now believe the engine block in the photos is from WS mentioned above as we were told that it had come from another Aero 145 that had crashed killing all four occupants. Part of the story was that one of the rear passengers was a test pilot who it was thought had tried to save the situation by pushing the control column forward but was to late.

As to the identity of the aircraft we were working on I think it came from Elstree as we were shown photos of it being towed backwards on it’s main gear around the M25 with the tail wheel lashed into a small trailer towed by a Volvo 240 estate. A number plate and light bar were hanging off the nose. Bet you wouldn’t get away with that now. Outer wings removed of course. One clue to it’s identity was that the owner/restorer it wanted to paint the Pink Panther on it. I saw it up for auction some time later in a magazine with this emblem on it. This would have been early/mid 90’s.

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G-ASYY Aero 45 and G-ASWS 145 were the other two, YY was sold to the States and flown over with a long range tank and WS was destroyed in a crash after clearing customs at Lydd, all four on board were sadly lost following an engine shut down on climb out…………..Martin

‘TBH and ‘PRR at Elstree, July 1982: can’t recall a third however. Happy days.

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When my father owned Bravo Hotel, there were three other Aero`s airworthy at Elstree, another 145 and two 45`s plus one spares ship in the main hanger, i believe that there were only one or maybe two others in the rest of the country so it was the place to see them at that time………….Martin

G-ASYY and G-APRR at Biggin Hill 1965. What a good looking type.
A bit like a small Si-204 but only took 4/5 passengers rather than 8.

What a great looking machine. There was a plethora of these pretty little light aircraft designs, mostly very good aeroplanes, post-WW2 from all over Europe. An attempt to return to the pre-war days of indigenous and exciting developments, I suppose. Pity there are so very few of them left when they must be/have been easy to maintain and repair. Everything seemed to have one of a small selection of engines of the day for power – Gipsy major, Cirrus Minor/Major, Walter Mikron or Renault.

Wouldn’t like to have to pay to have one of those front glazed sections manufactured, though 😮

Anon.

To my eye a very attractive aeroplane and I look forward to seeing it back in the air again.

I captured this view of bravo hotel many years ago most likely in the sixties, at the time didn’t make a note of the date and place.

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A very regular visitor to Dublin in the 1970s, as I recall. It was registered to a Mr Brod at the time.

Great news, many thanks for the information, my father owned this aircraft whilst it was based at Elstree, Sunday trips to Le Touquet for lunch, great memories! Any chance of some pictures?………….Martin

Engines running and it is Yellow…
Will fly in a year or so…