Gloster I

Many thanks for the reference, I’d missed that one. Strange that Courtney would have been flying the aircraft; although a freelance test pilot and holding rank in the RAF reserve he had no obvious connection with either Gloster or the MAEE.

Cheers

From the Jet Age Museum’s resident historian…

Harald Penrose’s British Aviation: The Adventuring Years 1920-29, quoting from Chapter 7 which covers aviation events of 1926 (page 413):

“That there was some activity in connection with Schneider machines was disclosed when a keen journalist discovered that the Gloster ‘Bamel’, with Courtney as pilot, had turned over at Felixstowe while being towed. Although still a free-lance, Courtney had just been appointed technical manager of the new Cierva Autogiro Co Ltd.”

(Harald is not a misprint for Penrose’s first name. Frank Courtney was a well-known aviator between the wars.)

I believe that is the one and only trial of the experimental inverted take-off system developed to make proper use of the propellor in the marine environment. 😀