Hearing CFS at Coventry have bounced back

Took me all of three minutes googling

Gb Aeroservices Limited in Bath, United Kingdom

Dray House
Brassknocker Hill,
Monkton Combe
Bath BA2 7JD
United Kingdom

Does anyone know how to get in touch with
james barrie miller?

was Told he is good repairing propellers but heard he
was kicked out from cfs.
would like to get in touch to get a quoting
from him.

Ditto the above sentiments.. I worked there 2000 – 2002, Martin is a top bloke, as were many of the guys there. Hope it’s all looking stable again.

I have worked at CFS for the last 14 years and whilst they have not actually gone bust yet they are in the process of liquidation 🙁

You appear to have lasted a lot longer than most is it the current climate do you think or is it one of M C’s re shuffles.I have experienced CFS in a number of guises in Malta and at Coventry. Glad to hear Martin is still plodding along when I was rebuilding the Malta Spit in 91 he came across from CFS with Larry Shery and offered me my first spell at AA working on the Prentice and later the Twin Pioneers.

If anyone see’s him please pass on my best wish’s if you mention the Malta Spit he will know who I am.

Mike E

www.whirlwindfighterproject.org

maybe just priced themselves out of the market place – it happens

propshop at duxford should pick up the fall out i guess or we send our money to obama

Retro ???

Sorry to hear that my friend.

Thank you – and your colleagues – for the help we’ve had from you in the past with the Shackleton. I hope everything works out for you all, though the situation as I hear it seems pretty bleak.

Kind regards,

Rich

I have worked at CFS for the last 14 years and whilst they have not actually gone bust yet they are in the process of liquidation 🙁

Was/Is!

Yes, TonyT, you are right, I hadn’t meant it to sound that way:o Post #14 amended slightly.

Glad to hear he is still about and as enthusiastic as ever.

Anon

Martin is quite happy to show the film and to talk about the’experience’. Would one Saturday in January be ok, somewhere in Conventry?

Thirded! 😎

I saw the film of the engine in the car when Martin did a talk at a LAA inspectors meeting, it was great. is there any chance of seeing it again?

Ken

Anon, to complete the story of Martin rebuilding the Gypsy engine, once in working condition, he fitted it to a one of the upright Ford Anglia cars complete with a prop! With the help of some friends they pushed it to a piece of waste ground and fired it up. Can you imagine the sound with stub exhausts. Luckily it was caught on film – we occasionally have a beer and look at the film, now transferred to CD. That reminds me – he is moving into the close on Thursday so I will have to lock away the beer. If I can get him to rake out a photo of it running I will post it.

Anon
I had the pleasure, several times, of meeting and dealing with Martin Slater. He was a decent chap and was a dyed-in-the-wool traditional engineer.

Err I believe he still is…. 😀

maybe just priced themselves out of the market place – it happens

propshop at duxford should pick up the fall out i guess or we send our money to obama

Sad news if it is true, Never had any probs getting a fair price out of CFS for Hamilton Standard prop overhauls and always a good job done. Where now will you get many older props O/H’d ???

PT – heard the same, couldn’t give a price!

tried to business with them a few years ago – almost impossible to get a figure for a prop overhaul

eventually quoted me 15 grand on a beech 18 prop overhaul so i bought 2 from the states for about 7 grand

that was my experience with CFS

saying that – a chap recently was very helpful on the phone but we still couldn’t do business.

Just because it has gone into receivership if it indeed has does not mean it has gone… fingers crossed.

CFS

I had the pleasure, several times, of meeting and dealing with Martin Slater. We found him to be a decent chap and was a dyed-in-the-wool traditional engineer.

He showed us pics and told us the story of his rebuilding of a Gypsy engine to running condition at home, when he was in his teens. I think he got it running in the path out the front of the house!

He helped us out with all sorts of parts and answered all of our searching questions about what, how and why. Surrounded by vintage engines and propellers he was in his element (and we were in heaven).

CFS occupied the old Alvis works on the opposite side of the airport from the hangars. I remember the Twin Pin, Mike. It was (is?) stored dismantled down the outside of one of the buildings. I also remember a lot of Cheetah engines dotted about the place.

Seems that, with the demise of CFS another little nugget of old aviation has bit the dust:(

Anon.

My time at CFS was 2001 to 2002

Same here Phil it was yours truly who did most of the Prentice rebuild and had the pleasure of doing the Twin pin strip before being made redundant.They seem to make a habit of it there sadly. I might therefore have worked with you ?? ( 1990 to 1994)

But I digress. Martin Slater, Jame Foden, Mike Collet also previously known also as Air Atlantique and a few other hats.CFS was originally operated in Malta at Luqa airport and undertook the Engine and prop side of things then it was closed down and everything shipped back to Coventry including the Port wing I think it was for the BBMF DC3 we had in the shop for overhaul prior to going to them.The engines and props where then done in house at Coventry. I do not know what became of Jimbob as he used to be affectionately known but he was getting on ,all the DC3 spares and Twin pioneer stuff etc was stored in barns at his farm (think he planned to turn it into a golf course or driving range ??). Martin was director in charge of engineering and Mike Collet was over all supremo.

Then they appear to have expanded again and the CFS name got a rebirth but to be honest things seem to change at Coventry as often as Mike Collet changes his underwear so anything could be fact or not.But would not surprise a lot of us who know the place and organisation.

Mike E