OLD WARDEN 2015

Just a quick reminder that the collection is holding it’s Engineering Open Days on the 2nd and 3rd of January 2016 (this weekend), it’s a great chance to see the progress of the restorations, talk to the engineers and volunteers and this year the entrance price includes the neighbouring Swiss Gardens so all the family can enjoy the whole site. More details here http://www.shuttleworth.org/events/openworkshop2016/

See you there

Steve

Here’s the Wildcat as it was last June:

Wildcat_June2015 by Jelle Hieminga, on Flickr

Is the Swedish T-6 still present and what is the current status of the Wildcat? Not been up for a few years but may take a trip up between xmas and New year?
Rob

The Swedish Harvard is still present. The Wildcat is not yet an active restoration project, but is on view.
If you are planning a visit, don’t forget the Engineering Open Weekend on Jan 2/3

Is the Swedish T-6 still present and what is the current status of the Wildcat? Not been up for a few years but may take a trip up between xmas and New year?
Rob

R4118 has spent time there between events in the past

I should of said resident, as I take it R4118 is resident now,
Thanks mike.

Indeed. Seems such a long time ago now.

Mike, I remember you conducting the pre-flight on it there.

Tim

R4118 has spent time there between events in the past

David, great images again, is this the first time two Hurricanes have been kept at Old Warden?

Old Warden Tuesday 15th December:

As usual, plenty to see in the engineering workshops. The Ryan is now wearing pants, and the Spitfire cockpit glazing is well underway:

There’s a great chance to inspect these and many other projects at the upcoming Engineering Weekend on Sat/Sun January 2/3. No flying scheduled, but Hurricane R4118 will be on show, as well as the Bristol Scout replica G-FDHB/1264.

Talking of upcoming events, the Shuttleworth website offers a taste of next year’s airshows.
The Season Premiere on May 8th features B-17G, Blenheim and P-51D (red-tail???)
Fly Navy Day on June 5th will include the Kennet Skyraider and Seafire.
The Military Pageant on July 3rd will feature 6 Hurricanes (and a Buchon!)

And I was just about to ask about the Spitfire. Lovely! Thanks for sharing, David.

Old Warden Tuesday 8th December:

A quick update on the assembly of the Ryan STA and Spitfire:

Shuttle bus (pun intended) from Biggleswade on airshow days? What a way to arrive in style!

Old Warden Tuesday 1st December:

A quick visit this morning to check on the newly arrived Ryan:

Another angle on the Hurricane:

The Comet was moved to the workshop hangar:

Another new arrival was this 1921 Leyland G7 Charabus. I understand that there are plans afoot (watch this space!)
With thanks to the Leyland Society:

“1921 G7 Reg. BD 209 Chassis No. 12301 Engine: Leyland S19/5.36hp 4 cyl Petrol Gearbox: Leyland 4 speed manual.
Body: 1921 Dodson 32-seat Convertible “Charabus” (Ash frame, aluminium panels) An exhibit at the Olympia Commercial Motor Show in October 1921, and shown on the Christopher Dodson stand, this was a novel combination of a saloon bus with electric lighting and a charabanc, where the Mahogany-framed side windows are all removable and the canvas roof folds up to a central beam. The idea was a limited success and was soon overtaken by the all-weather coach design in the mid 1920s. It was sold after the Show to the United Counties Omnibus Co. and ran in service until 1929. When found in Irthlingborough, Northants, by Mike Sutcliffe in 1977, it was a garden shed with a roof built over it and which had protected it from the elements. It had previously been used as a static shop and was plumbed in for water, gas and electricity! It was a difficult rescue having to demolish a wall and winch the bus sideways around a brick-built outside loo, but was accomplished without any problems and was exchanged for a caravan!”

The verdict: Tough to get moving, and harder to stop, making some remarkable noises and possessing a distinctive smell (The bus, that is!)

A brief visit to Old Warden today found the fuselage of the new Ryan had been moved into the main workshop.

NC18923 by AJCDuxman, on Flickr

.. whilst the Sopwith Tri-Plane had moved into hangar 1 albeit still missing its engine.

N6290b by AJCDuxman, on Flickr

Duxman

Flikr – https://www.flickr.com/photos/64209520@N05/

Any excuse to post a photo of a good looking aircraft will do….
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This one is airworthy and based with the Historical Flight at Gilze Rijen, The Netherlands.

Thank you for your reply Mike. You don’t need to prove yourself, I know you well. Next time you are in the UK do PM me and visit – we have an ST-A and an ST-M side by side in the hangar. I was fortunate to fly in the ST-M one evening last summer.
Best wishes,
Ian

It’s not quite as simple as that. With Ryans, there is a lot of paperwork for long-destroyed STAs floating about. Most of the current ST-Ms in the US (and both of the surviving PT-20s, Dave Masters’ and the late Don Carter’s) are registered using the paperwork and identities of these long-gone STAs. The reason for this is that STAs, being Type Certificated aircraft, can be registered under the FAA’s Standard Category. ST-Ms, being destined for military customers, were never Type Certificated by Ryan back in the day. Therefore, they must be registered nowadays under the Experimental Category, which places many more restrictions on their operation than does the Standard Category. Therefore most ST-M owners chose to buy paperwork and identities of STAs and register them as such, in the Standard category.

Mike (who has made an extensive study of Ryan Sport Trainers and their various subtypes, and has been fortunate enough to shoot five of the survivors air-to-air)

It’s great to see another new aircraft at OW and thank you to Mr Holloway for bringing it here!
The lovely Miles Magister is currently offered for sale on Plane Check website I noted, hopefully will find a new owner to look after in the style to which she’s accustomed.

http://www.planecheck.com?ent=da&id=27972

G-STCH does still show registered to Mr Holloway too according to G-INFO.

Good to see that Peter now has the Ryan. Being tall, he will have fun squeezing his frame into the cockpit. Having polished the one we maintain this morning we had search for the history of his aircraft. According to Ev Cassagneres, Ryan ST C/N 322 ( NC18923) was built as an ST-A ( not an ST-M) with a Menasco C-4 124hp engine. It was built in between a batch of YPT-16’s ( similar to ST-M ordered for service trials) and PT-20’s (same as PT-16 but with external longerons and wider cockpits) for the USAAC.
So although it was factory designated as an ‘ST-A’, it just ‘might’ have been built with the external longerons and wider cockpit cut-outs as part of the same production run.
The first factory designated STM built was C/No 356 and was exported to China. Dutch STM No S-37 was re registered as Australian No A50-1, the C/No being 473, so it would have been built much later than NC-1892.