Had my very first flight in a Prentice on Sunday out of Coventry
all I will say is I WANT ONE.
She is a great little airplane rock solid in the air absolutly stunning perfection great I love that plane.
anyway the flight was great clear views… did I say I liked the aircraft.
Went over a castle whos name I have forgotton and a race cause whos name I have also forgotten, videod the entire flight.
Our steed for the flight.
We were lucky to do a bit of formating on the Rapide G-ACTM, the first time I had a chance to do a bit of Air to Air.
(Spot the aircraft!)
I strongly advice you all to look up the Air Atlantique flight next year well worth it, many many thankjs to all those that made it possible… I will be back next year!
By: Gaxan - 24th October 2005 at 20:51
Prentice
I flew Prentice KL out of Henlow some years ago. Built like the Forth Road bridge and flew like it too. The best thing you can do with a Prentice is grow tomatoes in it!!
By: TMN - 24th October 2005 at 20:30
I flew in her back at the last open day in April, and agree, she is wonderful. The sort of aircraft I could quite happily bimble around the countryside in all day long!
Missed out on a flight in the Devon this time around, but my names down already for next year !
By: Old Fart - 24th October 2005 at 11:41
Wanta bet…
By: FL200 - 24th October 2005 at 01:18
Thanks to all of you who came to Coventry for a flight in the Prentice, I enjoyed taking you up more than you enjoyed being there!
Jon.
By: Old Fart - 11th October 2005 at 23:11
Nope not me if it was all your see of me is the top of my head as I’m such a short arse ah yes and my arm sticking up holding my camcorder
By: DGH - 11th October 2005 at 21:17
My one and only piccie of the Prentice on the move from Sunday. Dont know if you’re on board Old Fart but she looks nice anyway. 🙂
By: RPSmith - 11th October 2005 at 11:13
I would like to complain about Air Atlantique!.
Many’s the Sunday when they are flying their aeroplanes over/around Warwick and they keep disturbing me while I’m trying to work. I have to keep looking out of the window!
Only kidding AA – saw the Twin Pin and Dakota several times on Sunday and they were a delightful distraction.
That Prentice has been at Baginton a long time. It was previously owned by John Coggins (aka City Airways) and, as G-APJB?, used to do pleasure flying in the 1960s/70s. John had three Prentices plus Prince G-AMLZ (now at Caernarfon) and a JP fuselage and, for a while, used the term The Percival Collection. John’s prime business was in aircraft electric/radios (he also created the Aircraft Radio Museum) and he used to get the occasional exotic aircraft in to do work on.
All three Prentices and the Prince later passed to Air Atlantique.
Of course there is the static Prentice at Baginton as well with the Midland Air Museum.
Roger Smith.
By: Old Fart - 10th October 2005 at 23:25
Wish I could buy the Southend one all I would need then is my PPL!
By: DGH - 10th October 2005 at 21:53
Had a great flight in the Devon on Sunday ( piccies on the Heron thread ), Prentice will be next! Keep up the good work Air Atlantique.
By: alanl - 10th October 2005 at 20:46
It looks right enough to me, but then again I rate the Fairey Gannet and Short Seamew as some of the world’s best looking aircraft!
Here is another shot taken on the way home from the 2005 Goodwood Revival.
Any ideas for captions, apart from the obvious Dakkadakkadakka….
‘It was first one back has to buy the drinks was’nt it?’
‘We’ll tell him he’s left his brief case when we land,okay!’
Alan.
By: Mark12 - 10th October 2005 at 20:04
Thanks for posting the Prentice photos chaps! Although I have never flown in one of these (yet!) and have only seen the very nice one that is housed up the road at Newark Air Museum in recent years, I have a soft spot for this aircraft. Prentices were very common at one time here at Cranwell (indeed, the Newark example is finished as a Cranwell example) and its a shame that we don’t have one here for flying club use. Its very nice that those excellent chaps at Coventry can keep one flying in Service colours.
TodTed,
I think that machine I flew in, G-APIY, is the Newark Air Museum Prentice.
Mark
By: Toddington Ted - 10th October 2005 at 19:36
Prentice
Thanks for posting the Prentice photos chaps! Although I have never flown in one of these (yet!) and have only seen the very nice one that is housed up the road at Newark Air Museum in recent years, I have a soft spot for this aircraft. Prentices were very common at one time here at Cranwell (indeed, the Newark example is finished as a Cranwell example) and its a shame that we don’t have one here for flying club use. Its very nice that those excellent chaps at Coventry can keep one flying in Service colours.
By: Mark12 - 10th October 2005 at 19:31
My first flight…
..ever. From a field at the back of Ramsgate, Kent. September 1959
Mark
By: Kilvy - 10th October 2005 at 19:20
Air Atlantique Classic flight deserve huge credit for keeping these rarer British aircraft in the air for us to enjoy. I hope to get to Coventry for the next open day. Attached are a couple of shots from Hullavington earlier in the year. Crap weather, lovely aircraft.
cheers
kilvy
By: Stampe - 10th October 2005 at 19:04
Old Fart your wish can come true ,the Southend based airworthy Prentice is for sale (and has been for a long time) price around £30k if I remember rightly.Also a good friend of mine has a stored example in Scotland in quite good condition which could be got flying relatively easily.In addition to the standard engine originally fitted, he has a 400hp engine as some of the export Prentices destined for hot climes had .That engine which is already certified for the Prentice would transform the grossly under powered Uk model into a much better aeroplane.Running costs will be high though.Get that cheque book out !!live the dream!!.Life is not a rehearsel . 🙂
By: wessex boy - 10th October 2005 at 17:01
I must go to the next Air Atlantique Open day, My Dad has been and says it’s great!
I took my family to the 2003 Coventry show and took my Daughter (then 3) for a flight in the Rapide (G-AGTM) and she loved it!
I thought about going in the Prentice but felt that at that age the Rapide was a better bet for her…but next time…..!
By: Rlangham - 10th October 2005 at 16:57
‘Remember that time he also chewed our tail off? Lets see how HE feels!’
By: Will J - 10th October 2005 at 16:52
It looks right enough to me, but then again I rate the Fairey Gannet and Short Seamew as some of the world’s best looking aircraft!
Here is another shot taken on the way home from the 2005 Goodwood Revival.
Any ideas for captions, apart from the obvious Dakkadakkadakka….
By: Old Fart - 10th October 2005 at 16:17
Was on the (extended time) second flight some thing about ATC delays not that i’m complaning!
well worth the long trip up from Southend, got up at 4:00am! to get a train to Basildon to get a car to the airport…
did not get back home untill about 10:00pm just been down Southend sea front to see what remains of the pier head after last nights fire sad sight indeed.
Most of the wood has gone luckly the iron work looks like it surrived the worst of it.
From what I can rember the Prentice was built to replace the Proctor which did suffer from a problem of going in to spins, the up turned wing tips helped… I think.
By: Jimmy Page - 10th October 2005 at 15:13
I used to watch a Prentice fly from Bassingbourne quite offten in the 90’s.. The pilot talked of how it had a severe tendancy to want to drop into a spin all the time, And have to say it looks that way in flight from the ground.
The saying goes ‘If it looks right,it’ll fly right’ … I dont think the Prentice is quite there in the ‘Look right’ department.. :rolleyes:
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October 10, 2005 at 2:51 pm