The Bertram Arden Collection

When I was in my teens the spotters at Southend with any interest in historic aircraft regarded the barn at Heavitree as the place they would most want to visit, largely because it was supposed to be almost impossible to access with, or without, permission from the owner.
Bertram Arden does deserve credit for saving the aircraft but it is a great shame that few from his collection have ever been restored to fly again particularly as it appears that the main stumbling block now is probably the perceived value of the airframes.
The fact that the Swallow which was rescued and restored years ago is now said to be languishing in storage suggests that these aircraft are only desirable to a small section of the aviation community which, in turn, suggests that they are not hugely valuable. I am sure no one would want to see the current owners ripped off but equally few can afford or are prepared to pay way over market value for restoration projects particularly in the current economic climate.
There have been instances in the past where stored aircraft have been burnt or scrapped because the owner decided they would rather destroy them than accept an offer which was below their expectations so we can’t regard these aircraft as being safeguarded for the future.
Let’s hope they remain in safe storage until a time comes when circumstances allow them to be released for rebuild by someone who has the skills and dedication to get them flying again.

A pause for thought?

Whatever might be thought about the stored condition of aeroplanes owned by the Arden family trust, the perception of their value and what future might hold for them, one shouldn’t forget that if it was not for Mr Arden acquiring and storing in his barn, for many years, a significant number of old and obsolete machines in which few others had interest at that time, the chances are that they wouldn’t exist today and they would not even offer the possibility of restoration at some future time. One only has to look at the list of their contemporaries that were scrapped, burnt, abandoned, etc. during and in the first few decades following the second world war.

My choice for a restoration would be by a well known restorer with the initials R.S. who I believe is situated not that many miles away from the subject, but I don’t know how busy he is! 😉

At a guess the cost of restoring any of the aircraft still kept by the Arden family would exceed their current market value once restored so they are only likely to be of interest to a dedicated enthusiast who loves pre war light aeroplanes. They are also likely to decay even more the longer they are stored.
Seems they are in a similar situation as a certain Supermarine Swift. The Swift has, at last, found a good home so let’s hope that one day common sense prevails and we see the Surrey AL1 and the others back in the air again.
The AL1 wouldmake a great addition to the flight line at Old Warden although I appreciate that acquiring another obscure pre war light aircraft probably isn’t their first priority at present.

Arden Collection

I visited BA in the 70’s in an attempt to obtain a Pobjoy engine from him.
He had several stored at the farm, and indeed on the way to find his door i noticed some (complete with cowlings) poking out of a barn.
I think he was fed up with people bothering him about the aircraft and engines,plus there was the issue of what they were worth.
He had decided that their value was ‘climbing’ like mad so it was years before anyone actually prised any away.
As it happened i was eventually offered two crated Pobjoys from a garden in Streatham (London SW16),and years later obtained one of Berts engines in a swap for a continental G0300 core,so we made it in the end.
It was reputed he had one of the few Pobjoy V (130 hp) (Fleet Shadower) motors,but no one seems to be able to confirm this. This would make a Comper Swift a real hot ship!.Great engine as long as you change the ex valves to a modern material.
His real gripe was that he had run an airfield at the farm for years and said his activities were curtailed when Exeter Airport expanded,plus i think there was also an issue with a new road going through the property.

Doing a search on ANY of those registrations would reveal what you are asking.

Even this very forum has previously come up with the answer.

”Heavitree was a strip upon which an office complex is now sited. The “barn” was on the edge of that old strip. The AL.1 moved to the owner’s family’s private premises and last I knew of it was still stored with them (along with a couple of BA Swallows which were stored in the same barn at Heavitree) – though rumours of a restoration of the AL.1 surface from time to time.

Prior to emptying, the barn contained a very early Taylorcraft C (now with Leicester museums stored and stripped), an Auster, Tiger Moth G-ACDA (which was restored to fly then hit a pylon on its first post-restoration flight and was burnt out) though it’s frame survives. Another Swallow which was once amongst those aircraft stored at Heavitree was removed many years back, was restored to fly and is now at Shobdon w.f.u. again.

The collection originated with Bertram Arden and I believe his family beneficiaries owned the AL.1 and probably still do. It would be wonderful if it could be restored to fly ……would sit nicely with a Falcon ?!” CONSUL

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=45121&highlight=G-AALP

Thanks for quoting this post which I made quite a while back. I did photograph the items in the barn at the time.

I attended Hele’s School (now St Peter’s) in Exeter during the 1970’s. The barn was in the next field. On a couple of occasions we crept up to the barn and peeked through the gaps to look at the aircraft therein.

A Tiger Moth and Swallow were sold many years ago and the remainder were rumoured to have gone to the former airstrip at Ashton Cross adjacent to the A380 near Haldon Hill (not the old Haldon Aerodrome by the way) to the west of Exeter. I’ve never seen any proof of this though.

Today the barn site is the location of the South West Water offices.

I did have great fun “hopping” the school’s CCF Slingsby Grasshopper TX,1 (WZ828?) on the school playing field.

Photos of ‘LP in ‘Flight’ and in flight! 😀

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1930/untitled0%20-%200412.html

I believe that I read somewhere on the net – although regrettably I am unable to find reference to that now – that the owners of G-AALP are of the opinion that it is extremely valuable, even in the condition in which it is now believed to be, but that this opinion is not shared by others. I seem to recollect that someone said that the owners valued the Salmson engine alone at a very high figure. I also recollect that it was suggested that the disparity between the perceived and actual values was an (or the?) impediment to there being any change in the status that it has endured during the post-war years. But this information may not be current. Does anyone else have any information?

G-AALP, what a shame! 🙁

http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1046853/

I believe that it was Taylorcraft Plus C2 G-AFTN, now owned by Leicester Museum Services, that was a one time occupant of the legendary barn.

Also some information here…
http://devonairfields.tripod.com/exby.html

You’ll find more on this subject at http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=74191&highlight=Torbay&page=2.

Doing a search on ANY of those registrations would reveal what you are asking.

Even this very forum has previously come up with the answer.

”Heavitree was a strip upon which an office complex is now sited. The “barn” was on the edge of that old strip. The AL.1 moved to the owner’s family’s private premises and last I knew of it was still stored with them (along with a couple of BA Swallows which were stored in the same barn at Heavitree) – though rumours of a restoration of the AL.1 surface from time to time.

Prior to emptying, the barn contained a very early Taylorcraft C (now with Leicester museums stored and stripped), an Auster, Tiger Moth G-ACDA (which was restored to fly then hit a pylon on its first post-restoration flight and was burnt out) though it’s frame survives. Another Swallow which was once amongst those aircraft stored at Heavitree was removed many years back, was restored to fly and is now at Shobdon w.f.u. again.

The collection originated with Bertram Arden and I believe his family beneficiaries owned the AL.1 and probably still do. It would be wonderful if it could be restored to fly ……would sit nicely with a Falcon ?!” CONSUL

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=45121&highlight=G-AALP