My last posting was to Swanton Morley – I left in 1986, just before Rainer Forster, my boss. He was an engineer in the PFA and was involved in the MBA Tiger Cub microlight. It was a microlight and he was hoping to have it CAA approved so our ‘team’ used to assist during lunch breaks etc. One week we helped with the wing loading tests – putting dozens of ‘calibrated’ sandbags on the wings, for a few seconds as another certified officer took notes. Thios was repeated upside down on tresseles for negative loading. Every test it passed without any cracks or noises so we all concluded it was a very strong little machine. I seem to remember a figure of -6g!
Another week I remember visiting Litle Snoring airfield, the other side of Dereham, where the poor little aircraft was tethered to a very large tie down stone, with a spring balance in between. The aircraft was then run at full throttle to check thrust figures etc. After it was untied an old chap who Rainer knew “borrowed” it for a flight. ‘Won’t be ten minutes’. After about twenty minutes of us searching the horizon it came in to view, very low. he passed us at about 50 feet with scarf flying from the pilot’s kneck and it looked wonderful. He reported it was great to fly.
Unfortunately I lost touch with this little aircraft but I have seen the one in the museum at Newark.
I did fly out of Swanton for a time in the early 80’s and I do recall seeing a couple of the little beasts – but these were at Shipdham in about ’85.
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