I know the guy who ran the Argosy before stripping the parts off. You need to add four gearboxes to your shopping list, along with all the ancillaries; gennys, alternators, compressors, hydraulic pumps, tach gennys and sync motors.

The Darts fitted were 526’s.

Best bet is speak to Henry Hyde at Trygon Limited – Southend.

Did it lose any cowlings before it landed? What exactly is going on in this pic

It looks like they are blowing the fire bottle(s). Wonder if that was intentional?

Nice write up John.

It would be nice if the airfield could be remembered in some tangible way after it has been buried under the housing estate, other than some token street names.

My first memories of the airfield go back to when I was at school, and seeing a Belfast fly overhead heading towards Hucknall. I cycled up from Nottingham and remember taking photographs of them through the boundary fence. I think most of the fleet ended up at Hucknall for recovery of the Tyne’s, before being scrapped.

Looking back through my logbook, my first solo landaway, was Hucknall, for the fly-in 1986, and I have been popping in every now and again ever since. I was very keen to go one last time. The weather conditions were less than ideal for the Auster, but I managed to get over later on in the afternoon. By the time I got there all the other visitors and based aircraft had departed, there was just a few club members packing up, it was quite sad really.

I left about half four, so it was quite probable, I was the last aircraft to leave Hucknall, and whilst a Gipsy powered Auster is not quite a Merlin engined Spitfire, at least it was British. I did one final ‘circuit’ and headed back to Tollerton, who’s long term future is also under question.

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‘Golf Tango Alpha Final 22’

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Sunsets over Hucknall Aerodrome, I’am sad to see it go.

As the OP hasn’t been seen since 2005, it’s probably safe to assume the requirement has been satisfied!

No – but the last Facebook update from them was only 10:15 UK time and all ok on there

Which page is that, not the CWHM one?

Emergency Systems

The Historic Flight Sea Fury DVD shows the efforts made to lower the undercarriage on TF.956 and the aircraft being abandoned over the sea.
It also shows various parts of the systems of a Sea Fury which are much easier to see on the wreckage of 956.
It is well explained by John Beattie who has very good technical knowledge of the aircraft. He goes on to say that there is an emergency system fitted for lowering the undercarriage on the Sea Fury but in this case a hose had failed meaning that none of the lowering systems would have lowered the still retracted leg or raised the one that was down and locked.
A very good insight into Operating and the work involved in Flying the Sea Fury and plenty of good inflight and in cockpit footage.
If you haven’t seen it or already got it maybe obtaining a copy from the Historic Flight shop would be a small help in the circumstances

Thanks for that. I haven’t seen that DVD. I have just been to the online shop to get a copy but it’s shut!

It’s strange that the emergency system utilises piping from the normal system, its normally completely separate.

I think embodying an emergency undercarriage lowering system, like on the Spitifire, would be worth considering for the Sea Fury.

I am still gutted at the loss of TF956.

G-BJAX during happier times.

I think it was Jersey air show 1986. The late John Watts on the wing, strapping one of the ‘Reds’ in the back, before going off for a Jolly.