Willip26Moggy
Congrats on finally flying in a Cub, although with many flights in them over the years, personal preference is for the J3/L-4 version. Very fine and economical aeroplanes all of them.
Doing things somewhat the other way around to you, having previously sampled the RV-6 & 8, last weekend I flew in an RV-4 for the first time, back home from a private strip fly-in.
Hope you have lots of enjoyment with yours. Tailwheel aircraft are best, although I do miss prop swinging.
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Willip26Saving Private Flying
And we hope that it (Sandown) will remain the best. Even if you are going ‘off site’, please request to park north side and visit our cafe before, and after, your walk to the beach. Who knows, I may even be your marshaller 😉
Hi Fieldhawk
Good meeting you at the weekend at Sandown’s ‘North Terminal’ and thanks to all for the hospitality. With Bembridge now being something of a busted flush, I don’t think that it is any exaggeration to say, that for the time being at least, the likes of Henry, Carla, yourself & co. have preserved the future of private flying on the Isle of Wight. 😀
Long may Sandown continue to flourish. Keep up the good work and please keep us informed of developments.
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Willip26Ah that’s better – success at last!
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Willip26A Gremlin in the Works
Or, the mystery of the disappearing pictures.
Thanks everyone for the information regarding G-APOD and to WJ244 for trying to post those photos. I would certainly be interested to see them as I didn’t realise that the Belfair once had a place in the Southend Museum.
Meanwhile I am posting three of mine of the Tipsy. The first shows the colours it was in, when our Group located it unloved in the back of a hangar at Rochester and agreed to purchase for £525, subject to a new Permit. There were eight of us in all, six PPLs putting in £100 each and the remaining two non-pilots contributing £50 apiece.
After a few weeks of nothing much happening it became evident that the promised paperwork was not going to materialise, so the deal was renegotiated for £450 on the basis that we carried out the Permit renewal work ourselves.
Early on in our period of ownership one of our members decided that as the airframe was a bit tatty he would pay a visit to B&Q to buy a tin of paint and tidy it up a bit (no thought given to the extra weight) – hence the awful mish-mash of a colour scheme shown in the second photo.
I last saw G-APOD as ‘The Gremlin’ at a PFA Rally at Leicester in about 1981 and it would be sad if its flying career is indeed over. ‘The Fleeing Fly’, its former companion at Southend, I last saw yesterday, accompanying the Ward Gnome and others suspended in a hangar roof at Breighton.
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Willip26Shot of G-AVHO in its very early days – before its initial visit to the Beagle paint shop.
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Willip26All change again
Whilst it is great news that Sandown aerodrome has quickly become so successful again (I’m told over 80 visitors last Wednesday and again yesterday), it seems we wrote off Bembridge too soon, as aircraft from Shoreham have started visiting there again this weekend. See the gliding club website http://www.vectisglidingclub.co.uk for the procedure to be followed.
Maybe the thread title should have been renamed something like ‘IOW Sandown fully open, Bembridge not yet definitely closed’.
Despite the local authority wanting a retail park and such-like there is also encouraging news about the situation at Lee on Solent, which is now managed by the former manager of Bembridge, as indicated by the website of the Lee Flying Association http://www.eghf.co.uk. I’m informed just beware of all the razorwire fencing there.
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Willip26Rumour or truth?
Who knows, but I also heard whisperings about B-N at the weekend, supposedly having taken a 2 year lease at Sandown as well as responsibility for the air traffic service.
From the same source the latest word was that they also now have a hangar at Lee on Solent and their staff were likewise going to take over ATC there from 1st April.
Could be good news for two airfields, but what future now for Bembridge if just a few private aircraft plus the gliding club remain in operation there?
There was mention of a NOTAM – has anyone seen it?
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Willip26Am I correct in thinking that at one stage the Cirrus-engined Swallow G-AEVZ was at the Museum in Lytham St Annes?
Here is a photo of it taken at Squires Gate. Can anyone remind me of the date and event and advise what other aircraft participated, as these are details long since forgotten.
Also what’s the strange device parked in front of it?
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Willip26OHOPE
The Gemini at Dairy Flat G-AKHW, it can be seen on the right of this photo, which was taken when I visited in July 2009.I was told that it was not a priority restoration at that time and it could be several years before completion.
G-APDK
Picture of G-AKHW in its ‘City of Plymouth’ days.
Getting back to the thread proper here are a couple of colourful Messengers snapped at an air race meeting at Middleton St George.
As has already been mentioned G-AJWB still survives, albeit in a more conventional colour scheme these days. G-ALAI was previously in an overall light blue scheme and employed for a number of years by the gliding club at Lasham on glider tugging and retrieval duties, appropriately named ‘Sky Hook’, possibly the only Messenger used for such purposes.
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Willip26To follow on fom Pobjoys post ,if I recall correctly the tree hanging Gemini was
G-AISM belonging to Horace Tempest who was based in Hayle. He also had a
Messenger G-AJKK, both of which I was priviledged to fly. The were originally at Tollerton until HT moved his business to the South West. He also had a J3 cub but I can’t remember that registration.
Here is G-AJKK parked out on the airfield at St Just shortly before it passed into history.
Similarly coloured G-AKKO is likewise pictured in the 1960s dumped behind a hangar at Shipdham around the time it was withdrawn from use.
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Willip26Thanks Willip for the info on G-AKHP. When I started as an apprentice at FG Miles Ltd in Sept 1956, the conversion of G-AKHZ from Gemini to Aries was almost complete. I thionk thisircraft finished up in one of the ditches surrounding the airport, whilst attemptiong a take-off while the airfield was waterlogged
The Gemini cum Aries must have been slightly before my time as I have no recall of it and very much doubt if it featured in the take off crash mentioned.
I do remember this accident and unless there were two such incidents I am pretty sure it was the one on 26/10/60 involving the chief pilot, who attemped a take off from the heavily waterlogged airfield (no hard runway in those days!) in the company ‘hack’, Gemini G-AKFX mentioned above in post #72.
I believe he left the company’s employment shortly afterwards.
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Willip26The Jackaroo was said to be the only aeroplane that ‘climbed’, ‘cruised’ and ‘crashed’, all at 60 knots.;)
I think you will find the Aeronca 100/C3 was reputed to do the same.
As regards Thruxton I remember the big black ex-wartime hangar, filled witrh Jackaroos, Tigers, Proctors and the like, with its all-pervading aroma of aircraft dope.
I made several visits there in the late 1950s/early 1960s and also recall the production shed and seeing what I believe were the last three Jackaroo conversions on the line, G-ALIV, G-APAK and G-APRB, although of course none of these ever proceeded through to final completion.
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Willip26I believe there is a Gemini lurking in the north hangar at Shoreham. I don’t know the identity, but from memory when I saw it taxying at Shoreham, some 6 years ago, it was G-AKKB. Going back even further to 1956, Mr R Pusey used to operate a red Gemini G-AJOJ from Shoreham
G-AKHP was the Gemini in the north hangar until it was sold about 3 years ago
– here shown on its delivery flight from Earls Colne about six years before.
The owner of G-AJOJ was Roger Pursey, who is also pictured running up its engines at Shoreham in the late 50s/early sixties.
This aircraft was later sold locally and has links to the current owner of the Washington-strip based Messenger RG333/G-AIEK shown in post #1. So atr42
you do not have very far to look!
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Willip26Auster Aircraft J-1-U Workmaster, c/n 3501
F-OBHT ?
F-WJAS ?
F-BJAS reg 04.05.1960 Mont Blanc Aviation, Passy
Four bw photos here: http://austerhg.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=4292F-BJAS reg 06.12.1966 Moret Roger, Le Fayet
maybe till 09.05.1979
Some wonderfully atmospheric shots you have come up with there, wieesso, of the Workmaster on Mont Blanc, seemingly confirming what the Museum staff told me of the rescue missions it helped with. Hope someone will in turn do a rescue job on the aircraft itself as it would be good to see it airborne again. How on earth do you manage to keep on finding these gems?
Looks as if the aircraft has had a pretty varied working career and presumably before that it was used as a crop sprayer/duster in North Africa.
Any other known survivors, apart from long-term Namur resident G-APSR and the UK-based G-APMH?
Wicked Willip :diablo:
Willip26On matters relating to Shoreham, I defer to you, Willip!
As I defer to you, mon ami, on all matters French, or indeed in connection with Pebsham or Wilmington.
Wicked Willip :diablo:
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