Hi AA,

I can’t see any reference to Sydenham Armstrong Payn in the civil-registered section of Ray Sturtivant’s Se5 File. He isn’t listed in Air Britain’s British Civil Registers either other than with the Avro 504K.

Totally agree, Adrian. Dave has started some great threads recently. Thanks Dave!

Fargo Boyle – thanks for posting the pic of G-EBIB. Great to see it in its civil scheme complete with skywriting gear.

As to “freak machines” I’m not sure exactly what aircraft they meant. The term seems to have been used fairly regularly from the 1910s through the ’20s to denote types which were built simply to attempt to win races or break records and were unlikely to ever be produced commercially especially as their airworthiness might be a bit, well, doubtful!! 

However, in the articles I’ve read on the 1922 RAF Pageant, I haven’t seen any reference to any aircraft that would come into that category. I wonder if in this case it simply referred to aeroplanes which participated in the more light-hearted “acts” and sported unusual colour schemes (“jazzified” as the press put it)?

Like the wonderful Avro 504 which did the crazy flying. Pity there’s not a colour photo of this! –

A 1922 issue of Flight magazine mentions both crazy flying and the use of coloured smoke –

The demonstration of ” crazy flying,” which proved so popular last year, will again be featured, this time by Flight Lieut. W. H. Longton, D.F.C., A.F.C. It may be mentioned that various freak machines will demonstrate from time to time. A demonstration of ” writing in the sky ” should be another popular item. Here the spectators will be able readily to follow the rapid movements of a machine looping, spinning and rolling by the trail of smoke left by the machine. Following this demonstration, there has been arranged further illustration of the uses of smoke in air warfare, and the machines engaged will produce a novelty in the way of coloured smoke clouds. 

Oh very nice video, Dave. Scion and Scion Senior! Beautiful! (Others may disagree)

Good one, Dave 🙂 Here is a video of the contraption in action –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm0jqrmS6jk

And a few close-up pics –

I’m finding that each report I read on these displays differs in what exactly was attacked by the Pterodactyl and, in the case of the 1932 display, the other aircraft dubbed “Terrors” – the Cierva that year also appearing in a similar “disguise”. In the latest variation on the story this was seemingly a cunning plan to camouflage them so they could better approach the “invaders”. The headline reads –

“Terrors” Hunting Man-Eating Martian Monsters! 

Found an article on the 1933 RAF Display written by Major Oliver Stewart in which he writes –

“In the balloon bursting Flight Lieutenant G.H. Stainforth, in the Pterodactyl or tail-less monoplane, successfully chased and shot down a number of balloons shaped and painted to represent flying pigs and similar mythological creatures. He was extraordinarily quick in closing with his prey and then, one bang of the gun, clearly heard from the ground, and the flying creature would grotesquely deflate and fall.”,