Gipsy Queen

Chipie Please drop me a pm, we have two Proctor projects under active re build to flight in Essex, both have Queens, we should be talking about common parts, possible swaps, re builds etc. Remember your machine well from Southend circa 72, somewhere i have a picture of her then, will look it out. Where abouts is your project located?

Drop Tank

Not a canopy but still something jettisoned from an aircraft. Near where i live in Suffolk is a chicken farmer and i bought my chickens there last year. We got chatting and as he is well into his seventies i asked if he was in Suffolk during the war years to which he replied “Lived here all my life”!!
Being an aviation fan we spoke about aircraft that operated in the area and he has vivid memories of B17’s and fighters overhead on an almost daily basis. Even better in a shed and covered in dust he showed me drop tank from an American fighter. He and his brother found this in a nearby wood towards wars end and fashioned it into a rudimentary canoe by cutting the top out, they used on the local ponds. He said there were loads around and they turned up as late as the early fifties. I expressed my interest in buying it, and he’s considering possibly selling it, whats it worth?

GTC

Looks good, Jetflap – and being evaluated for the Navy too..;)

Here’s another Percival, taken on 4 May 1963 clearing customs outbound at Gatwick on a flight from White Waltham to Toussus-le-Noble and Jersey. The owner, Simon Biddulph, was invariably to be seen wearing a knitted fisherman’s woolly hat from one of the Balearic islands which is where ‘GTC, a one-time Farnborough static exhibit, ended its days. One fellow passenger is still active at Woodley, the chap doing the navigation was sadly to perish two months later in his Auster, ‘PKL.

A great picture of GTC. I have a similar one in colour taken by my father Symon, possibly on the same trip. Will try to look it out over the break, scan and post. Anymore pictures of GTC you have and care to share?

Freighter Interior

Somewhere i have a picture taken in the cabin of a Silver City B170 Super Freighter en route Lydd ferry port to Le Touquet circa 65. My father transferred from Aquila airlines when they folded in 58, to Silver City part of the then Britavia Group. I recall as a 5 year old being given a boiled sweet to suck on as we descended over France. I am always reminded of this when i fly commercially and a baby or young child starts to scream on the descent unable and not knowing how to adjust ear pressure. Will try to search it out and post over the xmas period.

Percival Connections !

Correct me if i am wrong, i recall reading that the Gull 3 in the Brussels museum was also a former mount of Sir Phillip Sassoon, happy to be corrected if wrong. There is little chance it seems of that machine ever coming home though rumors have suggested that the collection there may be reduced to concentrate on aircraft more relevant to Belgium military history. At least she seems reasonably well cared for, more then can be said for some other off site exhibits that need to be rescued before they deteriorate past the state of no return. I would like to get my hands on HZY their Mk V Proctor thats crying out for a new home and rebuild to flight. With two Proctor projects on the go we have our hands full. A number of years to go and i will look forward to formating with the Q6 and our two Proctors over East Anglia, a mouth watering prospect. Things are going very well in the workshop with good progress being made. This week i inspected the rudder from the Mk 3, now re built and looking brand new. It will be a shame in some ways to cover it. Nice to think that we should in the next few years have 6 and maybe 7 Gull/Proctors plus the Q6 gracing the skies over England if all the works in hand reach fruition.

Sewdish Gladiators

Not Norweigan but when i was in Sweden in June 07 arranging collection of Proctor KEX the vendor showed me an amazing photo album that belonged to his late father who flew Swedish air force Gladiators during the war. Picture quality was superb and they reflected life at his base as it happened. Good shots of lines of Gladiators, cockpit close ups, girlfriends sitting on the wing, and prangs on the airfield. Also great air to air shots, these i was told have never before been published.
If forum members are interested which i am sure they are i will see if they may be available for publish. There must be at least 50+quality pictures in the albums. There were also views of hawker biplanes but i cannot recall the type.

Mosquito Returning?

If a buyer and restorer can not be found in Canada why not let her return home! Judging by the interest shown in the Mosquito here, i am sure that were “A Mosquito to the sky” restoration fund put in place it would have plenty of subscribers and donations to assist such a worth while restoration! Since the tragic loss of the last Mosquito, enthusiasts have been praying for someone with the vision and capital do get one back in the air and should they succeed You could guarantee the airshow appeal, the sight sound and its speed, an intoxicating thought and prospect. Re built with new wood and modern glues, hangered and pampered she theoretically should last and delight for generations to come. Merlins seem to be in reasonable supply i can only hope that it happens sooner then later. Better to have tried and failed, then not tried at all!