Rolls Royce had bought many other competitors engines and cars over the years – indeed the original Rolls Royce 2 cylinder car was only built after Sir Henry ( I won’t call him Fred! ) had obtained a Decauville and had it taken to the original Cooke Street works in Manchester and helped strip it down himself. I know that later on various Packard and Mercedes cars were subject to a similar treatment, and surely most of Roll’s competitors were doing similar things, makes good commercial sense to find out what the opposition are up to.
To say however that they took the Curtiss engine and ‘rebuilt it’ as the Kestrel et al is palpable rubbish. Unless of course you are looking to create a bit of a controversy to promote your new book that is. Failing that just plain lazy journalism.

Thank you everyone for your posts on this grim subject. As I get older I understand more and more that aviation is about human beings first, aeroplanes second.

Little Snoring – Lancs and Mosquito’s wartime. Postwar it’s got to be Ford and Tangmere as both were playgrounds for me when a schoolboy, sadly in the early 70’s long after the aircraft had gone. Tangmere was a atmospheric place in those days and it was an experience to stand in the control tower and imagine how the place used to be, long before the vandals and developers got hold.:(

The first colour pic definitely rings bells. It must have been early 68. How OW has changed over the years. Our headmaster at primary school was very aviation minded (all this before the days of ‘one size fits all’ bland education that we seem to have today). I have not until now realized how big an influence on a young Tim he was, although the biggest influence was probably my Dads old Flight magazines surreptitiously removed from my Grandfathers loft that have left me with a taste for everything 50’s aviation wise. Still have a few tucked away!

The first for me must have been AR501 at OW on a school trip around 68-69 but I don’t remember it. The first that I vividly remember must have been flying for the closure of Raf Tangmere in October 1970. I wonder which ones they were?

The only advice I can offer about Sabers is this:

Do NOT! under ANY circumstances! look at ones that’s been sectioned!!. I did once & immediately suffered an almost overwhelming urge to weld my toolbox shut & throw it in the nearest canal.

No sense of adventure:D

It was over the South Downs heading east yesterday morning so probably home as suggested.