The Audax was known in the RAF as “an Art wiv an Ook due to the army cooperation fit. The Demon,(two forwards guns) originally called the Hart Fighter (one forwards gun) first introduced the cut down gunners ring mount and this was fitted to the Hind variants.

A couple of oddities The Australian Demon was in effect a two gun Hind as it had the bombing fit which RAF Demons did not have. The Demon has a lower rear turtle deck (about 3″lower) than all the other Hart family. I am beginning to suspect that the Hartbees also had this lowered deck and I think the restored South African example has two forward firing guns fitted again making it similar to the Australian Demon.

The Hector was basically an Audax with a Napier Dagger engine and a straight top wing to compensate for the differing engine weights. This also differed in having a Barr and Stroud gunners sight with a cranked mounting bar which required a larger cutout for the Lewis gun storage.

The Osprey besides having folding wings introduced the larger fin and rudder which is also found on the various radial engine’d versions sold to foreign Air forces.

The Hart trainer has a reduced top wing sweep of 5 deg but the Hind trainer has the standard 10 deg sweep.

The Putnams book is a very useful guide but it is a little short and inaccurate on some of the differences and dimensions of the Hawker beauties.

John

Some one on this page used a very offensive modern word. Celebrities! Now I’ll have to go and wash my typing finger. Doesn’t the origin of the other word come from people from the Niger?

John

Electric powered R/C with a trailing antenna or R/C near scale slope soarer?
Flying saucer from the other side of Mohne

John

As Steve (Bond) says. all the aircraft are associated with Gosport. The badge on the Anson is the Guynemer Stork.

John

£8 !!!! In one sentence you have stated the reason a ‘photo tour’ uneccessary. You are so close to the aircraft on the ground at any time, so why spend another £8 on top of the £25 gate price?

The cost has gone up this year from the former £5.00. I’m a model kit designer/manufacturer, so on a photo tour for the cost of an Airfix kit I can take close up or wide detail reference pictures as I wish, without the restrictions of people or barriers. Yes you can get close when they are moving the aircraft from the sheds with everyone milling around and getting in the way of other photographers and busy Shuttleworth ground crew.

Shuttleworth is a gentle, idiosyncratic, esoteric place where even the car park is interesting and my spaniel is welcome. If you have not been then you really don’t know what you are missing. The sight and sound of two, wing tip to wing tip, Silver Hawker biplanes hurtling past at low level is worth every penny.

John

I’m limited to the Sunday. As a passionate DH fan I’ve never been able to make it yet, so I look forwards to it, One could always hang a key on a string around one’s neck as a forum secret sign. :eagerness:

John

The first hymn set to the Dambusters music was inspired. Splendid turnout and Captain Crapweather finally got his Blue Skies.

Fly on dear boy..

John

Many of the RAF 1920-1930’s aircraft are seldom covered in any depth, (I have all the Aeroplane Silver wings series) I an currently working on a set of detailed modeller orientated drawings for the Fairey III.F series. One major niggle I have with the otherwise superb Air Britain series is that they seldom contain any useful drawings (Anson, Hampden, Oxford et al).

John