Aaah yes the Auster
Some say slow, some say noisy. This may be true, but they have bags of character without doubt!
I am rebuilding an ex RAF/RHKAAF T7 WE552 to fly and what strikes me most of all, is all the old boys that used to fly my plane whilst in service (up until 1971 when she was SOC) have huge affection for her and Austers in general. They have some funny stories flying my particular plane and I have even been given the original pilots notes from one of her regular pilots (sadly passed away now).
These old girls wether military like mine or civil have some amazing history attached to them.
Here is mine on arrival at Kai Tak in Hong Kong
Later on with Dayglo panels etc
And today having a ground up rebuild to stock military config
Keep your Auster stories coming……lovin it!
Cheers
Anthony
Great work there so far. A big job!
I am at the fit out stage and would love some help with detail photo’s of a couple of fuselage areas if possible?
I will send you a PM with my email address
Here is mine as of last week, the fuse has been zero timed etc,
Cheers
Anthony
Thanks again, for this info.
Here is a pic taken of Hanks AOP-6 Auster during rebuild. He used the wings of another HK T7 (WE537 I think). My fabric has been removed off my wings, but this is interesting. Looks like it is peeling off the silver like tape might?
Cheers
Anthony
Hi guys
Well thank you all very much for the feedback. Looks like I should use Dayglo tape then. Any idea what the width of the tape is? I guess that it will be easier to replace when it fades.
Paul, I enjoyed looking at all the great work you guys have done on the Jet Provost….well done!
VX927, I have a couple more pics of my plane in HK, mostly in the silver/yellow….some great colour ones from the RHKAAF Historical Society. Also a nice one of her flying in the late sixties/very early seventies when she got repainted in their white scheme with red/blue trim.
As you can see from the photo below I have a way to go. She has been stripped to a bare frame, x-rayed/NDT’d any repairs carried out, internal corrosion preventative treatment and the borascope sent up to check other areas. The frame has been primered and the original “Auster green” matched from NOS parts. The fin as well as tailfeathers have been done ready for fabric as well as the u/c, doors and engine mounts. The Gipsy Major 7 is in strip down and I am soon to start refitting the fuse. I have all the original military gear she carried in her long carreer including signal pistols, downward ID lights, crowbars etc… As you can imagine it has been an expensive exercise so far, but very few T7’s survive that had such a long military history and not converted to Terriers. I feel compelled to do it right first time.
So when will it fly……?????
Thanks again for everyones responses, much appreciated!
Cheers
Anthony
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