I love the “threads” these chaps are wearing

“Not sure about this boil-off coolant system Carruthers”
🙂

Last Surviving Aerovan – and Horsa question.

I seem to recall that the last Aerovan in the UK was G-AMYC, the fuselage of which was stored in one of the “top” hangars at Stapleford Tawney for a while.

I think it was there when I visited in February 1967, behind a few Austers and a Hornet Moth, but it was eventually pulled out and burned at a Stapleford Flying Club November 5th Bonfire Night party some years later.

It certainly was no longer extant when I learnt to fly there in the mid 70’s.

Anybody know what became of the almost complete Airspeed Horsa fuselage which was stored outside at Stapleford in February 1967?

Some of the buildings adjacent to the old A45 (now the A1303) still stand at the road junction shown on the left. They are used by a wine merchant & fish smokery. There was – I believe – a WW2 mural inside one of them until it was repainted by the present occupiers some years ago. Other buildings are scattered around Bottisham village itself and there were bits of PSP acting as windbreaks in a barn on the road between Six Mile Bottom & Wilbraham until recently – maybe worth poking around for any P-51 relics!

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread but I was interested in the Morocco connection. The data plate would suggest that this a/c came from the second Iraqi order for 25 single seat Furies (dated 21 July 1951). Ten of the batch were diverted from FAA orders for FB.11 Sea Furies and this seems to be one of them. If so it was in the IAF serial range 302 – 311.

I have a note that in the mid-1980s the Salis organisation acquired three Moroccan Furies, two were said to be ex-Iraqi 234 and 259 – making them “Bagdhad Furies” – this seems to be the third one.

I suspect that the fourth aircraft is the one depicted in the following photos which were sent to me in 1988 by the Defence Attache of the British Embassy in Rabat, he acquired them from Moroccan Army HQ.

I’ve been “out of the loop” for about 20 years so all of this may be well known to all, in which case apologies.

OK guys – you forced me into the attic!

Three shots of TF956 (Dunsfold during restoration, taxying somewhere and following its 1974 ground-loop at Yeovilton Air Day)

The others are from Hawker’s archive at Kingston-on-Thames (I pray that BAe kept all that stuff!)

Enjoy! 🙂

Just dug out this shot of SM969 during restoration at Blackbushe early/mid 1980s.

I really don’t think so do you, youre memory really aint that good is it? Imagination seems really good though

Actually it’s not my imagination – but my memory probably is failing me – it was probably 1976 and it was an August airshow at Blackbushe. It was SL721 painted in green/brown camo and coded “D-A”. I have a couple of B&W photos of the occasion.

Fraid so! I remember seeing him aerobatting his Spit 16 at Blackbushe back in 1986/87!