SUMMER 2016

JOURNAL OF THE SHUTTLEWORTH VETERAN AEROPLANE SOCIETY

In this issue: Flying the Nimrod - first impressions Land Rover Fire Truck 1930 Challenge International de Tourisme Part 2 David Bremner’s Bristol Scout 1 PROP-SWING SUMMER 2016 Journal of the SVAS, the Friends of the Shuttleworth Collection REGISTERED CHARITY No. 800095 President: Princess Charlotte Croÿ (Twickel) Vice President: Ken Cox MBE

COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: PHOTOGRAPHIC SECTION To be nominated Paul Ferguson

SECRETARY: COMMITTEE MEMBERS Kevin Panter Jim Box, Paul Ferguson Edward Forrest, Bill Grigg, James Michell, Alan Reed, TREASURER: John Edser Neil Thomas SVAS Contact Details: MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: Answerphone: 01767 627909 Ron Panter Email: [email protected] Web: www.svasweb.org EDITORIAL PANEL Editor: Bill Grigg Shuttleworth Web Site Assistant Editor: Paul Ferguson www.shuttleworth.org

PROP-SWING is printed by Character Press Limited, Icknield Way, Baldock, Herts, SG7 5BB, and published at the office of Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society, Old Warden Aerodrome, Biggleswade, SG18 9EP. We welcome letters and contributions for possible publication. These should preferably be typed. Shuttleworth-related subjects will be given priority. Prospective contributions, and also requests to reprint material from the journal, should be addressed to the Editor C/O Old Warden. PROP-SWING welcomes advertisements, which should be in pdf format. Rates on application for Whole, Half, Third or Quarter page. Discount for three or more identical consecutive insertions. Full page type height is 185mm; full type width is 120mm. Please contact the SVAS at the above address. PROP-SWING is published three times a year (Spring, Summer and Winter). Copy dates are 31st January, 31st May and 30th September. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Society. Front cover: David Bremner’s Bristol Scout flying from Old Warden Darren Harbar

2 Editorial Bill Grigg

irst I should report that we’re all very sad here to have lost Rita, our popular and much appreciated Membership Secretary, after a long and brave battle against Fcancer. An obituary by John Edser appears on page 13. When I wrote in the Spring editorial that we couldn’t expect more sold out ‘Vulcan type’ shows soon, I didn’t know the Collection would get the Red Arrows for the first 2016 show -and the weather forecast for the display day would be amazingly good. As most of you are probably aware, that completely kyboshed any chances of a future career as a clairvoyant. So, are we rejoicing that the Collection made lots more money than it usually does at air shows, which addition to the funds will help “Keep them flying” and so bolster a major raison d’étre of the SVAS? Well, not universally, as unfortunately some members, used to turning up and paying on the day as most of us have in the past, were unable to get in to the show. I can understand their surprise and sympathise with their disappointment, although it was nobody’s fault that demand exceeded supply of entry tickets. There may be a return to ‘normal’ numbers of spectators for the rest of the year (indeed, that’s what happened at the excellent June show but, mind, I’m not making ANY predictions!). There have been lots of suggestions as to what should be done about the new ‘sold out’ phenomenon if it should persist, all of which have received due consideration. Given a venue that’s limited in the number of people it can safely accommodate, it became very evident that there’s no new course of action that will please all the people all of the time except, as laid out in our recent letter to members, to book tickets in advance to make sure of attending a particular show. Further on air shows, our Chief Engineer, Jean-Michel Munn, has told me there should be a greater chance of seeing the Edwardians flying during the new format Saturday shows. This because they won’t be restricted to a programmed slot but can be wheeled out and flown whenever the weather’s suitable (OK, given that this is England in summer...). He’s very anxious that they should be flown regularly to give the pilots more experience and both aircraft and pilots will be available all day, ready to seize their chances. Lastly, the Library at Shuttleworth has bound CONTENTS sets of Flight and The Autocar up to WWII, once The Hawker Nimrod 4 the property of Richard Shuttleworth, and which SVAS & Collection News 11 are extremely useful for research. Unfortunately at Photo Section selection 16 some time in the quite distant past, when things Noticeboard 19 were not as well organised as of late, one volume Aero Workshops 20 of each has ‘gone astray’ – Flight for 1923 and Vehicle Group Report 22 The Autocar for 1938. I realise the value of such Land Rover Fire truck 25 items but think it worth mentioning as, if some kind person ever has such magazines that they’d 1930 Challenge International 29 be willing to donate they can be assured of a very Clayton & Shuttleworth 32 good and appreciative home for them. Bristol Scout Type C 35

3 The Hawker Nimrod 2 – My First Impressions Peter Holloway

Darren Harbar

remember the call as if it were yesterday. Hard to imagine that it was August 2013. “Would you be available to display the Nimrod in a few weeks’ time?” Being a I modern phone, there was no curly cord to stop it hitting the floor. (More on ‘hitting the floor’ later.) Came the day, and after a glorious ‘chop’ flight with the famous Charlie Brown in my Magister (he enjoyed it too), I found myself sat in the cockpit of the mighty Nimrod, surrounded by HAC engineers, and leafing through the now-familiar Notes. The owners were there too. The initial brief was to learn how to start the thing, no mean feat as I will explain, and “taxy around a bit to get the feel of it”. What could possibly go wrong? Ahem… I broke it… All was going swimmingly well when it came to the noisy bit. Having presumably decided that a Hucks Starter – familiar to all at Old Warden and used for starting the Hawker Hind – wasn’t really the thing to be driving from one aircraft to another around the pitching deck of an aircraft carrier (!) the Nimrod is blessed with an ingenious air-start system. This sequentially fires charges of compressed air and fuel into the cylinders. An instant start is assured, that is, until I got involved. After several attempts, all we got was a concentrated blast of flame and smoke from the rear, left cylinder. With dwindling air pressure, running out of ideas, interest and with ‘Low Tea’ lights flashing, back it went into the hangar. 4 “It’ll be something simple, see you in a week or so”, were engineer Geoff’s fateful words of optimism. Almost two years later, with the damage finally repaired and with lots of almost convincing “it wasn’t your fault” reassurances from the owners in the interim, I found myself back at Duxford on the Thursday before Flying Legends 2015, to finally check it out in preparation for the weekend. Came the day (we’ve been here before!) and there was the magnificent aircraft out on the flight line with an array of red ‘Remove Before Flight’ pennants fluttering in the warm breeze, covering everything from wooden exhaust bungs to pitot head. It’s difficult to put into words what an impressive, fabulous aircraft the Nimrod 2 is. The lack of a rear gunner’s cockpit and the presence of an arrester hook beneath are the things that set it apart from the Shuttleworth Collection’s Hawker Hind, this is every inch a fighter. Descended from the earlier land-based Hawker Fury, the Nimrod is a significantly smaller, lighter machine than the Hind - a whopping 600 lbs lighter at maximum all up weight (4,050 lb - 1,841 kg). The wings, four feet shorter in span than those of the Hind, are also swept back to a greater degree. These differences with the addition of a faired headrest to support the pilot’s head during catapult launches, complete the picture of a faster, more nimble machine.

Paul Ferguson

With engineers on hand to help place my boots as I climb in, I am soon wriggling into the seat parachute. The cockpit opening is small, the seat quite low, making it difficult, with only one elbow per arm (!), to fasten the straps. The HAC engineers were on hand to help. I suggest the engineers might like a tea break and in their absence sheaf through the copious Handling Notes. I cross-reference them with the controls and it begins

5 Darren Harbar to make sense all over again. The instrument panel is dominated by the breeches of the two Vickers .303 machine guns. As I scan the cockpit, I see further indications of military purpose. This is also the first aircraft I have flown with an ‘Arrester Hook Up/ Down’ lever! The quality of everything I see is simply stunning. I shake my head and smile many times at the privileged situation I find myself in. After a quiet 30 minutes I feel as ready as I will ever be and it’s down to business. I check the control movements and apply the brakes collectively and differentially, checking the pressure gauge and hearing the reassuring hisses. In deference to the value of the aircraft, its historical importance and the fact that we can’t point the airfield into wind (remember this is a naval fighter) the brakes have been subtly improved by the fitting of later types and are operated using the two now-redundant spade-mounted gun triggers. Unusually, there are two Kigass-type primers. The first is used to prime the starter carburettor and the second to prime the engine. With the main fuel tank selected and the two gravity cocks open (in the upper centre section of the wing) I syringe fuel into the starting carburettor and the signal is given that fuel is escaping from the overflow beneath. I then prepare to prime the engine. The air starter is engaged by first opening the valve and then pressing the floor-mounted button with the right heel. With the magnetos off I operate the starter. The engine initially wheezes and groans but, after a couple of attempts spins slowly over, allowing me to give it the requisite four shots. With chocks in place, spade-grip back and the brakes held on with my right thumb, I switch the starter mag on and operate the starter, whilst at the same time winding the handle of the starter magneto which is down on my right. The Kestrel V

6 immediately fires, initially with a series of loud bangs and jets of flame fromthe exhaust stubs, but then settles down into a glorious cacophony of staccato pops and bangs and the whining of meshing gears. I immediately switch both engine magnetos on and then find the ‘sweet spot’ with the throttle lever to avoid unnecessary backlash in the propeller reduction gear. I turn off the starter mag and lean down to close the awkwardly positioned air valve. The engine warms quickly, I need to ensure that the coolant temperature remains within limits and very soon open the radiator shutters, whilst at the same time ensuring that the ‘max cold’ 600 rpm is not initially exceeded. With the temperatures and pressures correct, and radiator fully open, I exercise the magnetos and suspect a fouled plug in the L/H bank. With this in mind, and with no ‘scrub’ indications from the engineers, I momentarily close the throttle, wave the chocks away and taxy out. I perform the magneto check again at the hold and ascertain that the mag drop is now within limits. We are good to go. With checks complete – all carefully written in Chinagraph on my knee boards, I close the throttle to pull my goggles down with both hands. I then discover that, even at idle, there is sufficient residual thrust to continue moving forwards. No parking brake is fitted. What to do? I make a hashed attempt at adjusting the goggles with my

Darren Harbar left hand only but then finally hold the stick back between my knees as I slowly taxy towards the runway and sort them out properly with both hands. Whilst less than ideal, it’s A Good Thing I did this as I’ll explain. I line up on the westerly runway, open the throttle slowly to the gate (a restriction in the throttle quadrant to prevent over-boosting), checking that we have a reassuring

7 Nimrod MKI (with skid) and MKII (tailwheel) in formation Darren Harbar 2,400 rpm and 6 lbs of boost. As I climb away I reduce the power and quickly scan the instruments, again aided here by my time honoured habit of marking the faces of the instruments with red Chinagraph. As I pass quickly through 1,000 ft, I’m suddenly sprayed with coolant, as if encountering a heavy rain shower. The windscreen is soaked and I wipe my goggles with a gloved hand. I scan again, ensuring that the values are all normal and I definitely (!) have the radiator set Fully Open. Recalling the Notes, I remember that this coolant loss can be expected. It slows down to a fine mist and then stops. I decide that it might just be over-filled and continue with my planned exercise. The rate of climb is astonishing for an 80 year old machine and I find myself shouting “Wow!” more than once. After a few minutes of simply sitting back, poking my scarf yet again into my collar and readjusting my goggles I begin to wind the thing up into a series of gentle turns. A stall was next on the list. At idle, and with the gearing as it is on the Kestrel, the revolutions are unnervingly low and caused me to fear that it might stop. I therefore reapply a trickle of power and make a half-hearted attempt at a stall. The thing just mushes and recovers immediately as I slowly advance the throttle again. I then decide to climb a further 1,000 ft and operate directly between Duxford and Fowlmere, giving me both options should the unthinkable happen. This time I close the throttle fully and pitch the nose up higher than before. I feel I can count the revolutions! At 50 mph indicated the aircraft stalls immediately and smartly drops a wing. Again, recovery is immediate. After 15 minutes of more stalls, steep turns and wingovers, I glance at my watch

8 and run in at a shade under 200 mph for a practice display, ensuring always not to overspeed the precious Kestrel. At high speed the controls feel quite heavy but at the same time nicely harmonized and without excessive adverse yaw. The Nimrod uses up far more sky than I’m used to and this encourages me to bank quite steeply in the turns and perform more-dynamic wingovers. Utterly glorious! All too soon it’s time to land. I fly a tight circuit to remain inside the M11. As I set up a gentle curve onto final and close the throttle, I am reminded of Chinese New Year as the glorious Kestrel fires off a series of crackles, pops and loud bangs. All normal up front then! I straighten up into the flare and, as briefed by Charlie, wheel the machine on, allowing the tail to finally settle. It then tracks straight and true despite the crosswind. I manipulate the differential brakes, taxy back and perform another circuit. Another greaser fortunately, something that always seems more difficult to achieve with the owner watching. What a machine! My first display in it was on the Saturday of Flying Legends 2015, as the no.2 to Charlie Brown in the jaw-dropping Hawker Fury – a more recent HAC treasure - and Stu Goldspink, flying in the no.3 position in the trickier Nimrod I. (I guess the old

Darren Harbar adage – ‘avoid the prototypes and Mk I’s of anything’- holds true?!) As we joined up for our first pass I got a far more serious blast of coolant and broke out to perform the vital checks. I fortunately managed to wipe my goggles and rejoin in time for the first formation pass. I worked out that this was happening in negative G, as experienced in turbulence or wake, and this assisted the engineers in tracing the cause to a poorly seating emergency blow-off valve, now sorted.

9 We had to scrub the following day due to the crosswind and I had to wait until the Duxford September Airshow to fly it again, this time a Nimrod 2-ship with Stu on the Saturday but a solo slot on the Sunday. Difficult to believe that I finished the 2015 season with a grand total of 55 minutes only on type. Hitting the floor? Oh yes. I won’t get away without a spell in the confession box. Just before I flew on the Saturday of the Duxford show, I climbed out after my quiet spell in the cockpit in order to take the customary pee all aviators do. My foot slipped out of the footrest and I fell to the ground, not before grabbing the headrest to break my fall. Alas, it is only held in with push in Dzus fasteners and it, sort of, came away in my hand, gashing a finger deeply in the process. The injury wasn’t a problem but the blood certainly was. The form that was filled in by the St Johns guys (respect!) was a two page affair in duplicate. No bandage would be applied without, and all with just minutes to go before my slot. It took a second identical fall to the ground the next day (I can’t believe I’m telling you this!) for us to understand why it was happening. There is a length of bungee cord running along the underneath of the fuselage to hold the tail hook down in the landing position. It is possible to snag this with your foot as it ‘probes’ the footrest. The bungee then ‘rolls’ your foot out of the step as if designed for the purpose, and deposits you on the floor. Ouch! I shake my head in disbelief that I have been entrusted with such a precious, valuable and unique aircraft, the fruits of many years of solid determination, hard work, super-sleuth skills in tracking parts down and a not inconsiderable amount of money. The history of G-BURZ can be found on the Net. It’s hard to imagine that this pristine aircraft wasn’t simply preserved in the 1930s and effectively dusted off and re-commissioned in recent years. Far from it! The reality is that its journey from the Mediterranean a few years before the outbreak of WW2 to the hallowed Duxford Hangars in 2006 involved the recovery of the half- buried, derelict ex-ATC gate guardian fuselage from a scrap yard in Kent, the discovery of the wings in the RAF’s Cosford storage facility and, the icing on the cake, in the Hawkinge Museum, a showcase full of parts removed from the long-since scrapped wreck. The aircraft is a glowing demonstration of the expertise of Retrotec, the restoration arm of the collection and a priceless example of ‘between wars’ naval aviation. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to them for its survival against overwhelming odds, and its preservation for future generations to enjoy. I’m still hoping that nobody managed to take a photo of me flat on my back at Duxford. If they did, I hope they can be bribed. (We hope they’ll send it to Prop-Swing where it will be much appreciated and assured of publication– Ed) Peter Holloway - still upright Paul Ferguson

10 From the Chairman Ken Cox MBE

his year, I entered my 25th year as SVAS Chairman - and have recently celebrated my 90th birthday - and I have decided to retire from the post and Tnot seek re-election. That has prompted me to take time to reflect on where we have come in that time. In 1990 we had a membership of around 900, just two of whom were working members allowed to go anywhere near the aircraft, as cleaners. I first joined the Committee as the Voluntary Service Organiser and then, in 1992, was invited to stand as Chairman. We now have a membership of around 3,900, have bought five aeroplanes and three vehicles for the Collection, and are increasingly supporting engineering by covering the cost of spares and some equipment. I have lost count of how many hangar tours I have given to different groups of visitors, and l have also given illustrated talks to organizations around the country, including a two day trip to the Isle of Man. I have even given my talk to a group in Portugal while on holiday there! As well as having been lucky enough to have met six members of the Royal Family, including the Queen, I’ve been very fortunate to have been supported by a great admin team in Kevin Panter, John Edser and our great Membership Secretary, Rita Thomas, who sadly passed away recently after a bravely fought battle against cancer. The best Secretary, Treasurer and Membership team I could ever have wished for. Thank you to all the members and volunteers who have supported me for so many years and, finally, I want to thank Alan Reed without whose support during the last few years I would not have been able to continue as Chairman.

Note: On stepping down from the Chairmanship Ken has been made Vice President of the SVAS with the full support of the Committee. We have not yet elected a new Chairman - Ed

From the Treasurer John Edser

he treasuring job over the past couple of months has been very much affected by Rita’s death and problems with our new website. Both of these events have Thad an enormous impact upon my workload, the workload of Ron Panter who has taken over from Rita, and preparation of the year end accounts for presentation at our AGM. As you may have gathered from my obituary for Rita, we had an extremely good working relationship and because Rita was so meticulous my accounting work was made easy to the point where I could be absolutely sure that subscription accounting was correct to the penny. When it became clear that Rita was so ill, steps were taken to get Ron trained but unfortunately it soon became clear that he needed help and, using our now fairly comprehensive list of email addresses, emails were sent to members

11 in the Old Warden local area which resulted in the recruitment of Rosie Hall to share the membership secretarial role. The result has been that things now appear to be back on track but the initial difficulties have left a situation where over £1,500 of subscriptions has been banked for which no paperwork exists. At least all members who have paid should have received their membership cards, although their payment cannot be recorded individually in the accounts. However, I will try and do some nifty work in Access to compare the accounts with the membership database to determine who the ‘missing’ members are. The second huge problem has been the new website which resulted in many members paying and being sent membership cards, only for us to find out later that the PayPal payment had been rejected. These payments have been identified and the associated members contacted, who for the most part have now forwarded their payments to us. As a matter of interest, the bug in our website is now sorted so that payments are now not rejected, but the new site does not work well with PayPal which is causing additional work. Due to the delay in receiving membership payment information to the end of March (our financial year end) the accounts presented to the AGM were very provisional. However, since then the information required has been received and the situation is now as follows: Our income for the year was £179,456 on top of which we received £71,578 of bequests, £70,000 of which has been set aside in a fund reserved for meeting our commitment to education. Including our donation to the Collection of £183,000 our general expenditure was £209,208, plus £511 from the reserved fund. This means that, disregarding the bequests and reserved fund, our expenditure exceeded our income by £29,752. General income during the year was £10,000 up on last year and apart from our larger donation to the Collection, our running costs were much in line with the previous year’s. As this is not the first year recently when expenditure has exceeded income and it is eight years since we last had an increase in subscription rates, it has been decided to increase the adult membership rate next year to £30. In line with this Life membership (25-60) will increase to £575 and Life membership for over 60 to £395. In addition to this (by what I am told is popular demand) we shall be introducing a Family Membership at £50 for up to two people at the same address and a student membership at £15 for students aged 16-25. Having investigated further the introduction of payment by Direct Debit, the idea has been shelved as being both expensive and requiring even more resources. Instead, where possible, the more modern use of internet banking to set up a regular standing order on 1st February each year for the new subscription amount selected would be the preferred method of payment to keep our bankers on the breadline. However, please, please help us by cancelling any previous standing orders as leaving them in place will cause a huge amount of work.

12 Rita Thomas 17/11/1946 – 11/4/2016 John Edser

ery sadly Rita Thomas, our SVAS Membership Secretary, passed away on 11th April this year. In VDecember of 2006, Rita stepped into the void left by our previous Membership Secretary who departed to take up residence in Scotland. With very little handover training, she managed to pick up the reins and was elected as a member of the SVAS Committee in May 2007. Until this time I had never met Rita and indeed, because by that time I had moved to Lincolnshire, the majority of our dealings were by email or phone. However, it soon became very obvious that Rita was both extremely competent and meticulous in her work; in fact in the past nine years that we have been working together, I have never known her to make a banking error. As you may imagine, the Treasurer’s and Membership Secretary’s jobs are very much interlinked and so, although we worked at a distance from each other, we got to know one another very well as working colleagues. I can only say that Rita was an absolute pleasure to work with, always reliable and accurate and always responsive to any queries I raised. Although Rita liked to be quiet and work on her own, she was always happy and we often had a laugh together; she was indeed a very special person. During the past year or so she underwent several sessions of major surgery and chemotherapy but despite this she continued throughout with her SVAS work. Only now she has gone has it become clear just how much work she undertook both in our office at Old Warden and at home. Most recently, even though she was terminally ill, she finished processing all of the 600 Standing Order subscription payments within a week or so of her death. In my eyes Rita was a true hero and her passing is a very sad loss both to me as a friend and work colleague and to the Society. My deepest sympathy goes to Neil and the family she has left behind.

From the Library John Benjamin

s I write, summer appears to have arrived and then gone away again. The last four months have been a quiet period of consolidation with Frank and Peter Acontinuing their thorough and painstaking cataloguing of folders containing photographs, documents and correspondence. In the past year they have catalogued some 100 folders, the total to date being 326. We estimate that given a clear run, and a following wind, cataloguing the archives should be completed by the end of the year. We plan to include the folders and their contents in Blériot our online catalogue next year. Our biggest task in 2016 has been mounting the annual exhibition. Having acquired more display space we have been able to broaden the scope of this year’s

13 topic, 1916, a year which saw a considerable geographic expansion of warlike activity and the consequential development of new weapons, equipment and strategic and tactical doctrines. The main topics covered, using photographs and documents from the Library, the Archives, and a wide range of external sources, are as follows: The Land and Air Battles of Verdun and the Somme, the Battle of Jutland, and the Arab Revolt (Lawrence of Arabia and Royal Flying Corps support). 1916 also saw the appearance of the ‘Aces’, as a result of new aircraft and weapons technology, and the formation of the Lafayette Escadrille manned by American Volunteer aviators. Also addressed are the Royal Naval Air Service in the Aegean and Home Defence. I hope this brief note will whet your appetites for more! The Exhibition is to be found in Hangar 4, is open every day and available until next Spring when a new exhibition will address the Great War in 1917. We have had a number of visitors among them being our friends from Holland, Alfons Merlijn and Douwe van der Werff who are building a Desoutter/FK41 replica. Other visitors were Neil Grierson and his partner from Australia. Neil has been on holiday in the UK researching Arrol-Aster motor cars: he owns one of the only two remaining Arrol-Asters. His research has taken him to Old Warden, Scotland and Brooklands. Many of you will be aware that Richard Shuttleworth briefly owned an Arrol-Aster in 1931 and raced it at Brooklands on Easter Monday 1931. We were able to give Neil access to the Richard Shuttleworth archive including the invoice from Metro Motors in London W.1 from whom Richard bought his Arrol-Aster and a large volume of correspondence. He has promised a copy of his findings which we hope to include in our next edition but in the meantime there follows a photograph and brief history of his car. As ever, my thanks go to the Library Team – Jim, Frank and Peter for putting up with me and without whom little or nothing would happen. We continue to welcome your comments and suggestions – contact us at our email address library@ shuttleworth.org – we look forward to hearing from you. Also, please don’t forget to let us know in advance if you plan to visit the Library and the topic(s) of interest to you. We would appreciate a minimum of three weeks notice so that we can prepare the necessary material before your visit. I cannot over-emphasise this as we endeavour to work to a programme and unscheduled visits of more than 5-10 minutes disrupt our day and of course we can never recover lost time.

Arrol Aster SVK 17/50

he car was imported into Australia in about 1931 by George Leishman of Clunes.Victoria and Neil Grierson contacted current Leishmans who remember Ttheir grandfather saying it had raced in the UK - when he wanted to order an Arrol Aster the company was in receivership so they rebodied a team car and exported it to Clunes via the local Dodge dealer. The car was subsequently damaged by sugar being put in the petrol tank while it was at a football match, after which it was stored in a shed at Snizort Farm in Clunes until the 1950s. 14 It was then sold and ended up in the hands of Jim Brebner of Kew in Melbourne who managed to obtain a letter written from Claude Clench, former competition manager of Arrol Aster, giving the history of the car as a former race car. This letter was lost by the family after Jim’s death. While the car was in Jim’s possession the supercharger was sent for repair and lost, so until a new one is sourced it runs with a single SU carburettor. Neil bought the car in a dismantled state in October 2006: the original aluminium saloon body had been discarded and Jim had got as far as building a frame for a replica TT body. Neil finished the body and reconditioned the mechanical parts. The engine subsequently broke a piston and was rebuilt. During the refurbishment process it was found that the chassis was pushed back 5 on the driver’s side and the /8” steering box bolts were bent and had to be drilled out. Also the radiator shell had repair pieces let in on each side. This damage, along with the registration history of the Arrol Asters SM 7833, 7834 and 7835, leads Neil to believe his was previously SM 7834 which crashed in the 1929 TT and is reported as having damaged the track rod on the driver’s side. From the registration records SM 7384 was the only one that had no entries after its initial registration and the card is marked ‘record obliterated’ which was often done when a car was exported. The other two had entries which were made after this car was in Australia. The car has taken part in numerous VSCC events and was awarded best vintage car in the RACV ‘Fly the Flag’ rally. It’s silent and wonderful to drive on the open road, producing more torque than other vintage cars with similarly sized engines. The one drawback is the oil smoke from the sleeve valve engine.

15 From the Tent Paul Ferguson

irstly, I must confess to mistakenly, in the last issue, crediting Malcolm Fretwell with Lawrence Pilgrim’s photo of the departing Vulcan – my apologies to both Fof them. Their pictures were part of our first digital photo competition. Since then the Section has held its annual meeting at which we were able to present Cliff Davy with the Ken Cates Trophy and to have an interesting if inconclusive discussion about manipulation of digital images. We agreed to hold a competition for prints to be submitted by 2nd October, the final display date of the year, with another digital competition to be held over the winter. Rules for both competitions will be sent out by email with the Merlin newsletter. In April a number of section members made a visit to the RAF Museum at Hendon where an engaging volunteer guide took us on a guided tour lasting about 3 hours after which our party were ready to sit down but all agreed it was an excellent trip. In this issue we have our usual pages here, plus two at the back, to show a selection of pictures sent in by Photo Section members. It is worth mentioning that Flight Line Tours are proving particularly popular this year and have been fully booked by 10 am. They cannot be booked in advance so, if you are planning to take one, remember to get to the Tent as early as you can. If you wish to contact anyone regarding the Photo Section or to send images for publication in Prop-Swing you can do so by emailing [email protected]. Please ensure that you always let us know if you have a new email address.

Photo Section Selection

Our Hind and Sea Hurricane separate Paul Stevenson 16 Startup! Chris Enion

Morane Saulnier MS317 put on a spirited display at the Fly Navy display Gary Brown 17 What a pleasure to see the Sea Vixen Lawrence Pilgrim

Reds break at season premier Andrew Goldsmith 18 Swordfish crew salute the flag Christopher Baker

500 Club Winners £ £ February S LPayne 133.40 April B Huston 130.20 P Appleby 66.70 D Hawkins 65.10 N Wright 50.03 D A Macrae 48.83 F R Leatherdale 41.69 S Howes 40.69 G Handel 25.07 J Neville 24.41 B A S Brown 16.68 T H Morris 16.28 March A J Rossiter 131.20 May S L Page 129.20 J M Hames 65.50 J Postlethwaite 64.60 T Whiting 49.20 P Kingsbury 48.45 P G Allison 41.00 J Godfrey 40.38 F E Stevenson 25.60 S Sage 24.23 J Stuart 16.40 D A Edwards 16.15

Any old rags? The Engineering Dept would be grateful for any clean, 100% cotton or linen rags you are able to donate. As they’re for use in the maintenance of the aircraft and cleaning of parts it’s important that they don’t contain any man made fibres which will not absorb oil or other liquids. So, things like bed linen and cotton

19 T shirts but as Angela, John Munn’s secretary, said, “No knickers please” (strictly, we add, in this context). If you can help would you please take your valued contributions to the shop where they’ll be collected by the appreciative engineers.

From the Aero Workshops ‘Crankcase’

t’s now mid-June, the Sopwith Triplane rebuild is completed and the engineers are just waiting for suitable opportunities to carry out some engine runs as the Irebuilt Clerget rotary is ready to go. The Clerget for the Camel is coming along well with the cylinders now assembled to the crankcase but progress has been slow due to more pressing work on other aircraft. Another early engine requiring attention is the Blériot’s three cylinder Anzani. It will run well on all three cylinders at low revs but as soon as the ignition’s advanced, it goes on to two. Head scratching proceeds, but its Permit to Fly won’t be renewed until the engine can produce the power to fly. The Chipmunk has its rebuilt wings back on and may well have the undercarriage and wing fairings fitted by the time you read this; since the last report the Tomtit has had its oil cooler re-cored and refitted; theWren is still in bits in Andy’s workshop and coming along slowly but surely and THT’s Cub (for new The Chipmunk now has its wings re-fitted members ‘THT’ is Tony Haig-Thomas, our Aviation Trustee but two, ago) and the resident Dornier 28 have had their annual inspections. Repairs to the Lysander were completed some time ago and it flew during the June show so, as mentioned in the last report, the Spitfire has been moved to the back of the Workshop Hangar (I still want to call it Hangar 1...) where the Lizzie was and now looks more like a complete Spitfire at last. It’s on jacks with the wings fitted using the old pins temporarily as the correctly sized new reamers and pins are still awaited from the manufacturers. There are however still plenty of jobs to be finished off as it’s a complex aeroplane compared with Spitfire wing root fairing fitted many at Old Warden. 20 All the pipework for fuel, oil and hydraulics has been pressure tested and new pipe prepared to replace any that has failed the test. The engine isn’t in yet and some of the pipework has to be installed before it is or it will be inaccessible. That will make installing the engine in the very restricted engine bay even more tricky as, obviously, great care must be taken to avoid crushing any of the pipes. Another fiddly job has been fitting a new dual spin-on oil filter (that’s like the screw on filters on car engines) to replace the original ‘bit of gauze’ type. It’s a bit bulkier than the original making it a tight fit in the wing root and necessitating re-siting the pre- oiler, but it will give more peace Ian Laraman working on the wing root of mind over the cleanliness of the oil supply to the Merlin. The control runs in the fuselage have been rigged and the wing fairing brackets have been repaired where necessary and the fairings fitted with new rubbing strips along the touching edges. Lastly, for now, with the wings in position the rewiring can be completed. There are two more items of news, not strictly Aero Workshops, though the first will have a noticeable effect on their future employment. As many of you probably Spitfire engine bay already know, the Wildcat has been sold and has gone to Duxford where the Aircraft Restoration Company will be working on it for its new owner. Second, recent visitors to Old Warden will have noticed a whacking great hole being dug on the airfield between the fuel pump and the First Aid/refreshment hut. It’s for the recently delivered (whacking great) new 50,000 litre, two compartment, underground fuel tank which will considerably improve Old Warden’s facility for refuelling both resident and visiting aircraft and, it’s hoped, enhance the Collection’s revenue earning ability. The new 50,000 litre fuel tank 21 RV7 Update John Edser

n the last update I left you in suspense pending the filling of pinholes in the cowls and wheel spats. Well, following several days of sticky hands and some calls from Ithe house of “What’s that horrible smell”, I completed the first pass on the cowls. Once the weather warms up a bit I’ll have a go at spraying on an undercoat which from experience will really show up the bits I’ve missed! Next I’m afraid things had to go on hold. First, we had a three week holiday in Florida to take the grandchildren to the various theme parks, which all went well. However, whilst in America I received the tragic news that Rita, our Membership Secretary had died and after that not much has been done on the RV as I have been working fairly well full time on trying to deal with the situation – more details are in my Treasurer’s report. As at the time of writing this report I have just started back on the RV to pick up from where I left off almost two months ago. The initial job was to fit the filtered air intake box, connect up the carb heat and alternate air controls and manufacture from fibre glass the ‘tunnel’ that joins the cowl air intake to the filtered air box. Following this a start has been made on fitting the main gear fairings and the fairings that mould these into the wheel spats and fuselage. And I’ve just got permission from Tim Routsis to order the upholstery, so there’ll be no delay in finishing the job.

Vehicle Collection Report Stuart Gray & Neil Thomas

s we’re already taking up so much space in this issue of Prop-Swing Awith the article on the Collection’s newly restored TACR1 Land Rover Fire Truck, I’ll make this report on our current activities brief. SVAS volunteer Tim King has been quietly pushing ahead with the restoration of our 1904 De Dietrich, perhaps one of the most important veteran cars in our collection. The engine has required extensive work - and modification in line with our desire to return it to its original low tension ignition system. The car is now very much together as a running chassis and all we’re waiting for is delivery of new drive sprockets, which had to be remade due to the discovery of hair line cracks in the originals. Tim King can hardly contain his excitement when the De Dietrich fires up for the first time 22 The main milestone event for Tim and one he has been anxious about was the first engine test and, with the support of his colleagues, we all gathered around the car on 7th June. Tim need not have been so anxious as it fired up virtually straight away and sounded fantastic. He was, as our picture displays, somewhat pleased with himself. He still has some work to do but, on the return of the new drive sprockets, we shall be getting close to finishing the restoration and are still on target for the car to appear running this year. Our 1912 Wolseley is in the workshop so that we can strip down the engine and replace the top water rail. In general the engine is in good condition and we’re hopeful of having it back together before the end of the season. We’re also having the wheels rebuilt as the originals have suffered from shrinkage and were in danger of collapse. They’ve been down at Fairbourne Carriages and should be back in the next few weeks. Additional work on the car includes the re-upholstering of one rear door lining to match the original interior. It had been replaced in recent years but not in any way reflecting the original and the rest of the interior. The other major achievement so far this year has already been seen on a show day parade: our Arrol Johnston Dog Cart that received a new radiator earlier this year. This is the car Richard purchased in 1931 and subsequently drove back to Old Warden from Dumfries in 23 hours. He entered it in the 1933 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run - we’ve entered it this year and have every intention of crossing the finishing line. For motorcycle enthusiasts, we’re well on our way with our two main projects. Richard Martin has stripped the 1921 Scott Squirrel combination for a complete restoration and is progressing with the engine. We’re also due to get it a newly made radiator. John Plummer has been working hard to complete the installation of a new wiring loom on our Sunbeam S8 which has not been as easy as one might expect. He’s hopeful that we can have it back on parade soon. Finally, we are taking a close look at our veteran cycle collection with help from two local members of the Veteran Cycle Club. After many years in the Collection the cycles, now on display with the cars, are all The Sunbeam S8 in the workshop for rewiring considered to be in pretty good shape and after a sympathetic service we hope will be regularly ridden during our event days. That ends Stuart’s report and Neil, from the hangar - as opposed to workshop - side adds that the Leyland Charabus and double decker ‘Wellingborough’ bus teams are enjoying themselves finding out about the buses’ foibles, including the driving which is not as straightforward as first thought! During April the McCurd Tate &

23 Let there be light - in the Carriage Room Lyle lorry was taken to Beamish for one of their events and its fan belt broke. While sourcing a replacement the opportunity has been taken to order spare ones for the buses too. The Carriage Room has new lights making a marked improvement to the viewing. The chain link barrier is now repaired which tidies up the overall image but we’re still sorely in need of a volunteer who’s expert in carriage maintenance. Finally, Railway Corner, and following the earlier article about Roger England and No 34081 92 Squadron, the latest information is that all insulation is now fitted, the back head of the foot plate area is complete, and the smokebox and its cladding are installed. The tender has been painted with two of its three coats of malachite green and will shortly join the engine in the main workshop. The cab should be fitted by the time you read this and the loco be in steam by September 2016.

Smoke box cladding Back head 24 Land Rover Fire Truck Refurbishment Steve Hartles

hose of you who have been to recent airshows will have seen the Land Rover fire truck back in service, following the major refurbishment undertaken by the Tvehicle group volunteers. For me, having started volunteering at Shuttleworth last October, it was my baptism of fire. I recall my first task was painting the new galvanised chassis, the basis of the restoration, but didn’t realise that subsequently Stuart Gray would ask me to lead the project. Unusually for the vehicle team, this project had a deadline that had to be met: simply, the vehicle had to be available for pilot training week in April, five months away at that stage, so we knew that if we were to succeed it would be a major draw on our skills and time over the winter. In its service life with the RAF the Land Rover was known as a TACR-1 (Truck Aircraft Crash Rescue Mk1). After some initial research on the Internet, a dedicated TACR-1 website was discovered and proved to be a mine of information thanks to Paul Hazell, a TACR-1 owner, who created the site. Our research revealed that our fire truck was one of a small contingent of vehicles manufactured by HCB-Angus,

25 a specialist manufacturer of fire fighting equipment, which has now ceased trading. Our truck was one of 90 or so built for service on armed forces airfields. Designed as a first responder vehicle with a three-man crew, its task was to be first on the scene of an aircraft accident whilst its heavier brothers followed. The crew were to use the two foam hoses to create a path through any fire so that the aircrew could be rescued. Our particular fire truck was built in 1973 and assigned to RAF Abingdon where we believe it served until sold to the Collection some 20 years ago. Today you will see the vehicle, which is no longer road licensed, sporting Shuttleworth decals and its original service number, 30 AG 47. Research done, my first glimpse of the project was not the truck at all, but the rear tub which lay forlornly at the rear of the blister hanger. It had been removed to assess the condition of the chassis and water tank sub frame - the vehicle has a 100 gallon water tank buried within it. A few days later, the rest of the vehicle was driven into the vehicle workshop and the extent of the chassis corrosion could be seen. One of the serious issues prevalent with this particular design is rear end corrosion due to spillage of the foaming agent added to the water tank. The vehicle was a tale of two ends: at the rear, just about everything that could rust was corroded and seized and at the front, the gallons of oil that had seeped out of the engine had had the reverse effect and it proved to be in pristine condition once the layer of caked oily dirt had been removed. The strip down began in early November. We wanted to avoid dismantling the cab so planned to remove it in one piece in an effort to save time. Off came the bonnet, wings, radiator and grille, lights and a plethora of items attached to them. We had two main opponents in doing this - rust and underseal - both of which made removing those hard to get to bolts a major task. In the end though, after many minor cuts and scratches, the team were ready to remove the two main bolts holding the cab to the chassis, undo the steering box and lift the cab off. Needless to say, the cab holding bolts were seriously corroded and had to be removed with an angle grinder. But, eventually, they yielded and with the aid of the farm forklift, the cab was free. By this time, it was late November and there was a sense that we would struggle to get the job done on time so we split our resources and set all hands to the pumps (excuse the pun). Chris Cheesman undertook to remove, clean, refurbish and refit the engine whilst the rest of us worked on the chassis and running gear. So, as Chris and his team waded into the oily goo to get the engine out, the rest of us prepped the new chassis, fitting the simple things like brackets and stops, then drilling and tapping for the brake pipes and other additions that were unique to our vehicle. Minus engine, the chassis was rolled to the rear of the workshop for the axles and steering components to be removed prior to cleaning and painting. Once again, the enemy rust made this a bigger job than anticipated. To help we applied liberal amounts of anti-seize - and our secret weapon, Josh Firby, a good man to have around when you need a lot of torque applied to that stubborn bolt! Despite our best efforts though, the angle grinder needed to come out again to get the job finished. Chassis abandoned, we turned to cleaning and painting the components. Not the most glamorous of tasks and I recall reluctantly asking Cyril Dalton and John Butlin if

26 they would clean the engine. Fortunately they promptly agreed and I can still see them perched in the corner of the workshop, sloshing paraffin onto the engine to remove all those years of grease and grime. Mid December and we turned a corner and started putting things back together. Then David James came out with a corker, “Let’s paint the fire truck”. That was not in the tight time schedule, but there was a lot of pride in what we had achieved by that point so we added that to the job list! By early January, we had a rolling chassis equipped with all new springs, braking system, track rod ends and shock absorbers. I have to admit though that we cheated a little as Andrew Gordon and I came in and put in a few extra hours. The chassis was ready for the engine, re-gasketed to foil the oil leaks, equipped with many new components and repainted. As our vehicle is non-standard lots of brackets had been added by HCB-Angus to support the rear tub and pump and, not least, the corroded subframe that needed replacement. These parts were manufactured and fitted in January, just ahead of the first test run of the engine. January in the workshop was very busy; we had the chassis beside the vehicle lift, the tub on the lift and the cab on a mobile pallet, all being worked on at the same time. It’s true to say that if you were a volunteer for the vehicle team during this time, at some point you worked on the Land Rover. In February, we prayed for good weather so that we could get on and start spraying the various components. The team prepared the cab, wings, bonnet and new doors to receive their red livery as we patiently watched the weather. In parallel, work on the tub and chassis progressed. Then one Thursday it all happened: we set up a makeshift spray booth and at the end of that day, everything, apart from the tub, was in shiny red gloss. Shortly afterwards, the cab was put back on the chassis and our progress was there for all to see. Then began the painstaking task of putting back all the small essential components that make up the complete vehicle. After a few more weeks work on AVIATION BOOKS AND MAGAZINES the tub it was lifted onto the mobile pallet (Rare and Second Hand) and prepared for painting. from March saw the tub painted and refitted BRIAN COCKS, 18 Woodgate, to the chassis, the pump fitted back onto Helpston, the vehicle, not to mention the myriad Peterborough, Cambs. PE6 7ED little tasks that were completed and the (Tel: 01733-252791) previously unknown problems that were [email protected] www.aviationbookhouse.co.uk discovered and addressed. Shuttleworth Visits by appointment; Catalogues decals were applied to the vehicle to reflect twice a year - please send, towards its new identity and by the end of the month postage costs: £1.00 each (UK); we had a complete vehicle, some minor £3.00 each (Europe); £5.00 each (other) outstanding issues to address and a fire Wants records held; attendance at pump test to do. most main Old Warden Flying Sundays SVAS LIFE MEMBER 27 The Vehicle team, Steve Hartles centre, standing proudly in front of their finished project With around 20 gallons in the water tank, it was obvious that there was a major problem with the water pump. Once removed from the vehicle and dismantled we discovered that the pressure side carbon water seal had disintegrated. Also, the suction side seal had been previously replaced with a brass one, so not the first time it had been repaired. The brass seal did allow an accurate set of dimensions to be determined and I was able to create a 3D model for potential manufacturers. Within a week of supplying the design we had new carbon seals on site being fitted to the pump. Fingers crossed, we filled the tank with 100 gallons of water. Josh manned the fire hose, we engaged the pump drive and revved up the engine with the hand throttle. Josh let fly with the water spray and the pump held 100 psi until the water ran out. Test passed, job done! A week later, we handed the vehicle back to Jean Munn, did the necessary photoshoot and moved on to the next projects. I hope that you’ll all agree that the fire truck looks splendid in its new livery and set for another 30 years of active service with the Collection. On a personal note, this was an enjoyable project, not least because it allowed me to work with and become friends with that group of dedicated volunteers who are the vehicle group. Their depth of knowledge and their support made this project possible. Although only a few are mentioned here, the entire team contributed and, on behalf of the Collection, thanks to you all!

28 The 1930 Challenge International de Tourisme – Part 2 Bill Grigg

In the Spring 2016 issue we left Sid Weedon and Hubert Broad spending the night in Barcelona after a smooth passage from Saragossa on 23rd July 1930. Now read on!

July 24th: Barcelona via Nimes and Lyons to Lausanne where they arrived in fog. They had reached more mountains and for the next few days flew in an area of low pressure with the light rain and mist making things rather hazardous. (4 h 57 m) July 25th: Lausanne to Bern, Munich, Vienna, Prague then Breslau. (6 h 41 m) July 26th: A short day - Breslau via Poznan to Warsaw, as thick mist made any further flying out of the question. 2h( 24m). July 27th: Warsaw, Königsberg, Danzig and the finish at Berlin. At Königsberg aerodrome, after refuelling, Sid was offered a drink from a basket of bottles carried by “the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen”. As a rule he never drank during the day while flying but on this occasion was entirely Broad with officials during the stop at Breslau willing to make an exception and says in his memoir that after forty years he could still see her standing there! On, possibly slightly reluctantly, to Danzig, flying near the sea and quite low due to a headwind when they overflew a nudist colony with the denizens tastefully arrayed and taking the sun. Quite a day for Sid and also in this case the Capt! At Danzig they met DH chairman, Alan Butler, who was competing in another Moth (in fact Butler was disqualified for having replaced the propeller of his 60M Moth which had nosed over when landing at Poznan); he and Broad decided to fly on to Berlin in formation at 5,000 ft and, when Templehof aerodrome came in sight, to dive down and cross the finishing line together. This didn’t quite work out as Broad dived more steeply and arrived seconds ahead. When they’d landed in front of the public enclosure and an enormous crowd they discovered that they were the first arrivals - to the evident disappointment of many of the Germans who, although it wasn’t a race, it seems would have preferred one of their countrymen to be first. Nonetheless, they were warmly welcomed by the crowd and after they’d taxied in were besieged by the press and camera men. July 28: Off to Staaken airfield for some (undisclosed by Sid) tests and back 29 Sid missed this picture which was taken on arrival at Berlin after the main stage of the competition. Sid reports that “there was a large tent nearby, tables laid out for a dinner of the officials and pilots. I was in the tent with a steward I know drinking champagne with him”. to Berlin in the afternoon where Sid checked and serviced the Moth and cleaned it thoroughly. July 30: The Moth was taken up for a short test flight and Broad pronounced himself very pleased. July 31: No flying, nothing to do, just loafing about and enjoying the sunshine. After dinner they went to a skittle alley for …beer and skittles. August 1: More tests among which were the slow landing trials. Broad had an idea that, if Sid stood up in the front cockpit and pressed himself against the underside of the petrol tank, he’d make a useful air brake. They went up for a test and it worked but they were spotted and, after landing, were informed that they were not allowed to perform dangerous stunts over the airfield - if they did it again they’d be disqualified. End of the human air brake! August 3: The petrol consumption test, a Hubert Broad strikes a pose aboard trip of about 170 miles, to Dessau and back twice. ’AHR

30 Having been to a late night party the night before, Sid had a headache and would rather not have been hand pumping petrol in the front cockpit of a Moth. “It felt like flying to China and back”. August 6: The take-off and landing tests: two poles were set up with a cord, between them at a height of 28 ft, festooned with bunting. Competitors selected their own position for starting in order to clear the cord and the shortest take off would get the most marks. The Moth had a racing propeller fitted so they didn’t expect to do very well and on their first attempt, didn’t, landing back complete with the cord and flags streaming along behind. When the barrier had been repaired and all was ready, Broad got in position for another go, prudently a bit further back this time. While all this was going on no one had noticed that the wind had veered round and was now blowing across the course from the right. Full throttle again and as they started to climb the wind caught the Moth which drifted left, hit the left wooden pole with a wing tip (he doesn’t say which wing) and snapped the pole off above where it was braced by wires to a steel collar. The wing tip was damaged and the Moth swung sharply round at right angles to the line of flight, lost flying speed and sank to the ground with a heavy thump. Sid climbed out and found that fortunately all he seemed to be suffering was some pain in the back of his neck and shoulder – Broad was unscathed. The wing had come off worse as the tube forming the tip ’AHR finally clearing the bunting to complete the shape was fractured, the end of the take-off test rear spar had broken off and the fabric was torn. No replacements were allowed so all Sid could do was straighten the tube as best he could, clear away the loose and broken parts, sew up the torn fabric and dope a new piece of fabric over the lot. The result was a funny shape but serviceable. Fortunately the undercarriage was found to be OK, so round they went for another try – the last as only three were allowed. Even further back this time, and they made it, easily clearing the cord as the poles had now been turned to face right into wind. In retrospect Sid was very thankful to be in one piece as, if the nose had dug in after they’d struck the pole at full throttle the result might have been quite different. August 7: Results announced: the competition had again been won by Fritz

31 DH Chairman Alan Butler and Captain Immediately after the finish of the competition. Broad after the finish flank an unnamed The Moth is Alan Butler’s, the Chairman of German Aero Club official. The machine is DH, and this photo shows the half canopy Butler’s fitted to the front cockpit of the Moths to provide extra protection from the slipstream. Morzik in a BFW M.23c and our Moth The dirty overalls are the result of using them pair had finished eighth overall and second as a dipstick wiper between flights of six in their sub-division. Another Gipsy Moth, flown by Winifred Spooner, had beaten them by finishing fourth, behind Morzik and two Klemms, due to a very good performance in the technical tests. Then, homeward bound at last: Staaken via Hannover to Rotterdam for the night. August 8: Rotterdam to Lympne, Lympne to Stag Lane. They’d been away for three weeks and three days and Sid’s record showed that their average flying speed was always over 100 miles per hour for the official 4,690 miles of the course. There had been 60 starters and 35 finishers.

Clayton & Shuttleworth Agricultural Heritage Collection James Michell

would firstly like to thank those who offered to create a set of drawings for the front wheels of the elevator. We now have a complete set of CAD drawings and I the wheels have gone away for repair. We have had two donations recently. We have been given two chaff cutter knife wheels, meaning that the machine can now be

32 displayed equipped as it would have been with a second knife wheel. They are both of the five knife type allowing us to show another option that was available. Chaff cutters had at least two knife wheels as, when in full use, the knives only stayed sharp for up to an hour and a half. The other item donated is a Marshall Sons & Co sack lifter of a type used as a mechanical aid to lift heavy corn sacks so they could be put onto worker’s backs for moving. Over the past few months the restoration of the ‘Hayes Pattern’ straw elevator has begun. It has been separated into two main components with the carriage part now in the workshops and the elevating section sheeted over and back at Home Farm. After initial assessment, dismantling was started with all the metal work being bagged for cleaning. The majority of the bolts have been successfully removed intact and so are reusable. The condition of the wooden frame is another matter. Upon dismantling, it became evident that there have been many repairs, some good and some not so good; some with wood and some with rag and concrete hidden behind a bit of tin. I think that we are restoring it just in time. One of the side frames was in better condition than the other so it has been rebuilt with a couple of bits of new wood. The second side has required significant amounts

Straw elevator frames before and after restoration of new oak, including both the top and bottom members, with the first repaired side used as a template. The rear wooden axle has also had to be replaced as one of the ends was cracked. We have continued to follow our previous policy of trying to retain as much of the original material as possible and identifying original colours and features. For this project there has been a bit more new wood than we originally anticipated, but some of the wood that is not suitable for re-use in its original location has been used to replace other, smaller sections and make repairs to damaged wood.

What is ‘Hayes Pattern’? James Hayes was born the fifth of nine children to Richard and Jane Hayes of Elton, Huntingdonshire in December 1799; he was christened on Christmas Day. On 23rd March 1830 he married Mary Ann Cook with whom he had seven children. He died on the 6th October 1890, aged 90.

33 Hayes lived and worked in Overend, Elton and the 1851 census shows that he was a “Millwright & farmer of 20 acres employing 6 men”. His first patent was taken out two years later, in 1853, for the invention of “improved machinery for raising and stacking straw, hay, corn and other agricultural produce”. The main objective of the invention was that “by the employment or application of mechanical contrivances to diminish, to a very considerable extent, the manual labour heretofore required for stacking agricultural produce”. The patent application then goes on to describe the machine by saying “it consists principally of an endless chain or band of any convenient length, and to which are affixed, at suitable distances, prongs, teeth or tines on which the straw or other agricultural produce is laid by the attendants”. It goes on to describe further that the endless band or chain is mounted on a frame that allows it to be raised and lowered using a rack and pinion. The power to turn the chain or band is provided either by hand or by steam power via gears. The machine is to be mounted on wheels so that it can be moved. James Hayes went on to take out two further patents on elevators in 1866 and 1868 by adding shakers and riddles to the bottom end of the machines for the straw, hay or corn to go through prior to elevating to the stop of the stack. The ‘Hayes Pattern’ machines had the added advantage of the straw, hay or agricultural produce being protected from the wind due to having higher sides on the elevating part. This was because the tines returned over the top unlike the ‘Farmer’s Pattern’ machines, which returned underneath. Agreements to use the patent were entered into between Messrs. Clayton & Shuttleworth of Lincoln; Wallace and Stevens of Basingstoke and Charles Burrell of Thetford for the rights to making machines to the patent. A royalty was paid on each machine produced and the manufacturers had to affix a plate to the machine bearing James Hayes’s name and address.

East of England Regional Industrial Archaeological Conference

34 On Saturday 9th July, the Shuttleworth Collection hosted the East of England Regional Industrial Conference. The delegates’ day started at 10 am in The House with an introduction to the Shuttleworth family and origins of the Collection, followed by three presentations on the restoration and operation of vintage vehicles, agricultural machinery and aircraft. In the afternoon there were corresponding tours covering each topic. The highlight of the tour on the agricultural heritage was the Collection’s engine ‘Dorothy’ being used for the first time to power the chaff cutter by belt. This demonstration went well despite ‘Dorothy’ having originally been built as a road roller and so having a narrower and smaller diameter flywheel than a traction engine. Hopefully in the future we will have the portable engine restored for this role. We did learn that baled wheat straw is not as good as trussed long straw when going through the chaff cutter and will be on the lookout for some long straw during the harvest season for use over the coming year.

Bristol Scout Type C, s/no 1264 David Bremner

frequent visitor to Hangar 1 is the Bristol Scout, serial no. 1264, which will be taking part in airshows this year. She is unique in a number of ways. Firstly Ashe is the only airworthy Bristol Scout in the world. There are two other, static, replicas – A1742, built by RAF apprentices in the 1960s, which is currently in Hangar 1 but is shortly to depart for her permanent home at her birthplace, Filton, and N5419, built by Leo Opdyke in the 1980s and flown just the once at Old Rhinebeck before magneto failure forced her down in the trees. She has been restored to static condition 35 and hangs in the FAA Museum at Yeovilton. But 1264 is also unique in her family history. She was the favourite mount of my grandfather, Flt Sub Lt ‘Bunnie’ Bremner RNAS, who flew her from January to July 1916 in the Eastern Mediterranean, from the islands of Imbros and Thassos. When he was invalided home with malaria and dysentery, she was being sent away for re-covering, so he took three souvenirs with him; the Bosch magneto (probably originally from a German plane forced down in the Salonika campaign and his personal property), the stick (which he’d had extended by 50 mm) and the rudder bar. His grandsons grew up listening to their grandfather’s stories of flying and found the souvenirs in his workshop after he died. Then, in 2002, their friend Theo Willford suggested rebuilding Flt Sub Lt ‘Bunnie’ Bremner RNAS (right) 1264, and 14 years later she is complete – exactly as Bunnie flew her 100 years ago. All three of us fly 1264, and I have obtained a Display Authorisation and display her at Shuttleworth shows.

History of the Bristol Scout In the summer of 1913, Frank Barnwell, Chief Draughtsman of the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, had completed work on the top secret Bristol-Burney hydroplane and had time on his hands. He suggested to the company board that he use the time to design a high speed single seat, unarmed, scouting machine, probably to meet a specification drawn up by the RFC earlier that year. He was given a second hand 80 hp Gnôme engine that had been dunked in the sea at full power and told to re-use as many parts as he could from a cancelled project for the Italian government. The prototype flew in February 1914 and was very fast, but a beast to handle. Frank designed some larger wings and widened the undercarriage and the resultant aircraft and the contemporary Sopwith Tabloid were regarded as the first British aircraft to be world-beating, the French having dominated the market up to that time. Lord Carberry bought and raced the prototype with a le Rhône engine that summer, and in August the second two built, designated Scout Bs due to minor detail differences, were requisitioned by the War Office on the outbreak of war. Both machines were an immediate hit on account of their performance and manoeuvrability

36 which for the first time enabled their pilots to chase after enemy aircraft. Pilots armed themselves with revolvers and hand held rifles, later fixing the rifles to homemade mounts on the fuselage side, arranged to fire just outside the propeller arc. Both RFC and RNAS ordered further small batches of Scouts late in 1914 and Frank took the opportunity to redesign the fuselage with the seat 150 mm further aft, reducing the length of the aluminium skin on the fuselage sides and making a good many other internal changes. There was no fixed armament, however, since it wasn’t clear how best to mount it in the absence of a way of synchronising the gun to fire through the propeller arc. The first machine from these orders was delivered to the RNAS in February and the pilot is reported as having particularly enjoyed rolling off the top of a loop, spinning and flat spinning it, and flying it inverted (and it only had a chest strap attached to the top longerons by 25 mm leather straps -you can see the arrangement on 1264!) And six months earlier, at the outbreak of war, only six pilots in the world had ever looped an aircraft... This batch of Scouts in their third incarnation was retrospectively classified as the Type C and included a number of very historic machines. Lanoe Hawker mounted a Lewis machine gun obliquely on 1611 and downed three Germans in a single sortie, winning himself the first VC for aerial combat; Albert Ball gained the first ofhis victories in a couple of Scouts; in November 1915, 1255 became the first wheeled aircraft to take off from a moving ship when she was launched from the foredeck of HMS Vindex. 1264 was one of the last of the batch and was one of the first to incorporate another design change when the oil tank, which had been located behind the pilot,

37 was moved to under the cabane. The next batch had a small locker in the space behind the pilot, so 1264 is one of less than half a dozen machines to have nothing in that position. In addition to the many modifications introduced by the factory during the total production run of 374, field modifications were the order of the day, and I have come across evidence of around eight or nine different machine gun mounts that were tried out, plus other types of armament and 1264 is a typical example. RNAS No 2 Wing on Imbros, facing the Gallipoli peninsula, decided to mount Lewis guns firing through the propeller and accept the fact that about 10% of bullets would end up in the propeller. They doped strips of fabric around the blade to try and reduce splintering, but, as Grandad said, “You didn’t practise at all”. A single 47 round drum of ammunition - which would be consumed in about 9 seconds - would leave 2-3 holes in each blade! In addition, a home-made rack to hold four 16 lb bombs was fitted to the bottom of the fuselage, just behind the engine, and a large hole was cut in the floor to aim through. 1264 today doesn’t have the hole in the floor – there’s quite enough oil gets inside the airframe as it is!

Flying the Scout The cockpit is famously small. Bunnie was 6 ft 3 in tall and had to remove the cushion. I’m the same height and I find that I have to remove my shoes as well in order to be sure to get full and free movement of the rudder. All the instruments apart from the ASI are genuine early WWI. As you open the bloc-tube (slowly, so as not to get a rich cut) the first impression is the overwhelming wind rush and noise. There’s no windscreen, and the propwash

38 is absolutely overwhelming when compared to that from a modern 80 hp engine, such as the Rotax 912. Goggles are an absolute must, and something to clean them with (such as a silk scarf) should be an essential part of your pre-flight checklist. In fact the wind noise, even with earplugs, makes it quite hard to hear the engine. Acceleration is good, and the tail comes up after a yard or two with only a little persuasion and you should be off in less than 100 yards. At around 50-60 kt we are getting about 400 fpm climb rate, which is a lot less than the 1,000 fpm they got 100 years ago and we are still trying to establish the reason for the discrepancy. There are two chief differences between the handling of a modern aircraft and the Scout. There is no fixed fin and so there is no yaw stability. It’s most noticeable at speeds below 50 kt where you spend a great deal of time chasing the bubble, but you can’t take your feet off the rudder bar at any speed or power setting. The second is pitch stability. All modern aircraft are designed that the forces on the stick will tend to return the machine to trim speed. Early WWI aeroplanes didn’t have this design feature, so at 45 kt the stick is pushing backwards and at very high speeds it is pulling forwards. At normal speeds of 55–70 kt, the stick force isn’t much, but you can’t let go! We were expecting the ailerons to be pretty ineffective. It’s supposed to be the case for most WWI aeroplanes and, although there are four on the Scout and they are of pretty generous area, you can only get about 12° of movement. So I was delighted to find how responsive they are - in fact I’ve flown modern microlights with worse roll control. There is some adverse yaw, but with the short wingspan (24 ft 7 in) it’s nothing to write home about. The stall is not particularly well signalled by buffet, but there are other signs that

39 you are getting a bit on the slow side. Chief among these is the fact that the clinometer bubble is slithering about all over the place. At the stall, which is reached at around 35 kt, there’s a tendency to drop a wing, but it’s easily checked with rudder and it seems probable you’d have to hold it into the stall with some determination to persuade it into a spin (spins didn’t form part of the test flying programme). The engine is throttled pretty well back for this exercise, but be aware that if you shut the throttle altogether, with no airflow over the propeller the engine could just stop, and while you might be able to restart it with a dive, there’s no guarantee. On the other hand, the enormous torque from the engine means that power-on stalls are inadvisable. If Dodge wasn’t prepared to try them, neither was I! Turns are relatively straightforward except when you’re turning tightly during a display routine, when the difference due to the precession effects becomes apparent. Left turns are easy and right turns aren’t. Descending is a pleasure. Shut the throttle completely, and it goes relatively quiet. You can feel the pulse of air from each blade as it freewheels in the airflow. Descent rate (amazingly) is no more than in a modern light aircraft and it seems a shame to have to open the throttle at the bottom of the descent. The engine will pick up and run – something you certainly don’t expect with its big brother, the 110 le Rhône. The quadrant on the throttle lever is marked 1 - 10 and if you’re landing you set it at around 6 to ensure it will respond quickly when you need to open the throttle. Thereafter you use the blip switch. With a rotary one should treat every landing as a deadstick once you are certain of getting onto the field, but we have found that it’s all too easy for your thumb to

40 Owner/builder David Bremner 41 slip off the switch during the excitement and concentration of getting the flare right, and this can upset the whole approach. Nevertheless, the chassis (they didn’t call it an undercarriage in those days) seems to be more robust than we’d expected. I’m typing this with one hand, the other firmly touching wood... The ailerons and elevator remain effective throughout the landing and the rudder only needs a touch of power to work. With such a rare and valuable machine, it’s not envisaged that we would undertake any cross-country flights. We are lucky in that she is small enough to fit into a covered road trailer with the wings and elevators removed, so we can get her to different locations with greater ease than most aeroplanes of this period. Conclusion The first thing to say is how astonishingly modern the Scout seems, considering the design dates from less than 6 years after powered aviation really started to develop in 1908 and that it’s contemporaneous with machines like the BE2c. The weight of the engine is more or less equal to a modern engine plus passenger, and the additional drag of the biplane configuration is more or less counterbalanced by the thrust from that enormous propeller. If we can persuade the engine to run at its rated rpm, we think the rate of climb and top speeds should be pretty similar to the originals. The handling – at least in the middle of the flight envelope – is very similar too, provided you ignore the forces on the stick and the twitchiness of the rudder. Landing seems to be simpler than we had been led to believe, provided you stick with a grass surface directly into a wind of 10 kt or less. It’s even possible to taxi her with more than adequate control – something we weren’t expecting at all. And the lively and crisp control responses in all three axes make it very easy to see why those early pilots were so enthusiastic about trying to shoot down enemy aircraft instead of reporting troop movements. All colour photographs by Darren Harbar.

From the Archive – 1923 Schneider Trophy Entries Bill Grigg

n the Library the team continues to sift through lots of old photos to identify the subjects - which in very many cases are not recorded on the print - and then cata- Ilogue them. I’m sometimes flattered by being asked to help with identification and very pleased if, on occasion, I actually can. Two recent small examples were found amongst a box of assorted pictures of early 20’s aircraft, mostly British, and turned out to be of entries in the 1923 Schneider Trophy Contest. Both aircraft are pictured on the Saunders’ slipway at Cowes on the Isle of Wight where the event was held as Britain’s entry, the Supermarine Sea Lion II, had won at Naples in 1922. The first photo shows the Curtiss CR-3, competition no 3, that came second in 1923 piloted by Lieutenant Rutledge Irvine. The contest was won by the other US CR-3 entry of Lieutenant David Rittenhouse, no 4 which, not unnaturally, seems to be the one more often illustrated. So a photo of the runner up is nice. 42 43 The Curtisses ran rings round the rest of the entry and won by miles but the sub- ject of the other photo, the Latham L.1, didn’t even start the flying part of the event. The French entry comprised two Lathams and two potentially faster CAMS flying boats, all of which were scheduled to cross the Channel aboard two naval vessels, each carrying two aircraft. One ship became unserviceable so the more robust and seaworthy Lathams had to fly leaving the available ship for the CAMS. The weather on the day of crossing, 25th September, was dreadful but the machines had to be ready for the navigability and water tightness tests on 27th so delay was impossible. One of the pair, F-ATAM piloted by Benoist, encountered engine trouble en route and, unable to make headway against the gale force wind, made an emergency landing off Little- hampton where it was damaged while landing in the shallows and being beached with the aid of unskilled onlookers. Strike one Latham! The other machine, F-ESEJ piloted by Duhamel and the subject of our photo, arrived safely at Cowes and was ready to take part in the trials with the CAMS on the 27th. All well and good but when the time came for the three French entries to start up and take their positions for the speed contest on 28th, one of the Latham’s two back to back engines backfired and sheared the magneto drive. Strike two Lathams! One of the CAMS hit a steam yacht while taxiing (and, not surprisingly, came off worst) and the sole surviving French entry relinquished any slender chance it had of a placing when its Hispano Suiza engine failed necessitating a forced landing. In the event proper only three aircraft finished the course and in third place, far behind the two Curtisses, came the Supermarine Sea Lion III with an average speed of 157.12 mph over the five laps bounded by Cowes, Selsey Bill and Southsea; the winning Curtiss averaged 177.38 mph. The other British entry, the Blackburn Pellet, had crashed after porpoising during its take-off run on the way to the navigability tests on 27th and the third US entry, the Wright NW-2, powerful though not as svelte as the Curtisses and tipped as a possible winner, crashed at speed when its engine blew up during a practice run before the event, possibly due to propeller failure.

SE5a Rudder Bar

n his article on flying the SE5a in the Spring issue Peter Holloway mentioned that when he settled into the aircraft’s seat the rudder bar was on full deflection, forcing Ione of his knees into an awkward position when he put his feet in the stirrups. The editors brought up this point with Andy Preslent who explained that when the SE is unchocked, even without the addition of extra weight (ie pilot) in the fuselage it tends to roll backwards, pivoting on the steerable skid and thus moving the rudder bar. The travel of the rudder bar is restrained by a pair of cables and, left unchecked, the leverage on the skid could put an excessive strain on the wooden bar while the machine is standing on the ground. Therefore, you will notice that when the SE is parked its wheels are always chocked at the rear - and when the aircraft is moved it’s pulled backwards on the ground steering trolley. 44 The SE’s steerable tailskid Rudder bar restraining cables Originally, SE5as’ rudder bars were aluminium clad (to protect the wood from the pilots’ boots rather than impart extra strength) and there are stories of some developing stress cracks which couldn’t be detected under the covering - but when they were in military service most probably didn’t last long enough for it to be a significant problem… Ours is left uncovered so that its integrity can readily be checked.

Photo Section Extra

Seafire MKIII at Fly Navy display Gary Brown

45 Pilot portrait – September 2015 Alan Tarrant

A visiting Stanley Steamer steaming on the 8th May Season Premier Hugh Dodson 46 AND...

...and tell me Mr Holloway, do you dress to the left or right? Paul Ferguson

I’m sure there’s something wrong with this damned satnav! Chris Enion 47 48