SUMMER 2018 JOURNAL OF THE SHUTTLEWORTH VETERAN AEROPLANE SOCIETY In this issue: Blackburn B2 Photo Section Winners Spitfire First Flight Prize Crossword 1 PROP-SWING SUMMER 2018 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 Kevin Panter Paul Ferguson VICE CHAIRMAN: COMMITTEE MEMBERS Alan Reed Paul Ferguson SECRETARY: Edward Forrest James Michell Bill Grigg [email protected] Matthew Studdert-Kennedy Neil Thomas TREASURER: John Edser SVAS Contact Details: Answerphone: 01767 627909 MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: Ron Panter & Rosie Hall 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, Unit 16 Woodside Industrial Park, Works Road, Letchworth Garden City, Herts, SG6 1LA, 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: Spitfire VC over Old Warden again. Darren Harbar 2 Editorial Bill Grigg nlike the Spring issue, this one’s certainly not light on aeroplane content as there are two tasty additions to the airworthy Collection. With all the access Uto social media and information available on the Web this hardly counts as news but, for the record, I refer to the successful return to the air of the Shuttleworth Spitfire Mk VC and the no less excellent news that the Collection has acquired the Miles Hawk Speed Six, G-ADGP, with the aid of a very substantial contribution from the SVAS. That should satisfy both the military and civil minded among us! As if that’s not enough the Collection has also gained another significant artefact, this one unlikely to be flight tested. It’s a replica of the Pilcher Hawk glider and was originally built in 1930 for the Science Museum and much more recently, following a restoration by Eric Littledike, kept and displayed at Duxford. When Eric learned that Duxford no longer wanted the machine he let us know and Shuttleworth were very pleased to give this important piece of British aviation history a home. It’s always a bit sad, but often unavoidable when space is at a premium, when artefacts have to be denied space or removed from public view in museums and collections to make way for newer acquisitions or more ‘flavour of the month’ ones. In this case there was a happy ending. Tenuous link: the registration letters of Speed Six ’ADGP, the other Hawk are, well almost, an anagram of GDPR, the new regulations concerning holding and use of data. This is only significant to your Editor as this issue is the first Prop-Swing to come under the new rules and also the first from our new printer, Lavenham Press. There is another change as the younger bloods on the Committee have got their way (diplomatically, I hasten to add) which is why you’re getting this in a plastic bag rather than an old fashioned envelope. The SVAS Membership team have the data side well under control and I believe all’s well on my side so I trust you’ll find the changeover CONTENTS quite seamless. I shall know when I get my Prop-Swing through the post... Blackburn B2 4 Lastly, although you’ll read about it SVAS & Collection News 9 again later in the magazine and there’s the From the Tent 13 insert sent with this issue, to reinforce how Aero Workshops 18 strongly we feel about the matter, I’ve been Saving the Hawk Speed Six 25 asked to mention here the appeal we’re Vehicle Collection Report 26 launching to fund the construction of essential Letters 33 new parts for the Bristol Mercury engines in Blériot Bluffery 34 the Gladiator and Lysander. Details of how More on Stonehenge 36 to donate if you wish to join us in helping Agricultural Activities 38 to keep those two splendid and popular (see Spitfire First Impressions 40 how I resisted writing iconic!) aircraft flying Captain AG Miller, RFC part 2 43 well into the future can be found on the insert - and in the Chairman’s piece. Prize Crossword Rear Cover 3 The Blackburn B2 Peter Kosogorin Darren Harbar History am fairly certain that everyone reading this will fully appreciate the significant heritage of the UK aerospace industry and how much of it has become part of I BAE Systems. However, perhaps not everyone will be aware of the support BAE Systems continues to provide to keeping historic British aircraft flying. From financial support to the BBMF and RNHF to providing static restoration projects with crucial data from its vast archives, the company genuinely values its heritage. We are fortunate enough at the Shuttleworth Collection to also often see the BAE Heritage Flight, housed within the hangars at Old Warden, flying at display days or air shows around the country. The rare aircraft in the flight is the B2, developed by Blackburn Aircraft from its previous trainer aircraft design, the Bluebird IV. The B2 is a side- by-side trainer first flown in 1932 and the last flying example, G-AEBJ, the 37th production aircraft which did not fly until 1934 (despite the information painted on the side). The forerunner of the B2, the Blackburn Bluebird IV, was flown around the world (with ocean crossings by ship) by the Hon. Mrs Victor Mildred Bruce in 1930. She set off on her successful adventure four months after her first flying lesson! Following this route was a feat that Carol Vorderman had hoped to re-create in a modern aircraft and Carol was given the opportunity by BAE Systems to fly the B2 at Brough. The Blackburn B2 prototype (G-ABUW) made its first flight at Brough on 10th December 1932, powered by a 120 hp DH Gipsy III engine. The type was fitted 4 Paul Ferguson with various engines over its 6 year/42 aircraft production life between 1932 and 1937, including the 130 hp de Havilland Gipsy Major and 120 hp Cirrus Hermes IV. Currently ’EBJ has a Gipsy Major Series 1F of 130 hp. The single-bay biplane wings are of similar structure to those of the Bluebird IV and can be folded for easy storage, which was an important consideration back in the day. Leading edge slats were fitted to the upper wing to improve low-speed handling but, with ailerons on the lower wings only, lateral control is relatively poor. Only two B2s survived to fly post war; one crashed in 1951 thus G-AEBJ is the sole airworthy example. Apparently another fuselage was for many years to be seen up a tree in an Essex scrapyard before being rescued in the Leading edge slat Darren Harbar 1980s. This aircraft is preserved, still wearing its original paint, and resides at the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum. The BAE Systems Heritage Team at the Brough site is also currently building a full size replica B2. In an attempt to enter into the export market, the prototype B2 was shipped to Lisbon in September 1933 for evaluation by the Portuguese. Although it performed well in the trials they preferred a tandem layout and purchased the Tiger Moth instead. In fact no B2s were sold abroad or to private owners but the aircraft found a rôle in British civilian flying schools under the RAF expansion scheme which trained pilots ready for the Royal Air Force at Brough and London Air Park, Hanworth. The last three B2s built were sold to the Air Ministry and issued to the Brough flying school 5 where they were operated in RAF markings. On the outbreak of the Second World War, the aircraft at Hanworth were moved to Brough, where the two training schools merged, to become No 4 Elementary Flying Training School. The school at Brough continued to be operated Darren Harbar by Blackburn, with the aircraft remaining with civilian registrations - although they were repainted with wartime training markings with yellow fuselages, camouflaged wings and RAF roundels. Those which survived were taken over by the RAF in February 1942, being handed over to the Air Training Corps where they were used as instructional airframes. More recently, at one RIAT, the BAE Heritage team met the grandson of one of the pilots who had learned to fly G-AEBJ during WW2 and went on to fly Spitfires. He Paul Ferguson 6 Darren Harbar survived the War and we managed to invite his daughters and grandson to the centenary of the original Blackburn factory at Brough where they were able to watch the aircraft perform a flying display. Brough remains a BAE Systems site, mostly supporting the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer. As is often the case, support of, and an interest in, heritage tends to bring people together and has a knack of producing some great stories.