'Flying Museum' Has Amassed a Splendid Collection of British Vintage
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EXTRA SSPPEECCIALIL ISSSSUEUE PAGES More than a Century of History in the Air ® www.aeroplanemonthly.com ANANNINIVERSVERSARYARY SPSPECECIALIAL The British fl ag-carrier in war and peace • THE ‘BALL BEARING RUN’ • FROM PROPS TO JETS • FLYING BOATS PIONEERS ROROCKCKETET MENMEN Opel and the rocket aircraft WORLD WAR TWO MAMAILIL BYBY HURHURRIRICACANENE RAF deliveries to the battlefront WARBIRDS ATATTUTU WAWARRRRIORIOR Supermarine Walrus Lockheed Harpoon air-to-airs DATABASE APRIL 2015 £4.30 04 9770143 724095 BRITISH CLASSICS IN SPAIN BRITONS ABROAD In preserving many important aspects of Spain’s aviation heritage, the Fundación Infante de Orleans ‘flying museum’ has amassed a splendid collection of British vintage aircraft, all with Spanish connections WORDS: ROBERTO YÁÑEZ and ALEX RODRIGUEZ 70 www.aeroplanemonthly.com AEROPLANE APRIL 2015 his last 22 December Specialising in aerobatics, the club the scrapping of hundreds of airframes ABOVE: Painted in marked the 25th named after the great Spanish aerobatic due to the lack of resources for their Republican colours, T anniversary of the creation pilot revitalised the sport in Spain after operation and preservation. the FIO’s Falcon of the Fundación Infante a period in the doldrums. In the mid- In creating the FIO, Valle and his Six fi rst arrived in Spain on 14 August de Orrlleans (FIO).( Over the last quarter 1980s Carlos Valle, the current FIO colleagues not only gave the new 1936 with British of a century, the collection has grown president, founded the SAH as part of foundation the dozen aircraft of the now registration G-ADLS. and developed, becoming one of the the Club Aresti, with the objective of defunct SAH, but also the knowledge A year earlier this most important museums of airworthy illing a large gap in the preservation necessary to forge ahead with an entirely aircraft had taken aircraft in Europe. of Spanish aviation heritage. Despite new concept in Spain: that of a museum fi fth place in the h e FIO has as its embryo the the great number and variety of aircraft of airworthy historic aircraft, which King’s Cup. Sección de Aviones Históricos del that have graced Spanish skies since would exhibit them in light. ROBERTO YÁÑEZ Club Acrobático José Luís Aresti 1909, the diicult years after the Civil h e collection’s home since 1989 (SAH, or Historic Aircraft Section of War and the isolation imposed on has been Cuatro Vientos airield near the José Luís Aresti Aerobatic Club). Spain following World War Tw o forced Madrid. Initially it used the Real Aero ⊳ AEROPLANE APRIL 2015 www.aeroplanemonthly.com 71 BRITISH CLASSICS IN SPAIN BELOW: Dragon Club de España (RACE, Royal Aero something still the case today. All of FIO’s interest towards aircraft from the Rapide G-ACYR fl ew Club of Spain) hangar, which had those acquired in Spain came from 1930s, the era of the ‘big raids’ and the Franco to Tetuán housed the SAH aircraft, until a few public auctions of materiel surplus to Civil War. at the start of the years later the current museum hangar the Ejército del Aire (EdA), as was the In turn, this saw the purchase of Spanish Civil War. In and the organisation’s dedicated Centro case with the Bückers, AISAs, T-6s several classic British aircraft, for the background is Spain’s fi rst control de Restauración y Mantenimiento and HA-200 Saeta that formed the the period was one in which UK- tower, still extant at (CRM, Maintenance and Restoration SAH. From this nucleus the collection built types featured prominently in Cuatro Vientos. Centre) were built. kept growing with a clear objective: Spanish aviation, both on the military SPANISH AIR FORCE From the outset it was decided that to add aircraft relevant to Spanish and civilian fronts. Some played VIA ROBERTO YÁÑEZ the FIO would own its own aircraft, aviation history. h is orientated the important, if unsung, roles during the 72 www.aeroplanemonthly.com AEROPLANE APRIL 2015 LEFT: Juan Ignacio Pombo says goodbye to his father before the start of his fl ight from Santander to Mexico in the fi rst BA Eagle to be named Santander. SPANISH AIR FORCE VIA ROBERTO YÁÑEZ FAR LEFT: A formation of the BA Eagle and Miles Falcon Six — two very similar aircraft in terms of configuration and capabilities, Of these, the most important is After years abandoned, the Falcon but radically without doubt the Falcon Six. It is the Six was discovered dismantled inside different when it only one of its type in existence in the a garage in Zaragoza. Once acquired comes to handling world, and a genuine survivor of the by the FIO it was transferred to characteristics. Spanish Civil War. Cuatro Vientos, where its condition ROBERTO YÁÑEZ Two M3A Falcon Majors arrived in was evaluated with a view to possible Spain in 1935, and were pressed into restoration. h e aircraft had sustained military service at the start of the Civil considerable damage and was missing War. h e Republican government then important parts, like the characteristic bought more. On 14 August 1936, cockpit windscreen and landing gear the FIO’s M3C Falcon Six (c/n 231) fairings. Given the complexity of the arrived in Bilbao from Reading with task it was decided to send it to the the British registration G-ADLS. It was UK for restoration, since there Falcon assigned to the Republicans’ northern Major G-AEEG, a variant with a four- front, going later to the lying school cylinder engine, could serve as a guide at Los Alcázares, Murcia, where it fell in re-building the missing or modiied into the hands of the Nationalists. parts. BELOW: In February Once the war was over, the Falcon Six 2011, Dragon Rapide Civil War. Six such aircraft are now in was given the military serial 30-117. ❖ G-AEML was fl own the FIO’s collection: the Miles Falcon Shortly afterwards it went to a civilian from Madrid’s Six and British Aircraft (BA) Eagle are owner as EC-CAO and was used for h e work was carried out by Tony Barajas airport to today extremely rare machines, while aerial survey by Spanish irm CETFA Bianchi’s Personal Plane Services, with Cuatro Vientos after the BA Swallow and Comper Swift are (Compañía Española de Trabajos the help of some smaller specialist being re-painted in é Iberia colours, but it not exactly ten-a-penny. h e Fotogram tricos). h e registration was companies. It lasted four years, the has not been fl own in de Havilland DH60 Moth and changed in 1947 to EC-ACB, and as aircraft making its irst test light at public since then. DH89A Dragon Rapide represent such it remained in service for another Wycombe Air Park on 15 May 1997. ROBERTO YÁÑEZ more familiar machines, but ones the decade, at the end of which it was Once some last-minute ixes had been FIO could hardly be without. withdrawn from use and stored. made, the Falcon Six embarked upon ⊳ AEROPLANE APRIL 2015 www.aeroplanemonthly.com 73 BRITISH CLASSICS IN SPAIN its delivery light to Cuatro Vientos. explore commercial air routes in the restoration by the Newbury Aeroplane A number of mechanical snags were area of Baja, California. h e aircraft Company at Hungerford. After ive experienced en route, but this unique ended up being completely destroyed years of work, G-AFAX lew again in survivor arrived safely at its new, and in an accident in La Paz, Mexico, on 5 September 1992. It did the rounds very appropriate, Spanish home. April 1938. of the British historic aircraft circuit, Equally rare is the BA Eagle. An Apart from these two Eagles, three owned by Green until being bought aircraft similar to this took part in one others lew in Spain (c/ns 114, 132 and by the FIO in 2006 in homage to the of the great feats of Spanish aviation 136), taking part in the Civil War on achievements of Juan Ignacio Pombo. during the 1930s when, in 1935, pilot the Republican side as liaison aircraft. Juan Ignacio Pombo undertook a risky None survived the conlict. ❖ Dragon Rapide G-AEML landed at ‘The FIO’s interest was orientated Cuatro Vientos on 17 May 2008 after a diicult ferry light due to bad weather. Originally delivered to Wrightways towards aircraft from the 1930s, the era of at Croydon on 1 September 1937, it served with the RAF as serial X9450 the ‘big raids’ and the Spanish Civil War’ during World War Tw o and then with various civil owners until retirement in crossing of the South Atlantic from h e FIO’s Eagle, formerly G-AFAX 1971. A long restoration ensued before Spain to Mexico aboard Eagle EC-CBB (c/n 138), thus became the sixth the Rapide, now owned by the late (c/n 108) Santander — named after example registered in Spain when it Victor Gauntlett’s Proteus Petroleum, the city of his birth. was allocated EC-KVR upon purchase returned to the air on 16 March In order to complete the light, by the foundation. Built in Hanworth 1993 with Colin Dodds as its pilot. Pombo had to use two Eagles, since in 1938, it is unique as the only Under the ownership of Gauntlett and the irst was seriously damaged during Eagle of the 42 made to have a ixed then Ken Whitehead, G-AEML was take-of from a small ield in Brazil. undercarriage. In 1939 the aircraft was a regular sight at British air events. h e second example (c/n 115) was bought by an Australian aeronautical Its delivery light from an airield in provided by the manufacturer along engineer living in Burma, who used Norfolk to Spain lasted seven days, BELOW: Even with a mechanic, who was able to it to escape to Australia from the making stops at Rouen, Bernay and though many Moths were in salvage the engine and instruments advancing Japanese armies.