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NEWSLETTER 53 - Spring 2019 Published by the Hawker Association www.hawkerassociation.org.uk EDITORIAL Getting this Newsletter out has been a bit of a struggle as after over 10 years of excellent service my Dell Vostro 200 computer failed. Even our computer wizard, Richard Cannon, couldn’t find the cause of the problem but he did manage to get it working well enough for word processing in ‘Safe Mode’, allowing me to start NL.53, and then set up my replacement computer. Thank you, Richard, very much. With this Newsletter comes the AGM notice and Membership Renewal form. Please note that the subscription is now £7 as announced at last year’s AGM. This is the first increase since we launched the Association 17 years ago. Please pay while it is fresh in your mind; and if you missed last year’s add a fiver for that at the same time (see back page). The articles by Members in this edition are some of the last I had in stock (don’t worry if yours hasn’t featured yet, it will) so please put fingers to keyboard or pens to paper and record you memories of life at Hawker or in aviation - or any in other field or topic of yours you think will interest HA Members. Send your contributions to The Editor, Chris Farara, 24 Guildown Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 4EN or e-mail to [email protected] . Tel 01483 825955. Send any membership correspondence to The Secretary, Barry Pegram, 12 Becket Wood, Newdigate, Surrey, RH5 5AQ or e-mail [email protected] . Tel 01306 631125 PROGRAMME FOR 2019 Wednesday 9 th January Social Wednesday 13 th February Pioneers in Aviation (from Kites to Thunderbirds) - Chris Roberts. Wednesday 13 th March Fresh Interests Since Retirement - Ambrose Barber Wednesday 10 th April Annual General Meeting with video. Wednesday 8 th May Aircraft Development - Karl Wingett-Smith. Wednesday 12 th June Summer Barbecue. Wednesday 10 th July The Joint Strike Fighter Story - Mick Mansell. Wednesday 14 th August Social/video September date tbd Outing - visit to Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, Guildford. Wednesday 11th September Social/video. Wednesday 9 th October Hawker non-V/STOL jet Projects - Tony Buttler. Chris Roberts is our current Chairman and was Chief Test Pilot at Dunsfold, Ambrose Barber is our retired first Chairman and was Divisional Commercial Director, Karl Wingett-Smith was in the Installations Department, Mick Mansell was Executive Director Design at Kingston and Director of Future Systems at Warton, and Tony Buttler is a well known aviation author with a special interest in British jet projects. E-MAIL ADDRESSES If you wish to receive e-mail notices from our Webmaster, Richard Cannon, please send him an e-mail (using the webmaster link in the website header) so he can add you to his distribution list or confirm that he already has your e-mail address. CHRISTMAS LUNCH Ken Batstone who so ably organised the event reports… On Wednesday, 12th December, the 16th annual Association Christmas Lunch was held in the YMCA Hawker Centre, Richmond Road, Kingston (the usual venue). The weather was dry, mild and partly sunny. This was the fourth year running that the weather had been kind to us. Members and guests started arriving from midday for wine and socialising before the meal, which was served just after 1pm, following grace and a prayer, given by the Reverend Vernon Lidstone. Forty eight people attended the lunch, which was three more than last year, indicating the continuing enjoyment of this event. The menu was the same as last year, namely prawn cocktail followed by traditional roast turkey with trimmings, and gateaux or panacotta. Each course did have an alternative choice, but there was little demand for these. After the meal, Chris Roberts, our Chairman, delivered a short speech, which contained some very amusing, original and apt jokes (don't mention Brexit!). He also talked about the late and much lamented John Farley and his Commemoration held at Brooklands. 1 Chris Roberts was followed by our new President who talked about his times spent at Kingston, Dunsfold, St Louis and Japan. He had a wealth of stories and anecdotes from these periods. At the end of the afternoon, many members remarked on the high quality of the meal and the size of the portions! Once again the staff of the YMCA Hawker Centre had provided us with an excellent meal and a most enjoyable afternoon. The Committee has written to the YMCA Catering Manager to express its thanks and appreciation of the efforts of the catering staff in providing such an enjoyable event, and has given a suitable gratuity. HAWK Mk50, G-HAWK/ZA101 The Company and suppliers funded Hawk demonstrator has been kindly donated to the Brooklands Museum by BAE Systems after it was replaced in the Company training school by a Hawk Mk 53. Prior to that G-HAWK had been used by BAe and BAE Systems for several airframe and systems development and demonstration tasks. In its prime it flew from Dunsfold developing Hawk capabilities and spearheading the Hawk marketing effort with demonstrations and world-wide sales tours. It played a key part in the T-45 Goshawk campaign in the USA. The airframe, consisting of the fuselage with fin and rudder, the wing without flaps or ailerons, and the tailplane, was delivered to Brooklands in late February. A cursory look reveals that other items missing are the engine, pitot boom, some small fuselage panels, the fillet below the rudder and a number of cockpit and seat items and components. The long dummy 100 Series nose is fitted but with a conical nose cone. The wing appears to be an early standard export type with curved ‘streamwise’ tips. The paint finish is in dark blue BAE Systems livery. For many years Duncan Simpson campaigned for British Aerospace to give the aircraft to Brooklands when it was retired. He would be very happy to know that G-HAWK now has a permanent home. After restoration it would be nice to see it displayed alongside the other Kingston/Dunsfold demonstrator, Harrier Mk52, G-VTOL/ZA250. Postscript . Some readers may wonder why these demonstrator aircraft have both civil registrations (G-…) and UK military serials (ZA…). The original civil registrations allowed the aircraft to fly unarmed ferry and demonstration flights world-wide. The military serials were allocated so that the aircraft could carry out development and other flying associated with military programmes and when carrying dummy or live armament. HUNTER T7 XL623 HERITAGE PROJECT Chris Roberts reports progress on the restoration XL623.… The weather was kind to us in 2018; XL 623 is stored in the open at Dunsfold so progress could have been badly affected. Although it was cold, the lack of rain or snow allowed Paul Rash and the team to prepare the first parts for transfer to the workshop at Brooklands. It is always risky not naming everyone who has helped, but we must thank Dave Cotton and Dave Collingridge for their expertise and time. The project plan required the first components to be ready for moving by the end of 2018. The tail cone, fin, rudder and elevators were moved there in December and are now being worked on so it is great to be on target. The Brooklands workshop is not hangar size so is unable to take very large components or complete aircraft. The rear fuselage will be the first major section to go there because it has the worst corrosion and is the biggest restoration challenge. It is planned to have it at Brooklands in February. We have had help from contacts and supporters in the form of free use of a crane and forklift to move the fuselage sections and to lift off the 12 ft. span tailplane; it does not look that big when fixed to the base of the fin! These jobs need to be handled resourcefully so that our funds are not depleted quickly on things like hire charges. Brooklands has loaned the project ground support equipment to hold the pieces and transport them to the museum. The Hawker Association is managing the Hunter as two separate projects. The preservation of the airframe is the prime project, the aim being to preserve XL623 for long term public display. The secondary project is to position the aircraft in a prominent public location (ideally in Kingston) with assured long term stewardship. Through the efforts of the Hawker Association and the Centenary Project there is an ever increasing number of people made aware of, and proud of, the achievements of everyone who worked in the local aviation industry and of the aircraft designed and built in Kingston. The preservation of XL623 is within our capability with involvement and support from Brooklands. The cost, only a few thousand pounds, should be primarily for materials. Contributions from Association members have now reached almost £2000 and we believe that the first aim can be achieved by the end of next year. The second aim, to place the aircraft, is the difficult and expensive part. We cannot achieve this without support from other agencies and a lot of funding. We need a site, and if the aircraft is to be mounted back on the ‘Woking pole’ and installed at the site we must raise £30,000 to £50,000. Such a task needs to be managed well by a good team so we are seeking more help. This level of fund raising will need a different approach to that for the aircraft itself, and it seems that one potential source (other than finding a lucky Lotto winner) will be the Kingston business community.