Aeroplane (552) 2019-04.pdf

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April 2019
Issue No 552,
Vol 47,
No 4
EXCLUSIVE REPORTS
MOSQUITO
Incredible survivor’s story
and Coastal Command
striker salute
HISTORY IN THE AIR SINCE 1911
WIN!
HISTORY
RAF Cosford
Air Show Tickets
Closing date 1 May 2019
ANALYSIS
DATABASE
APRIL 2019
TESTING
CONCORDE
Flight trials from
the cockpit
WARBIRD
PILOTS
Bringing on the
new blood
Curtiss P-36/Hawk 75
£4.70
Contents
April 2019
26
58
See pages
24-25
for a g
reat
subscription
offer
66
WIN!
D
RAF COSFOR
AIR SHOW
TICKETS
See page XIX
53
34
NEWS AND
COMMENT
4
6
FROM THE EDITOR
NEWS
• Airacobra flies in New Zealand
• Ex-RN Wessex airborne again
• A-26 arrives in Germany
…and the month’s other top aircraft
preservation news
HANGAR TALK
Steve Slater’s comment on the historic
aircraft world
FLIGHT LINE
Reflections on aviation history with
Denis J. Calvert
99
FEATURES
26
34
FUTURE OF THE PAST:
WARBIRD PILOTS
Bringing on the new blood in the
warbird flying scene
TESTING CONCORDE
The last surviving Concorde
manufacturer’s test pilot remembers
his part in the programme
MOSQUITO PZ474
The latest airworthy ‘Mossie’
represents a remarkable story
of survival —
PLUS
The Coastal
Command missions from Portreath
that it salutes
53
VICKERS VULTURE
ROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT
A deeply sentimental journey to
view the only surviving relics from an
intrepid 1924 voyage
LAST RAF HUNTERS
It’s now 25 years since the RAF retired
the classic Hawker jet
LOCKHEED 12A
Les Whittlesey’s superb example of
the Thirties aerial limousine
AEROPLANE
MEETS…
WALLY EPTON
Afternoon tea at the RAF Club with
the chairman of the Historic Aircraft
Association
DATABASE: CURTISS
P-36/HAWK 75
Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
examines America’s first
truly modern monoplane
fighter of the 1930s
Colourfully schemed
H75A-3
298 of the 2ème Escadrille, serial
de Chasse I/5, while serving Groupe
Armée de l’Air d’Armistice with the
— the air
force of Vichy France.
CHRIS SANDHAM-BAILEY
58
66
70
17
19
42
REGULARS
20
22
SKYWRITERS
Q&A
Your questions asked and answered
78
HOOKS’ TOURS
More superb colour photos from
the late Mike Hooks’ collection: this
month, a selection of DHC Beavers
96
REVIEWS
The latest aviation books and products
in the spotlight
102
NEXT MONTH
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81
DATA
BASE
IN-D
EPTH
PAGES
DEVELOPM
ENT
Development
Technical Details
15
In Service
Insights
CURTI
T
SS
P-36/HAWK 75
MY
WORDS:
THOMAS McKELVEY
AEROPLANE
APRIL 2019
109-123 (81-95)_AM_Database_Apr19_cc
C.indd 81
99
AEROPLANE
ARCHIVE:
CLW CURLEW
An attractive inter-war trainer —
but ultimately a blind alley
IN-DEPTH
PAGES
109-123
(81-95)_AM_D
atabase_Apr1
9_cc C.indd
82
15
of the
CLEAVER
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most
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Glenn L.
in this respect
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with the
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was
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1932.
of Burbank,
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03/03/2019 15:27
of Northrop’ stressed-skin wing
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in January
s own design.
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Alpha flew
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from the
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1931, a fl
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AVIATION
HISTORY COLLECTION/ALA
Field,
first truly
NE
APRIL
2019
03/03/2019
15:28
COVER IMAGE:
Newly restored by Avspecs for owner
Rod Lewis, DH Mosquito FBVI PZ474 airborne from
Ardmore, New Zealand, in the hands of Steve Hinton.
GAVIN CONROY
AEROPLANE
APRIL 2019
www.aeroplanemonthly.com
3
Editor
From the
CONNECT WITH
AEROPLANE…
www.facebook.com/AeroplaneMonthly
@HistoryInTheAir
T
here are some eras in aviation
made by all at Marham, from the station
that seemed as if they’d never
commander down, to afford enthusiasts
come to an end. The Panavia
and the wider public a chance to see the
Tornado’s RAF service is one.
aircraft in action as they prepared for
Introduced with the Cold War arguably
retirement are worthy of much praise.
at its height, the adaptability of the multi- Specially marked jets (one looking
role combat jet saw it remaining relevant
magnificent in 1980s camouflage),
right up to the present day, via decades of
three-ship flypasts over locations country-
almost continuous front-line involvement
wide, an enthusiasts’ day — this was
in the Middle East and participation in
anything but a half-hearted effort. In the
many other operations. Make no mistake,
circumstances, it was absolutely the send-
this is an aeroplane deserving of its place
off the RAF’s Tornados deserved.
in the pantheon among the RAF’s greats.
The Tornado
Less impressive,
GR4 will be
I must say, was the
The efforts made by
formally retired
news release put out
when it reaches
by the Ministry of
all at RAF Marham to
its out-of-service
Defence to mark
afford a chance to see the
the return of the
date on 31 March.
However, the last
Tornados in action as they
last GR4s from
day of February,
operations over
prepared for retirement
just before we went
Syria and Iraq.
to press, saw the
It talked of the
are worthy of praise
final mass mission
“recently introduced
by the type in
new fleet of F-35
RAF hands. Nine examples from Nos
Lighting [sic] jets”, and of how they
IX(B) and 31 Squadrons launched from
and the Eurofighter Typhoon force
their Marham home for diamond nine
have demonstrated their ability to work
formation flypasts there and over the
“alongside on another”. This is before we
RAF College Cranwell. Not surprisingly,
consider the corporate-speak: capabilities
the public turned out in droves. Just a few
being “delivered” in the field of “combat
more Tornado training sorties were due to air”, the RAF’s “ability to exploit the
take place prior to a formal disbandment
synergy” of its latest platforms… Thank
ceremony on 14 March, after which
goodness the vivid descriptions of front-
the force will remain on stand-by for
line flying we normally deal with in
operations until the end of the month.
Aeroplane
aren’t similarly afflicted.
Of course it is a shame that the GR4
Keep up to date with the latest news
couldn’t have enjoyed a last hurrah on
the 2019 airshow circuit, but with the
from
Aeroplane
by signing up to
our regular newsletter. Simply go
retirement date set, this was never going
to
www.aeroplanemonthly.com
to happen. The flypasts undertaken at
to register.
IWM Duxford last September, as part
of the No 617 Squadron formation
alongside Lancaster and F-35B
Ben Dunnell
Lightning, will stand as the type’s final
RAF display appearance. But the efforts
Aeroplane
traces its lineage back to the weekly
The Aeroplane,
founded by C. G. Grey in 1911 and published until 1968. It was
relaunched as a monthly in 1973 by Richard T. Riding, editor for
25 years until 1998.
CONTRIBUTORS
THIS MONTH
VANESSA ASCOUGH
The granddaughter of
Sqn Ldr Archibald Stuart-
MacLaren, Vanessa has
spent the past 25 years
researching his life and
career in the RFC and RAF.
She gives illustrated talks
about his world flight
attempt all over the UK, as
well as this year in Vancouver. Having been the
editor of a magazine for the Centre for Leadership
Studies at the University of Exeter, Vanessa
continues to follow her passion for adventure and
public speaking, and is now writing the biography
of her grandfather’s impressive life and vocation.
GAVIN CONROY
New Zealand-based Gavin
is among the world’s
leading air-to-air
photographers, having
completed hundreds of
sorties with aircraft ranging
from the FE2b to the
F/A-18 Hornet. A particular
privilege has been
chronicling the Mosquito restorations that have
emerged from the Avspecs workshop at Ardmore,
and for this month’s cover feature he flew with the
latest, Rod Lewis’s simply stunning FBVI. Gavin
also tells the story of how this aircraft came to
survive, very much against the odds.
GP CAPT TOM EELES
Having joined the RAF in
1960, Tom’s first
operational tour was spent
flying the Canberra B(I)8 in
the nuclear strike and
conventional ground attack
role. However, he’s best-
known for his many years
on the Buccaneer, which he
flew with both the Royal Navy and the RAF. As a
result of that, he also spent a lot of time in the
Hunter T7A and T8B models, which he describes
this month. A flying instructor with wide
experience, Tom is a member of the IWM Duxford
flying control committee and a liveryman of the
Honourable Company of Air Pilots.
JEANNE FRAZER
ESTABLISHED 1911
Jeanne’s warbird education
began when she was
offered the job as manager
of The Fighter Collection at
Duxford, promoting and
co-ordinating participation
of its fleet in displays across
Europe and also organising
the Classic Fighter Display.
For nearly 20 years she operated and flew an L-4
Cub, and was always keen to point out that such
aircraft — at least in their artillery-spotting role —
were ultimately responsible for a massive amount
of enemy destruction and truly merited their
warbird status.
4
www.aeroplanemonthly.com
AEROPLANE
APRIL 2019
Taking to the skies both day and night in his
Phantom II as part of operations
Rolling Thunder,
Steel Tiger,
and
Barrel Roll,
Capt. Gaillard R. Peck, Jr
found himself immersed in the heat of fierce
aerial combat during the Vietnam War.
This is his story.
AVAILABLE 21 MARCH FROM ALL GOOD BOOKSHOPS
AND ONLINE AT WWW.OSPREYPUBLISHING.COM
HOLDING THE LINE
T H E N AVA L A I R C A M PA I G N I N K O R E A
From Thomas McKelvey Cleaver,
author of
The Frozen Chosen,
this is the
gripping history of the naval air campaign
which helped save South Korea.
AVAILABLE 21 MARCH FROM
ALL GOOD BOOKSHOPS AND ONLINE AT
WWW.OSPREYPUBLISHING.COM

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