Sywell Aerodrome Yearbook 2019 by Blayney Partnership

Organisation

The Chairman’s View

ummer has at last arrived, and the Aerodrome has come alive again. A great deal of activity is taking place, bucking the downward trend of UK General Aviation, which has seen a handful of airfields closing each year. I’m pleased to report the FOSA membership continues to grow, with a trickle of new faces each month.

Our last Airshow, in 2014, was such a success that the 10,000 tickets were sold out months beforehand, much to the disappointment of those who left it too late. The show raised a significant sum for our nominated charities, the local Air Ambulance, Sywell Church, the Hannah Payne Memorial, Sywell Air Scouts, The Royal British Legion, Ecton Parish Council, and the Business Times charity event for the Cynthia Spencer Hospice. There was also enough left to purchase a defibrillator in memory of our dear friend, Richard Miller,

which has already been used to save a life. Altogether, it was a fantastic result, one entirely due to the hard work of the band of volunteers responsible. Sadly, the Shoreham Airshow disaster has made it very difficult to stage smaller events, such as ours. However, there are still a number of other great events held at the Aerodrome each year, such as the ATOMIC festival, an US-themed lifestyle and dance event, and the LAA Rally, the largest event of its kind in Europe. There’s also Sywell Classic – Pistons & Props, a major date for petrol-heads, featuring all manner of cars and bikes, plus a host of smaller events. The one big change since the last edition of Aerodrome is the arrival of Air Leasing Ltd’s Ultimate Warbirds Flights collection, particularly the Grace Spitfire. This summer has seen several instances when there have been three Spitfires, a Harvard and Tiger

Moths operating on the same day, plus The Blades’ practising. All of this activity creates a great atmosphere and attracts the public in large numbers. I hope you enjoy this new style of Aerodrome, which celebrates ninety years of Sywell. What a rich history it has, some of which is explored in this edition.

That just leaves me to wish every FOSA member a great summer season and I hope those who haven’t visited the Aerodrome recently will come and see the new hangars and the latest developments. The Sywell Aviation Museum is always a good place to start. I hope to see you soon. Ian Castle FOSA Chairman

Notes from the Tower

ello everyone, from the Aerodrome’s ‘greenhouse’, during this exceptionally hot summer. The Tower team has remained unchanged over the past few years, but we’re always on the lookout for ‘new blood’. Historically, it’s been retired military or civil ATCOs who stepped down from full-time ATC to provide an AFIS at smaller airfields. We’re always looking for part-time cover for weekends and holidays. Possession of a Medical and FISO Licence are required, along with a thorough knowledge of English! Could you help? The Aerodrome continues to attract the variety of aircraft to provide interest to both enthusiasts and the general public. With the recent arrival of Air Leasing Ltd, we now see regular warbird activity, ranging from a WWI SE5A to WWII Fury, Spitfire and Seafire. Coupled with Aero Legends, some weeks we’ve have had up to three Spitfires

operating together. Sloane Helicopters has hosted several of the new and larger Agusta Westland AW.169 types, and Brooklands Engineering has handled two Cirrus SR22s for Emirates Flight Training.

The addition of permanent LED airfield lighting on our All-Weather Runway (see page 8) hasn’t only reduced the workload on staff, who used to lay out the portable system, it’s also enhanced safety, in that it’s highintensity and so can be used during daytime and in inclement weather. Being an LED system, it also uses minimal power. We’ve also submitted an application for an Instrument Approach, for use in poor weather, which will be another enhancement to flight safety. Our old grass runway, 15/33, has been rotated to 14/32, which takes all aircraft – on approach or departure – away from overhead Mears Ashby.

Enjoy the rest of the year, happy and safe flying. Jeff Bell Aerodrome Manager Tel: 01604 801630

FOSA Committee members

FOSA folk - Aerodrome contacts Phil Hall Aviation MD Tel: 01604 801620

Janet Jones Treasurer Tel: 01604 801620

Kathy Putman PA to the Group Managing Director Tel: 01604 801620

Jeff Bell Aerodrome Manager Tel: 01604 801630

The Friends of Sywell Aerodrome can be contacted by telephoning 01604 801620.

Alternatively, write to: FOSA c/o Sywell Aerodrome Ltd, Hall Farm, Sywell, Northampton NN6 0BN 2 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

I’ll also take this opportunity to remind everyone that in order to fly out of AFIS hours, pilots must be in possession of a Permit and adhere to the rules laid down in the Aerodrome Manual. I also remind pilots that the Aerodrome is notified as PPR (Prior Permission Required). There’s no excuse not to request PPR and its use applies without exception, including to resident aircraft returning from land-aways.

Mr Ian Castle, Chairman Mr M Bletsoe Brown (co-opted) Mr Jeff Bell (co-opted) Mr Phil Hall (co-opted) Mrs Janet Jones (co-opted) Mr Matthew Boddington Mr Ben Brown Mr Eric Gayton Mr Patrick Morgan Mr Anthony West 2Excel Aviation Ltd Air Leasing Ltd Brooklands Flying School Flylight Airsports SkyTech Helicopters Sloane Helicopters

Editorial & Contents History

MBB’s Comment

t is hard to believe it is six years since we last produced an edition of “Aerodrome”. A great deal has happened since. World debt continues to grow, now 38% higher than prior to the crash in 2008! Countries have become addicted to debt to prop up/fuel their economies while politicians duck the fundamental problems fearful of the voter. This generation is guilty of squandering the inheritance of the next generation and beyond.

And Brexit, I am tired of the scaremongering. It is obvious the EU will do all it can to frustrate any deal put forward by the UK, as they need us perhaps even more than we need them. From where we are at the Politicians need to walk away, let them come to us under our terms. A Brexit with no deal would not be the end of the World. Of course there would be short-term turmoil but there is the opportunity for long-term gains. The problem is the Millennials have had it too easy so resist change. A “Common Market” is quite acceptable, but we have sleepwalked into “EU Sovereignty”, which is not. Our WW1 & WW11 forefathers must be spinning in their boxes!!! On the local political front there is some positive news and some not so positive. The errant Councillor has stood down, sold his house and moved away, much to the relief, no doubt, of a number of people, particularly the Council officers. He has certainly wasted a significant amount of tax-payers money and wasted a considerable amount of the officers’ valuable time in his pursuit of a personal vendetta. However, relations locally have now settled down once again and I would hope the Aerodrome is proving not to have the detrimental impact on the locality as once predicted by our opponents. On the not so positive front, a new threat to the Aerodrome has arisen in the form of the expanding housing developments encouraged by Government in the local area. There has been a proposal approved to demolish the Minton warehousing site, adjacent the Aerodrome, to make way for housing directly under the approach & climb-out to the cross-wind runway. The Aerodrome did make

Contents

submissions in objection to no avail. Now there are plans for further housing development along the A43 directly under our long established circuit pattern to the All-Weather Runway, which is at present in open countryside. These developments have the potential to threaten the viable operation of the Aerodrome. This point has been made to the powers that be. On a positive note I am very pleased to report that Carolyn Grace and her son, Richard, together with their collection of iconic war birds, including the Grace Spitfire, have moved into a purpose built Blister Hangar on the Aerodrome. This has added a new dimension to the Aerodrome operations. It is quite common now to see Spitfires and other exotic war birds in the skies locally much to the pleasure of a large number of people, who regularly tell us how they enjoy the spectacle and the deep rumble of the Merlin engine.

2 Friends of Sywell Aerodrome 3 MBB’s Comment

4 Aerodrome Information 6 Corporate Travel

8 Sywell LED Runway Lighting

10 Sywell Visitors

14 Brooklands Engineering 16 Brooklands Flying Club 18 Cirrus Aircraft UK 20 Air Leasing Ltd

22 2Excel The Blades 25 Virtual Aerospace 26 Aero Legends

30 Flylight Airsports

32 Sloane Helicopters

34 SkyTech Helicopters & Sharman Avionics 36 The Aviator Hotel

38 Events at The Aviator… 40 Hangar One

Another exciting development is the installation of the LED runway lighting, which has paved the way to, hopefully, approval for a Non-Precision Approach to the All-Weather Runway 03/21. This will encourage additional corporate aircraft to the Aerodrome making it possible to fly in all weathers to the benefit of local business. Sywell Aerodrome also has plans to develop high-end VIP travel. The aim is to provide a personal and seamless facility without the hassle often associated with air charter. If this is of interest please let me know.

46 The ATOMIC festival 48 The LAA Rally

51 Sywell Classic - Pistons & Props Fest. 56 Sywell Great War Airshow 60 The Icarus Cup at Sywell

Michael Bletsoe-Brown, Group Managing Director, Sywell Aerodrome

Michael Bletsoe-Brown (centre) being presented with the Airfield Operators Association’s “The Best General Aviation Airport Award” for 2012/2013 by Ed Anderson, Chairman of the AOA (left), and Martin Robinson, Head of AOPA (right)

64 Sywell Estates

66 Rothwell Grange Court 68 Dream Machines

72 Classic Sport Engineering

The possibility of a Science Park on the Aerodrome is another exciting prospect and an area has already been allocated for this adjacent the other “Centres of Excellence” that have already been established on the Aerodrome. It is with great pleasure that I present this new-style “Aerodrome” to you as the Aerodrome celebrates its ninetieth year. I hope you find it an enjoyable read. As always my thanks goes to all those who have contributed to make this another record size edition. Lets hope we can do it again next year. My best wishes to all our friends and supporters alike and good luck for the future.

62 British National Aerobatics Championship at Sywell

74 Sywell Historic Sporting Trial 76 Dawn Treader Performance 78 Petrolheadonism 79 Edition38

80 Olivia’s Adventures in Wonderland 82 Ninety Years of Sywell Aerodrome

93 How we Built the Last New Runway in the UK 98 1st Sywell Air Scouts

100 Sywell Aviation Museum 104 A Home for Heidi 106 Obituaries 108 Letters

112 Aviation Charges & Sywell Annual Events Programme 2018 Edited by Sywell Aerodrome Ltd. Designed in partnership with Blayney Partnership, Sywell Aerodrome Printed by Belmont Press, Northampton 3 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

History

AIRPORT INFORMATION Sywell Aerodrome is licensed by the CAA for public transport flights. The Tower provides a Flight Information Service and the RFS cover is up to CAA CAT 3. Customs are available locally as required. Pilots and crew have full facilities available on site. • • • • • • • • • • •

1,268m x 30m concrete runway plus taxiway and aprons No runway slot restrictions Car to aircraft apron transfer Customs, immigration and Special Branch as required Jet A1 bowser for under or over-wing refuelling CAT 3 Rescue & Fire Service as required Hangarage available as required VIP lounge and Pilots Mess Café Aviator Hotel and conferencing facilities Executive cars as required 1hr from London St Pancras

Sywell Aerodrome Ltd T: 01604 801620 E: info@sywellaerodrome.co.uk www.sywellaerodrome.co.uk Sywell Tower T: 01604 801630 E: tower@sywellaerodrome.co.uk Fuel/Fire Service T: 01604 801632 Aviator Hotel & Conference Facilities T: 01604 642111 E: bookings@aviatorhotel.co.uk www.aviatorhotel.co.uk Maintenance: Brooklands Engineering T: 01604 642000 E: contact@brooklandsengineering.co.uk Brooklands Flying Club T: 01604 801636 E: contact@flybrooklands.co.uk 4 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

ARP 521822N 0004732W

Northampton (Sywell)History EGBK

AD ELEV 424ft

5 miles NE of Northampton Dim(m)

Surface

TORA(m)

LDA(m)

Lighting

03L 21R 03R/21L 14/32 05/23

1268 x 30 1268 x 30 671 x 30 799 x 25 602 x 30

Concrete Concrete Grass Grass Grass

1199 1100 671 799 602

1000 1000 671 799 602

High Intensity High Intensity Nil Nil Nil

Customs PNR. 4HR Fire Cover CAT2/3 Fuel Jet A1 (Over/Underwing Delivery) Avgas Mogas

VAR 1.7oW - 2012

Runway

N Annual Rate of Change 0.15oE

79 x

Rwy 21R Thr Elev 420 521834.08N 0004723.53W (GUND Elevation 156)

206 o M

21 L

B2 79

9m x

ARP

Rwy 03L Thr Elev 391 521808.97N 0004742.25W (GUND Elevation 156)

126

30m

671

Beacon Flashing Green NN s

------

4 05 026 o M

03 R

026 o M

y Tw

. .

Jet A1 Bowser

Signal Square

Main Apron

H H H

Hangar

------

Fuel (AVGAS/MOGAS) Pilots Mess

Control Tower

Museum Brooklands Engineering 01604 642000

Aviator Hotel 01604 642111

A1 Skyways House

Works

Brooklands Flying Club 01604 801636

Sywell Aerodrome Ltd Tower : 01604 801630 Fuel : 01604 801632 Maintenance: Brooklands Engineering : 01604 642000 Brooklands Flying Club : 01604 801636

Call sign ‘Sywell Information’ 122.705 AFIS.

For weather and airfield status visit: 5 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83 www.sywellaerodrome.co.uk

Services History

Corporate Travel Time is a Valuable Commodity!

ime is money and that has never been more true than today. Corporate travel is all about saving precious time. Time travelling to an airport, time at the airport and time on arrival. Although corporate aircraft do not necessarily fly faster than the commercial airliner, significant time and hassle is saved at each end of the flight. No queues, just a smooth passage to your destination. The flight itself is more pleasant and relaxing experience with tables to work on or sit back and enjoy the inflight catering. Travelling from a business airport, such as Farnborough or Oxford, or a smaller airfield, such as Sywell, the corporate traveller can be driven to the aircraft, board and depart, the same the other end. Multiple European destinations are possible in one day, something simply not possible on commercial airlines. This enables business executives to maximize their effective time and importantly arrive fresh and not arrive travel weary. 6 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

The cost of corporate travel is obviously more expensive than commercial airline travel, however, you need to assess the value of your time and then you may find corporate travel is economically beneficial. There are also a number of different modes of corporate travel. Helicopters are very useful for the shorter journey within the UK. Further afield the King Air is an ideal turbo prop, safe and fast and able to fly in and out of smaller airfields. Further afield again you are in to corporate jet territory, now a direct flight from Sywell to New York is possible! Many companies have their own corporate aircraft. However, you do not need to own an aircraft, there are numerous charter operators who will fly you where you want when you want. To take the hassle out of organising corporate travel, there are brokers who will do this for you. You can find them easily enough with a search on Google.

s The turboprop Beech C90A King Air is an ideal aircraft for European corporate travel. The internet has made corporate travel a great deal simpler. Sywell Aerodrome offers facilities for corporate aircraft and many operators utilise Sywell to access business in Northamptonshire. Customs clearance is available at Sywell just as it is at other business airfields. Now Sywell Aerodrome has permanent runway lighting and hopefully an instrument approach procedure in the near future that will enable aircraft to land in poor visibility, making Sywell a more reliable destination avoiding diversions in poor weather conditions. Sywell Aerodrome is in the process of building a seamless charter service for local clients within the county from and to Sywell, matching the aircraft to your destination and requirements. Anyone interested in further details should contact Phil Hall in the first instance so we can put together a proposal for you to consider. Contact details telephone 01604 801620 or email info@sywellaerodrome.co.uk

Services History

s The plush interior of the King Air enables passengers to work or relax during their hassle-free journey.

s This beautiful Italian turboprop, the Piaggio Avanti P180, has eleven seats and features pusher propellers.

s PH-NDK is a triple-engine, fourteen-passenger Dassault Falcon 900B jet thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capable of long-range, inter-continental travel.

For further details of Sywellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s corporate travel facilities, in the first instance, please contact our Aviation MD, Phil Hall, by calling 01604 801620 or Emailing info@sywellaerodrome.co.uk 7 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

Airfield History Information

The new lights work flawlessly and have no less than two back-up electrical systems

How Long is a Piece of String?

In the case of Sywell’s new, permanent runway lighting system, the answer is about twenty kilometres!

or many years, Sywell’s allweather runway had been lit using portable battery lighting, which although it served us well, was very labour-intensive and rather inflexible to operate. It was time to step up a level, and install permanent runway lighting… We spent a long time investigating the multitude of runway lighting options available – from low and mediumintensity varieties to solarpowered, radio-operated versions and even selfconstructed units. At the end of our investigations, we decided to install stateof-the-art high-intensity LED lighting, manufactured by an Italian company called Ocem.

Two main types

There are two main types of runway light fittings, omni-directional and bi-directional. Omni-directional fittings shine out in all directions and look a bit like an upside-down jam jar with a light bulb inside. Bi-directional fittings shine a focused beam in opposite directions, in-line with the edges of the runway. 8 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

The rules say that if an airfield wants to train people to fly at night then the lights must be visible from all directions – apparently, this helps to stop the students getting lost in the dark.

constantly – indeed, we can have four seasons in a single day – Sywell regularly gets brisk winds, due to the Aerodrome being a big, flat field on the top of high ground.

The problem is that most of the highintensity light fittings on the market are purely bi-directional and therefore are only visible when the aircraft is lined-up with the runway, and that’s where the Ocem fittings come into their own. The company has developed a special lens inside its high-intensity lights which is both bi- and omni-directional. And although that may sound odd, it does work very well.

With that in mind, it seemed logical that if we wanted to use renewable energy to power our lights then wind power was likely to be a good bet.

Our old, portable lights had batteries, which were rechargeable, and the units had to be collected every few days, to be plugged in and topped up, so that they were always ready to be used. The new system needed permanent power, and our thoughts turned to where that might come from, not least because we were keen to make the new system as environmentally friendly as possible. Although the UK weather changes

However, there was a bit of a problem to overcome first, as airfields aren’t really the best places to erect tall wind turbines, as they tend to get in the way of the aircraft, so we opted for a pair of vertical-axis wind turbines, which are drum-shaped and have a smaller footprint. Powering the lights ended up being no simple matter as, for safety reasons, there needs to be a back-up electricity supply. We decided to install both a back-up mains supply and an emergency generator, in addition to the wind turbines – after all, you can’t be too careful where safety is concerned.

Work begins…

The first big challenge was to dig a

Airfield Information History

s The two low-profile wind generators. Automatic power control systems are housed in the container.

trench almost three kilometres long, around the runway, to lay the underground lighting cables in. We were very fortunate that there were no other cables already installed in the ground, so we hired a nice man with a trenching machine named Richard to dig it out for us, which he managed to do in under two days, which was certainly much quicker than doing it by hand. When it came to the installation of the actual cable itself, it was very much a case of ‘Many hands make lights work’.

s The lights can be powered by the wind turbines from the mains grid or off this standby generator

We assembled a willing team, all of whom ended up a bit fitter and slimmer by the end of the weekend. The cable is supplied on 1,000-metre drums which had to be pushed, by hand, down the runway, with sections being cut off every 130 metres. More safety regulations mean that the lights must be wired in two separate circuits so that, should a fault occur, only half of them are affected, which meant using double the amount of cable. In two days we installed over fourteen kilometres of cable and we still weren’t finished. Over the next month we added more cable, drilled holes, bolted down mountings, bent pipes and wired fittings until we were ready to put the final touches to the project. Each of the light fittings needs very accurate alignment with specially calibrated tools, some to within 0.05 of a degree. Unsurprisingly, this took some time to complete, but we were finally

s Our old, battery-powered (left) and the new, high-tech LED, permanent runway lights by Ocem.

ready for the big switch on. There was only one way to check the new lights properly, and that was from the air. One evening in late March, we took to the air, just as it was getting dark, and put the new lighting through a detailed test plan. The good news is that they worked flawlessly, and the only project task left to do was to enjoy a celebratory drink in the bar of The Aviator Hotel!

For more information, please contact Phil Hall, Aviation MD, by calling 01604 801620 or emailing info@sywellaerodrome.co.uk 9 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

History

Sywell Visitors

ne of the delights in being part of the Sywell Aerodrome Control Tower team is seeing the arrival of such a variety of aircraft – it’s certainly an enthusiast’s dream! Here’s a selection of photographs, taken by members of the Tower team, featuring a mix of aircraft which are rare visitors to the UK and others that are regulars at Sywell.

ex-Iraqi Air Force example. Rebuilt in Texas, it came to the UK in 1991 and flew in Dutch and then Royal Australian Navy markings. Having been exported to Australia, the Fury was re-imported by its new owners, Anglia Aircraft Restorations Ltd. The aircraft has been refurbished and repainted by Air Leasing Ltd, here at Sywell, in the colours of one of Hawker’s Sea Fury prototypes, coded SR661, which was a modified Fury Mk II with a tail hook fitted, but without the folding wings included on subsequent production versions. The aircraft is currently based at North Weald Airfield, Essex This Pilatus PC-12 OO-PCJ, is Belgian-registered single-engined turboprop. The type is operated as an executive passenger and cargo aircraft, and is manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. Around 1,500 have been built and the Australian Flying Doctor Service are among its users

A6-CTA is one of a pair of new Cirrus SR22s which routed through Sywell on their way home to Dubai, where they’ll be operated by Emirates Flight Training, to train ab initio pilots. Having crossed the North Atlantic via Nuuk, Greenland, and Reykjavik, Iceland, they landed at Wick in Scotland before arriving at Sywell. The SR22s continued their journey via Venice, Crete, Aqaba and Bahrain

s Hawker Fury ISS, G-CBEL, is an

10 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

History

s The two low-profile wind generators. Automatic power control systems are housed in the container.

sThis rather moody evening image features a de Havilland Tiger Moth, G-ANMO, and a North American T-6G Harvard, G-DDMV, at our fuel pumps

Sywell’s hard runway has enabled better usability for corporate aircraft types. In this shot, which was taken looking down at the corporate apron, we see two Beech 200s and a brace of Piper PA-31s.

s This Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter, C-FZLZ, sports the markings of its previous owners, Thomas Air of Mongolia, when it was registered as JU-1911. It’s now privately-owned in Canada

s It’s always good to see our friends from the RAF at Sywell - here it was with a Boeing-Vertol Chinook HC.4, ZA677. This was the first of 46 aircraft of RAF’s CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter fleet to receive ‘Project Julius’ upgrades, which included a modified cockpit and other enhancements

BAC Strikemaster Mk82A,425/G-SOAF, was the last of the type built and spent its service life with the Royal Air Force of Oman. In late 2004, North Wales Military Aviation Services acquired the aircraft and shipped G-SOAF back to its base at Hawarden, where it was restored to flying condition in just six months. It’s currently operated by The Strikemaster Flying Club

11 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

History

s The PZL Wigla, a Polish Reconnaissance aircraft capable of towing 3 gliders at a time!

s The beautiful sleek lines of the Vulcan

Sywell Visitors

s The Blades and the Vulcan on its final fly past before being grounded

s A Falcon 2000, an Intercontinental long range jet aircraft

12 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

s Cessna Citation Mustang light jet, the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Miniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of the jet World

History

s The Phenom 100 jet aircraft, another light jet for mid range European destinations

s The iconic WW11 American Bomber, the Flying Fortress, Sally B

s Pilatus PC12 a very capable mid range Turbo Prop alternative to the King Air

s The TBM 750 Turbo Prop, a fast, Owner/Operator aircraft for European destinations

13 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

Engineering History

Brooklands Engineering Keeping the Aircraft Flying

hilst the familiar saying “an aeroplane isn’t ready to fly until its paperwork weighs more than it does” contains an element of truth, ultimately it is engineering expertise and wise judgement that keep aircraft flying safely. Light aircraft maintenance has undergone a significant transformation since the last edition of this magazine. In recent years the introduction of EASA as the European wide regulator initially brought tighter maintenance regulations and higher paperwork requirements which have subsequently been relaxed in the past year, heralding yet another change in direction for the aviation community to adapt to.

The team at Brooklands Engineering, led by Nigel Hunt, are blessed with a good measure of both expertise and judgement. Nigel enjoyed a varied engineering career in the automotive and haulage industry before training as a licenced aircraft engineer. Nigel is well supported by engineers Gordon, Adam and Chris, all of whom worked maintaining various 14 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

military aircraft for the RAF and Royal Navy before stepping across to work with civil aircraft. The devil is always in the detail and our quality manager, Jim Hylton, is a man who attends to detail. It would be fair to say that Jim has been in aviation for quite a while, living and working in the Caribbean as an aircraft engineer and

pilot during the 1970s before returning to Britain to fly with Dan-Air during the 1980s. Jim is our regulatory oracle and is a veritable walking encyclopaedia of helpful engineering hints and tips. Technical records and inventory management play a big part in keeping an approved aircraft maintenance organisation running smoothly. Avril Brooks, ably assisted by Annabelle

s A clean workshop where you could almost eat your dinner off the floor

History Engineering

s Panels off and a thorough inspection on G-OFFO, one of 2Excelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Blades Aerobatic teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Extra 300s. White, does a sterling job keeping track of a vast multitude of log books, release certificates, batch records, invoices, parts requests and much more besides. For those people not familiar with the Cirrus range of aircraft, they have set the new standard for 4 seat personal transportation for the private pilot, bringing modern electronic instrumentation and comfortable interiors that would not look out of place in a luxury car as standard. Innovative safety systems including airbags, in-flight de-icing and even a parachute that allows the entire aircraft to descend safely to the ground in an emergency add to a list of comprehensive features. Brooklands Engineering is one of only four Cirrus Aircraft Approved Service Centres in the UK meaning these fine aircraft are a regular sight here at Sywell. Another familiar sight at Sywell is the Blades aerobatic team. With distinctive colour schemes their Extra 300 aerobatic aircraft are instantly recognisable and entertain thousands of spectators at air shows each year. The Extra 300 is a formidable machine, strong enough to

withstand 10G, ten times its own weight, able to climb at over 3000 feet per minute and has a roll rate of 400 degrees per second. The Blades aircraft have been meticulously maintained by the team at Brooklands Engineering since the very early days of the Blades here at Sywell. Not everything that passes through the hangar at Brooklands Engineering has only one engine. Cabin class twin engine aircraft remain popular with niche operators where short and frequent flights are core to their business. When aircraft are expected to earn their keep downtime due to unserviceability must be kept to an absolute minimum and this means doing the job correctly on the first attempt and doing it in the minimum amount of time safely possible. After many years of supporting one of the largest Piper Navajo and Chieftain fleets

in Europe, the team are now probably the most experienced Piper Cabin Class engineers in the UK. Flying schools and clubs work their aircraft hard and Brooklands Engineering help several flying schools keep their aeroplanes airworthy. Whilst it is not an everyday occurrence, sometimes training suffer the odd mishap. The Brooklands team have straightened out a few dents over the years, replaced wings and undercarriages and even rebuilt one aircraft completely from scratch. Quite rightly a bond of trust develops between pilots and the engineers that maintain their aircraft which in my experience is strengthened by confidence in our engineers skill and expertise. Brooklands Engineering is an EASA Part 145 approved maintenance organisation, servicing all makes of General Aviation aircraft, including both EASA and FAA registered aircraft. For more information, please call 01604 642000, email contact@ brooklandsengineering.co.uk or visit www.brooklandsengineering.co.uk

15 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

Training History

s s Keeping the Club’s heritage alive – our Tiger Moth, for those who want a traditional learning experience

Brooklands Flying Club is Back!

rooklands Flying Club can trace its roots back to the early days of flying in the thirties, when it operated biplanes, such as the Tiger Moth. We’re delighted to report that the Club has returned to Sywell after a short break, and there’s still a Tiger Moth on our fleet.

The ubiquitous Cessna C172 is an iconic four-seat type, which is instantly recognised by many and has the highest production run of any aircraft, with over 44,000 examples built to date. Our C172 is a comfortable and well-equipped late-S model, which is generally used for advanced flight training and private hire, as it’s especially suited to touring.

Learning to fly is one of the most satisfying learning experiences possible and opens unparalleled freedoms, and Brooklands Flying Club is here to help people achieve that dream.

Range of training The club teaches the EASA Private Pilots Licence (PPL) and Light Aircraft Pilot’s Licence (LAPL) courses, along with additional qualifications, such as

Brooklands night and instrument flying. The EASA PPL course consists of a minimum of 45 hours of flying instruction and starts with tuition focused on controlling the aeroplane. It takes students up to the day when their instructor decides to get out and let them fly solo for the first time, a moment which stays in every pilot’s memory forever. A period of consolidation follows, to cement the skills learnt during those first few hours, and then lessons move onto cross-country navigation and how to

As well as the Tiger, we have a modern fleet, comprising Aero AT-3s and a Cessna C172. The AT-3 is a fun, twoseat machine designed and built in Poland, where the prototype first flew in 1997, making it a very new design, in aviation terms. Brooklands Flying Club took delivery of the first two UK-registered aircraft in 2005 and have another example, which is operated as a private syndicate aircraft for pilots who already hold a licence. 16 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

s The Club’s other aircraft are the Cessna C172 (left) and two Aero AT-3s

Training History

s s

The cockpit of an Aero AT-3, which is nowhere near as complex as you may think you’d soon learn how to operate it!

Members enjoying lunch at Kemble Airfield, having flown there in the Flying Club’s aircraft

handle emergencies, before students are sent off alone, to fly to nearby airfields. Alongside the flying instruction, there are nine ground-based examinations to pass, such as meteorology, navigation theory, air law, etc, and although there’s quite a lot of material to cover, they’re no more difficult than GCSEs. A final set of flying lessons then prepares the student pilot for the aviation equivalent of a driving test, the PPL Skills Test. The PPL has been with us since the early 1900s, but the LAPL has recently made an appearance. Training for an LAPL involves the same written examinations as the PPL course but has a reduced flying requirement of thirty hours, rather than the 45 required for the full PPL. The LAPL has some restrictions around aircraft weight, the number of passengers allowed to be carried and the minimum weather conditions required for flight. However, most private pilots wouldn’t be affected by these restrictions, making the LAPL course a cost-effective alternative to the traditional PPL route. Lots of people discount learning to fly as they assume that, as they wear glasses,

have a minor medical condition or a disability, they wouldn’t be able to pass an aviation medical. Well, the reality is that in most cases, if someone is deemed fit enough to drive a car then they’re allowed to fly an aeroplane. Not just training… The club also caters for qualified pilots, offering advanced training and a range of activities. We have regular fly-outs to nearby airfields, which gives pilots the opportunity to meet like-minded people. We also venture further afield, during peak season, with a number of preplanned trips to such destinations such as Le Touquet or Cherbourg in France. So, how much does it cost to learn to fly? Each student varies, and some will need more lessons than others. For a LAPL course, taught on the two seat AT-3 aircraft, budget for around £6,500, which includes thirty hours of flight training, ground briefings, nine ground exams, the skills test, CAA fees, away landings fees (all fees at Sywell are

included) and VAT. The budget for a PPL course, with the extra flying requirements, is around £8,500. The final cost of learning to fly will vary, based on each student’s natural ability, the frequency of lessons and how much personal time can be committed to the course. The club offers vouchers from £99 for a half-hour trial lesson in one of our AT-3 aeroplanes, or for the more adventurous, a thirty-minute experience in a vintage Tiger Moth is £240. All prices include VAT.

Brooklands Flying Club’s clubhouse is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and our instructors teach by appointment throughout the rest of the week. Find out more by calling 01604 801636, emailing contact@flybrooklands.com or by visiting www.flybrooklands.com 17 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

Sales/Training History

s The Cirrus SR22T - the best-selling aircraft in its class for over a decade.

Cirrus Aircraft UK

eadquartered at Sywell Aerodrome, Cirrus Aircraft UK Ltd is the official sales centre for new and used Cirrus aircraft for the UK and Ireland.

To date, worldwide flight time on Cirrus aircraft has passed ten million flight hours. Over 160 people have returned

As well as aircraft sales, we have trusted partnerships to deliver every service that a pilot requires to own and operate a Cirrus aircraft. These services include a Cirrus Training Centre, aircraft servicing and financing. Cirrus Aircraft is the recognised global leader in personal aviation and the biggest manufacturer of aircraft globally, with over 350 aircraft delivered in 2017. Manufacturer of the best-selling SR Series piston aircraft and the Vision Jet, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first single-engine personal jet that can be operated by a private pilot. Founded in 1984, the company has redefined performance, comfort and safety in aviation with innovations like the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS). 18 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

The Cirrus Jet

home safely to their families as a result of the inclusion of CAPS as a standard feature on all Cirrus aircraft.

Sales/Training History Why is the CIRRUS SR22 such a popular Aircraft? Performance: Class leading cruise speeds of up to 215 kts, a maximum cruise altitude of 25,000ft and a range of 1000 nautical miles. Versatility: Fully equipped to fly in instrument flight conditions with autopilot, automatic approaches and flight into known icing protection. Safety: The only certified general aviation aircraft manufacturer in the world providing an airframe parachute as standard safety equipment. The latest avionics technology providing traffic and terrain awareness, electronic stability protection downloadable satellite weather and an infra red camera. Luxury: Taking cues from the luxury car market, the aircraft includes as standard; remote locking, convenience lighting, premium leather interior, bluetooth telephone connectivity to make calls and listen to music. Cirrus Aircraft Co-Founder and CEO Dale Klapmeier: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our goal remains to revolutionise the personal flying experience for the pilot and passenger through innovation in performance and safety. Our strong results in 2017 are a direct result of how our mission resonates with our customers. SR Series and now the Vision Jet, continue to reinvent personal aviation around the world.â&#x20AC;?

FLIGHT TRAINING At Cirrus Aircraft UK we are passionate about our brand and go to great lengths to ensure our customers receive the very best training in the industry. We have three in-house, factory trained instructors and can provide every aspect of Cirrus flight training, taking our customers from a basic PPL through to a full instrument rating.

s Fly in comfort and style, with a premium leather cabin interior. s

CIRRUS AIRCRAFT UK LTD We operate a top range of 2018 SR22T GTS G6 for demonstration purposes and keep an inventory of approved, preowned Cirrus Aircraft for sale.

The Cirrus Sales team Charlie Kimbell, Michael Wright (Principal) & Sarah Bond

For more information about new aircraft, please call Michael Wright on 07974 350733 or email michael@cirrusaircraft.co.uk Regarding pre-owned aircraft, call Charlie Kimbell on 07801 661114 or email charlie@cirrusaircraft.co.uk For general information, visit www.cirrusaircraft.co.uk 19 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

Engineering/Operator History The Grace family Spitfire, ML407, (bottom) in formation with Hawker Hurricane P2902 (All photos Darren Harbar)

Air Leasing

t is safe to say that whatever day you find yourself at Sywell it is entirely likely that you will see a WWII fighter, in fact, if you’re lucky, it could be one of the rarest fighter aircraft in the world. Air Leasing is a family business founded in 1984 by the late Nick Grace and his wife Carolyn. The company was started for the sole purpose of restoring and operating WWII era aircraft and that is what it still does to this day. Now run by Carolyn, Richard and Daisy Grace from their beautiful new hangar at Sywell Aerodrome, the company has grown

20 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Three Hispano Buchóns under restoration in Air Leasing’s hangar

significantly. In the two short years since the move to Sywell Air Leasing has restored 5 aircraft, imported 12, exported 4 and carried out significant work on numerous others. It all started at Sywell on a cold January morning in 2016 when the team were unloading a 40’ container (it would turn out to be the first of many) with great excitement as within this container was a true “one off ”. Mother and son, Carolyn and Richard Grace, who run Air Leasing with the latter’s wife, Daisy

During the filming of “The Battle of Britain” in 1968 the enemy aircraft had been played by some 28 Hispano “Buchóns”, a licence built BF109 G-2 but utilising a Rolls Royce Merlin engine instead of a Daimler Benz DB605. These aircraft had been operated by the Spanish Air Force until 1965 used in North Africa to defend the Spanish colonial territories. Directly after the film they were traded against services rendered to an American pilot by the

History Engineering/Operator

Air Leasing maintains and operate a number of aircraft, including, Anglia Aircraft Restorations’ two-seat P51 Mustang Contrary Mary. The sole surviving two-seat Hispano HA-1112-M4L Buchón, which was the first aircraft restored in Air Leasing’s Blister hangar name of Wilson “Connie” Edwards and shipped to his ranch in Big Spring, Texas. There the aircraft languished for some 47 years until eventually being sold, with Air Leasing being rewarded the contract to get two of them flying again. One of these two aircraft was the sole surviving two seat Hispano HA-1112-M4L “Buchón”, a factory built two seat, dualcontrol variant and it was this aircraft that was the first to grace the new Sywell hangar. Work started immediately on the twoseat “Buchón” (Spanish for male dove, due to the shape of the engine cowlings giving it a similar appearance to that of a Pigeons breast) and during this work it was soon joined by the Grace family Spitfire ML407 and the recently restored sole surviving Seafire LFIII PP972 which Air Leasing had completed the restoration of in June 2015. Another single seat “Buchón” soon followed, being the second aircraft of the contract, and the two were worked on simultaneously towards flight in almost exactly the same spot on the airfield as they had been during 1968, when Sywell had been used as a base for some of the film sequences. Through the next 12 months, alongside the passenger flying operations in Spitfire

ML407, a number of other aircraft arrived at Air Leasing including Hawker Fury C-CBEL which was imported from Australia and swiftly turned around by the team in the colours of SR661, the prototype Hawker Fury. And then in early 2017 Air Leasing commenced maintenance and operation of a fleet of aircraft owned by Anglia Aircraft Restorations which included Hawker Hurricane P2902, Hawker Fury SR661, P-51D Mustang “Miss Velma” and Spitfire XIV MV293 and then recently expanded to include Spitfire V EE602 and two aircraft refurbished by Air Leasing; P-47D Thunderbolt “Nellie” and Hispano Buchón G-AWHH. Alongside the other aircraft operated and maintained by the company the Anglia Aircraft Restorations fleet brings the total up to fifteen. Three of these fifteen are now being utilised for passenger flying from Sywell with the P-51D Mustang, a “TF” two-seat, dualcontrol variant of the Mustang, and the two-seat “Buchón” operating alongside Spitfire ML407. If you would like details about how to go flying in one of these machines, please visit our website www.ultimatewarbirdflights.com

Air Leasing has gained a reputation for turning restorations around at a high standard in a short period of time. This turnaround is only possible due to having an exceptionally talented, and hard-working, in house team and a number of expert sub-contractors for specialised services. None of these subcontractors are more critical than Classic Sport Engineering, also based at Sywell, who carry out all the fabric covering of components along with a tirade of other smaller complex tasks without which the timescales we work to simply wouldn’t be possible. With more exciting restorations in the pipeline including further “Buchóns” and the sole surviving Spitfire FXII, EN224, you never know what you might see next sitting out on the manicured Sywell grass!

For more information about Air Leasing Ltd, please call 01604 642058/648212, email info@ML407.co.uk or visit www.airleasing.co.uk 21 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

Operator History

The Blades at Sywell

2Excel’s The Blades Reach New Heights

ywell-based 2Excel Aviation Ltd is a distinguished matrix organisation which delivers unique and revolutionary solutions to difficult problems in the aviation sector, and also runs The Blades aerobatic and racing team. Founded in 2005 by two former Royal Air Force pilots, Chris Norton and Andy Offer, the company has grown significantly. Having started as an aerobatic display team, consisting of five people and four aircraft, the company is now managing a fleet of over 28 aircraft and more than 316 staff across eight divisions, operating in a range of sectors, including engineering, oil spill response, private travel, defence and security. Plus, of course, the original aerobatic display team, The Blades. 2Excel Aviation Ltd prides itself on focusing on areas where others fear to tread or are unable to operate, under the motto of ‘doing difficult things well’.

22 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

The Blades

2Excel’s most publicly recognised division,The Blades, is run from Sywell Aerodrome. Chris and Andy’s idea for The Blades was to be able to fly formation aerobatics with fare-paying passengers in a world-class formation aerobatic display team. In 2006 The Blades were awarded EASA and CAA approval to fly ‘farepaying passengers’, allowing them to experience the thrill of close formation aerobatics. That makes The Blades the world’s only aerobatic airline! Now entering its thirteenth display season, and with over 25,000 hours of flying between its pilots, the worldrenowned Blades Aerobatic Team is among the world’s most experienced outfits. The team perform to approx four million people per year, in around fifty different displays across the UK. Since The Blades first formed, it has predominantly been an aerobatic display team. However, in 2016, its expertise was extended when Blade 1 team leader, Ben

Murphy, entered the Red Bull Air Race Challenger Cup. After two years, Ben was promoted to the Red Bull Master Class, flying as the only British competitor and taking on thirteen of the world’s elite pilots in an eight-race campaign for the World Championship Title.

The Red Bull Air Race

Accredited by the FAI, the World Air Sports Federation, and combining speed, precision and skill, The Red Bull Air Race features the world’s best pilots in a pure motorsport competition. Only a select number of pilots are given the highly coveted ‘International Super Licence’ to race. Pilots fly through a predefined racetrack of inflatable pylons, flying just 25 metres from the ground at 370kph, enduring g-forces of up to 10g. The total length of each Red Bull Air Race course is approximately 6km each pilot flies two laps individually, with the aim of finishing in the quickest possible

Operator History

One division of 2Excel Aviation Ltd is BroadSword, which provides “bespoke air travel solutions” and operates three Beech Super King Airs plus a Eurocopter 135 You can watch The Blades perform to approximately four million people per year, in around fifty displays across the UK The Blades Aerobatic Team in the Blade 3 position, and be Head of The Blades Team.

Pole position

The timing is activated when the race plane crosses the start line and is stopped when it passes the ﬁnish. All Air Gates must be ﬂown through horizontally, with the exception of the Chicane, and the pilot must be within certain distances, heights and flying angle from markers on the pylons. The pilots get penalised (seconds added to their time) for making incorrect vertical turning manoeuvres, not flying level or too high, hitting a pylon, exceeding the speed through the start (there’s a maximum of 201mph) deviating from the course, insufficient smoke or an incorrect aircraft weight.

The pilot

Ben Murphy was born and raised in the Midlands, took an interest in flying at a very early age and gained his Private Pilot’s Licence before he could legally

drive! Inspired by his grandfathers, both of whom were RAF pilots, Ben joined the service in 1997, and completed his training in 2000.

time. Points are awarded after each race, and The Red Bull Air Race World Champion is the pilot who’s achieved the highest aggregate score during the season.

After competing in the Red Bull Air Race Challenger Cup in 2016 and 2017, claiming five podiums and two pole positions, Ben is the new British face in the Red Bull Air Race Master Class for 2018, flying his Edge 540 V2. Ben’s ambitions are to extend the UK’s racing Ben Murphy, Blade 1 team leader, competing in a Red Bull Air Race

In 2006, Ben was selected to join the world famous Red Arrows, flying in the Red 2 position, and was honoured to become part of the synchro pair the year after. He was then selected to be the next Leader and Commanding Officer of the Red Arrows for the 2010 and 2011 display seasons, becoming the second youngest pilot to hold the position in the team’s history. Ben had the privilege of displaying all over the world, from the US and Canada to the Middle and Far East, as well as at home in the UK and Europe, during his five years with the Red Arrows. He flew over 480 public displays and achieved more than 1,500 hours of display flying. Ben joined The Blades Aerobatic Team in 2015, flying the Extra 300L, and soon worked his way to taking the Blade 1 leader position in 2016 and 2017. During 2018 he’ll continue to ‘guest’ fly with 23 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

Operator History

When Ben was asked how he felt about being the new UK race pilot, following in the footsteps of Paul Bonhomme and Nigel Lamb, he commented, “They’re big shoes to fill! With the number of World Championships between them, it’s a great honour to be flying the flag for Great Britain again. With hard work, the support of the team and determination, I hope to fill those boots.” Speaking about how he physically and mentally prepares for a race, Ben told us, “The physical preparation is continuous. I enjoy running and walking in the mountains with my wife and family, but the mental preparation is more specific to the race weekend. “My wife, Kirsty, says that nothing appears to stress me, and I suppose I’m good at compartmentalising, and

record as the nation with more World Championship titles than any other in the sport.

The Blades’ Ben Murphy is the only UK competitor in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship Master Class category

therefore being able to prepare and focus my mind quite specifically. The support of the team is paramount in helping me

prepare mentally, by taking away much of the stress.”

For more details about The Blades, visit www.theblades.com. Keep up to date with the World Championship by following The Blades on social media (details on the website) or head to the Red Bull Air Race website, http://airrace.redbull.com. For more details about the work of 2Excel Aviation Ltd, please visit www.2excelaviation.com

Across the line! The Blades’ Ben Murphy speeds through a start/finish gate of a Red Bull Air Race

24 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Training History

Our simulators present amateur and professional pilot alike with a very realistic flying experience

Virtual Aerospace

Try your hand at flying an airliner or a Vulcan bomber in a simulator...

ight years ago Virtual Aerospace opened its doors to the Virtual skies at our Sywell branch, here at Sywell Aerodrome, and now we have branches in West Sussex, Manchester and Burgess Hill. Our fleet of simulators includes 3 fixed base B737 800s, a full motion A320 and a full motion B737, as well as our new Vulcan Bomber, which is based at our Manchester branch. We continue to offer Flight Simulator Experiences to the general public on our simulators, which makes an unusual gift experiences to people that have always fancied trying their hand at being an airline pilot. Never before has a company provided so much access to the general public to a professional flight training facility. Why don’t you come and join real commercial pilots in 1 to 1 sessions. We also supply gift vouchers. Virtual Aerospace has long been the goto company for help with airline interview and simulator assessment preparation for professional pilots, and

we have currently helped many recently qualified pilots to get that elusive job opportunity. We are officially the most cost effective simulator resource within the UK. In recent years we have become the media’s defacto company for providing last minute slots to the news media, this was the case as all footage for both the MH370 and German Wings disasters were filmed in our simulators being used by BBC News, Sky News and ITV for all their footage. In addition to this our simulators have been the star of several movies and we dismantled one of our simulators completely and rebuilt it at Long-cross studios for the filming of Sky Atlantic’s series The Tunnel .You may also see us on ITV’s quiz show Tipping point where we are a star prize. We were really excited last year to acquire the Manchester branch and a Vulcan Bomber, which is currently the only Vulcan Bomber Flight simulator available to fly in the world today. Why not come and take the controls of the mighty Mach 0.93 V Bomber. Experience the thrill of flying low level through the mountains or the precision

required to attempt an in flight aerial tanker refuel, fail and you will run out of fuel in the air! Whether you are a complete novice looking to find out more about this amazing industry, are a future airline pilot looking to see what your future day job will be like or an experienced airline pilot looking at having access to the UK’s best valued simulators then we have something to offer you.

Our Manchester branch’s Vulcan bomber simulator is the only working one of its kind in the world

For more information about Virtual Aerospace’s services, please call our Sywell office on 01604 211336, email info@virtual-aerospace.com or visit www.virtual-aerospace.com 25 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

Operator History The Aero Legends team with their new Spitfire T.IX, Elizabeth, at Headcorn Aerodrome, Kent

Aero Legends A ero Legends was established in 2014, with a mission to make flying in iconic vintage aircraft more accessible. Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength and chose Sywell Aerodrome as its operational base, to cover customers in the midlands and the north of the UK, citing its fantastic facilities and ambience as key deciding factors.

A growing passion

The public’s passion for vintage aircraft continues to grow and, for many people, the opportunity to fly in a type such

as the fabulous Spitfire really is a once in a lifetime occasion. Aero Legends understands how important it is to make such a special day truly memorable and focuses on providing a complete experience, not just a flight. The company has two of the most experienced Spitfire pilots, Anthony ‘Parky’ Parkinson and Charlie Brown, delivering customer flights. This customer-first approach has resulted in Aero Legends becoming the largest vintage flight provider in the UK.

The company’s two-seat Spitfire, NH341, Elizabeth, flying over the south coast 26 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

The current fleet

Substantial investment has been made in the current aircraft fleet, which comprises three Tiger Moths, Thruxton Jackaroo, Harvard, Percival Prentice, de Havilland Devon, Douglas Dakota (Drag-’Em-Oot), Spitfire Mk IX (St George), and of course our beautiful, two-seat Spitfire NH341 (Elizabeth), which is used for passenger rides. Aero Legends’ owner, Keith Perkins, says, “When I acquired Elizabeth in 2011, little was known about her history, other than she had two kills to her credit before being lost in combat. Our research has revealed the personal stories of the pilots who flew her in combat and how she was named after the wife of her main pilot, Royal Canadian Air Force Flt Lt Bruce Whiteford. Amazingly, one of her wartime pilots, Tommy Whelar, who’s aged 97, is still with us today.” If your dream is to fly in or alongside a Spitfire, get in touch using the contact details at the end of this feature and we can make it come true…

Operator History

Aero Legends Spitfire T.IX, NH341 (G-CICK) Elizabeth By Richard Paver Aero Legends’ Spitfire T.IX NH341 (G-CICK) was rolled out for its first public appearance by Historic Flying Ltd (HFL) at Duxford on March 11 2017. Following the completion of the test programme at Duxford, a Permit to Fly was issued by the CAA in early April 2017 and the aircraft immediately joined the Aero Legends fleet at Headcorn Aerodrome, Kent to commence a busy programme of Spitfire experience customer flights.

Elizabeth’s main pilot, RCAF Flt Lt Bruce Whiteford, with her during WWII

Total rebuild

After being recovered from its wartime crash site in 1996, the wreckage of NH341, along with that of another Spitfire, ML295, had been on display at the Musée Memorial de la Bataille at Bayeux, Normandy. Keith Perkins, the owner of Aero Legends, bought the remains of NH341 in 2011 and moved her to Duxford for restoration to airworthy condition, as a T.IX, in 2014. Airframe Assemblies initially completed much of the longeron and fuselage framework.

The Spitfire was registered G-CICK on 4 June 2014 and the fuselage arrived at HFL in July 2014 where, by that September, work was well underway on the fuselage and wing components. New main spars were delivered to the project in January 2015, having been manufactured by Airframe Assemblies.

Historic Flying Ltd’s Project Manager, Martin Overall (left), and Project Engineer Mark Parr during construction of Elizabeth’s fuselage

The team at HFL Duxford were then able to rebuild the entire aircraft. The company has the specialist wing and fuselage jigs to enable completely new fuselages and wings to be constructed. An original engine frame was acquired and completely stripped down. All of the parts were then assessed for reuse and, where required, new T50-spec tubing was manufactured, cadmium-plated and installed, along with a new central horseshoe frame. For the next two and a half years the team, led by Project Manager Martin 27 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

Operator History

Elizabeth nearing completion, following an extensive restoration by Historic Flying Ltd at Duxford new lower firewall and all the stencilling on the original components was copied exactly onto the new firewall.

Overall, carried out a meticulous restoration of the wreckage, to create an all new, two-seat T.IX Spitfire, specifically for use in the Aero Legends customer flights programme.

Systems installation onto the firewall commenced in mid-2015. Original, metal-covered T.IX elevators were restored by HFL and a new rudder manufactured by Airframe Assemblies.

A Packard Merlin 266 was sourced for the project and then overhauled to zero time, and a new Dowty Rotol R12 prop was also acquired from Skycraft Services Ltd. Elizabeth was fitted with wing tanks of 35 galls capacity each, which were newly-manufactured to fit into the inboard gun and ammunition bays. Original seat pans were acquired, which had a 1940 date pencilled on them, and new seat mounting frames and seat raising/ lowering mechanisms were manufactured for them.

Well underway

In January 2015, the engine frame was completed, and trial-fitted to the firewall, to check the correct alignment. And in March 2015, new front and rear instrument panels were manufactured, and original instruments sourced, which included an original P11 compass for the front cockpit. The spars were mounted in the wing jigs during March 2015 and the internal 28 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Many original parts were sourced for the tailwheel assembly, which included an original leg and newly manufactured oleo.

wing structure build up for the ribs and spar web structure commenced for both wings.

An original set of undercarriage legs was acquired for the project and were then NDT tested and cadmium-plated. Spitfire undercarriage legs are one of the few main components which currently canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be made new, so serviceable examples are becoming increasingly rare. The engine rebuild was completed in January 2016 and was successfully test run in a mobile jig.

Airframe Assemblies made many of the fuselage kit parts, plus the complete tail and rudder. By July 2015 the nose ribs for both wings were complete and installation of the leading-edge skins commenced. The original firewall, which was one of the parts that confirmed the aircraftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s identity, was used to create a

A new fuselage fuel tank was completed, and trial-fitted into the fuselage in February 2016. By then, the fuselage structure and tail were also complete, with the fuselage being moved out of the jig in preparation for final assembly and systems installation. The undercarriage hydraulic system was

Her immaculate front cockpit highlights the superb attention to detail of Elizabethâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s restoration.

Operator History and the initials EO on the right, which represent his wife.

Sharing the magic

I do hope that the completion of NH341 enables more people to experience firsthand the magic of the Spitfire. The warbird industry hasn’t generally made aircraft very accessible to the public and one of the objectives I have for Aero Legends is to be at the opposite end of that spectrum. As an example, to date, over 1,000 people have enjoyed the experience of sitting in our single-seat Mk IX Spitfire, TD314. Thanks to the changes in CAA regulations, with respect to paid passenger flight, we can greatly widen and share the experience of flying in a Spitfire. Aero Legends’ de Havilland Devon and Elizabeth over the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne near Folkestone, Kent completed filled and pressure-tested. That involved connecting the hydraulics to a ground-power rig, to test cycle the undercarriage rams many times. By April 2016 the wings were very well advanced with their fuel tanks having been fitted and pressure-tested, and work on the radiator bays was complete. The undercarriage legs, pintles and locks were then fitted to the wings and the detailed process of commissioning the undercarriage was carried out. That included fitting shims and tapers, to ensure the correct clearances were achieved in both the up and down positions. Both wings were then taken out of their jigs and painting of the fuselage commenced.

Approaching completion

The aircraft then rapidly began to take shape as the tail was fitted along with the rudder, elevators, engine frame and Merlin engine. By December, both wings had also been painted and fitted to the fuselage, and the aircraft was on its wheels for the first time. After completion of the systems checks, the first ground runs took place just before Christmas 2016. The entire structure of the aircraft is essentially new, and I recently spoke to

Keith Perkins about the restoration project and he told me that the intent of this project was to create the very best T.IX Spitfire flying today, and huge level of attention to detail was required to achieve perfection. Martin Overall and his team at HFL have completed an outstanding project and I’m delighted with the results. The pilots who’ve flown NH341 since its restoration tell me that her flying characteristics are delightful and she’s a very fast Spitfire – they’re all different and Elizabeth’s aerodynamic efficiency seems to be particularly good. I’ve no pretences that this is the original aircraft – she’s a new T.IX conversion and at the same time is a faithful recreation of the original aircraft. In many ways, Elizabeth’s specification and build quality is far better than that of an original aircraft. We’ve researched the WWII operational history of NH341 in detail, when she flew with No 126 Wing RCAF and have finished the aircraft in the colours of Flt Lt Bruce Whiteford, who was the first 411 Sqn pilot to fly NH341 on 12 June 1944. He flew NH341 more times than any other 411 Sqn pilot, hence the nose art, Elizabeth, on the left-hand side

I created the idea of Aero Legends after I’d had a flying experience with Ultimate High at Cotswold Airport (Kemble). That, combined with the change in the regulations to allow paid passenger flights in CAA Permit Aeroplanes, opened a whole new range of business possibilities in my mind which could successfully combine the operation of historic aircraft with passenger experiences. In early 2018, after retiring from Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, Anthony ‘Parky’ Parkinson joined us as Chief Pilot and an Aero Legends Brand Ambassador. His experience in flying Spitfires and his uncanny ability to convey his enormous enthusiasm for doing so to everyone is very infectious. Charlie Brown is our Head of Training, and our other pilots are Gordon Smith, Dave Evans, Sam Whatmaugh and Michael Pickin. Both Rob Davies and Cliff Spink have also been of huge help in providing expert advice in setting up this business.

For more information about Aero Legends, please call 01622 812 830, email info@aerolegends.co.uk or visit www.aerolegends.co.uk SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 29 83

Sales/Engineering/Training History

The SkyRanger 912 – Flylight nows owns the worldwide design and manufacturing rights (Photo: Alan Wilson)

Flylight Airsports

lylight Airsports has been selling the SkyRanger series of aircraft since the early 2000s as the UK importer, having undertaken the required full certification program for the type. Many design changes were made but we worked very closely with the SkyRanger’s designer, Frenchman Phillippe Prevot, and forged an excellent relationship, collaborating closely on all subsequent models and developments.

Flylight sold over 280 SkyRangers and the later Swift and Nynja variants, making it the most popular fixed-wing microlight aircraft in the UK. In early 2017 we acquired the worldwide design and manufacturing rights for the SkyRanger, Swift and Nynja, when Phillippe decided to retire due to health reasons. Sadly, he died during this process, which was a great loss for his family and the microlighting world. Since then, it’s been a busy time for Flylight, which has seen us getting to grips with a worldwide dealer network and a chain of manufacturing sub-contractors, and selling and supplying aircraft kits and spares around the globe. Previously, the aircraft have been sold as fast-build kits for home assembly but our current projects include gaining a CAA 30 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

A8-1 manufacturing approval, so we can supply ready-to-fly machines. We’re also working on new models and expanding the range to include variants in the heavier, non-Microlight VLA and Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) categories. We believe that the aircraft has a great future, it being practical, easy to maintain and great value for money, and also amazing fun to fly. Please contact us for a demonstration flight to see for yourself ! Since the last issue of Aerodrome, Flylight has launched a number of innovative, lightweight designs…

The FoxTug

We were commissioned by Donald Mckenzie, a keen hang glider pilot and the main drive behind the Malvern Aerotow Club, to design a purpose -built tow plane for hang-gliders The brief was to have an aircraft which would be able to cater for a range of hanggliders, from beginners’ models with relatively low airspeeds, to an advance competition type where it’s relatively high – the range had to be between 30-50mph. We used the FoxCub aircraft as the basis for the design and fitted a 65hp Rotax 582 engine, instead of the stock 36hp unit. There were a certain number of frame changes and reinforcements required, along with a degree of geometry change, to achieve what’s now considered to be one of the best hangglider tow types ever made. As some of the more efficient hang-gliders allow climbs of over 1,200 feet per minute, we’re delighted that the engine gives enough power to tow in excess of 1,000 feet per minute, at a comfortable airspeed for the glider pilot. After its first year of operation, the membership of Malvern Aerotow Club is now oversubscribed, thanks to the

The Fox Tug, the purpose-built tow plane for hang-gliders (Photo: Flylight Airsports)

- on the Lighter Side!

History Sales/Engineering/Training who’ve touched down on the water with their wheels down, which usually resulted in an inverted aircraft and a very wet pilot!

The SeaDragon amphibious SSDR (Photo: Flylight Airsports)

success of the FoxTug. In fact, if the club can find a few more tug pilots it’ll purchase another aircraft. To contact Malvern Aerotow Club, please call Jason Smith on 07966 652 972 or email atosjase@gmail.com

The SeaDragon

Another commission was received from a retired Scottish GP and keen microlight pilot. As he lives close to a Scottish loch, he wanted an amphibious aircraft which was capable of landing on both land and water. The project first started back in late 2016, when a Dragonfly single-seat deregulated microlight (SSDR) was chosen as the main platform, as it wouldn’t require costly and timely certification work to adapt the design to accommodate a set of floats. Sourcing the floats wasn’t an easy task and, eventually, the Airborne Explorer / Part 103 floats with amphibious gear were chosen. Unfortunately, when the floats arrived from the US they turned out to be quite a few kilos above the expected weight, mainly through confusion between the vendor and the customer. The floats and wheels, along with the retract mechanism, weighed in at 51kg, 20kg more than expected, which required a total redesign of the structure along with the engine frame. As the floats also came with minimal information about their centres of gravity and buoyancy, a number of tests and measurements had to be made. The SeaDragon’s first flights, taking off and landing on its wheels, were made from Sywell Aerodrome in December 2017. The wheel retraction mechanism worked very well – it’s essential to lift them clear of the floats for a water landing and take-off. There are a number of horror stories about unfortunate souls

There were a few concerns that the bulk of the floats would have a marked effect on the SeaDragon’s handling and performance, Happily, we needn’t have worried, as the delightful handling of the Dragonfly and the excellent short-field operation of its 36hp engine still remained. With further testing and a public display at the Popham Microlight Trade fair, we were ready for the first sea trials. Those had to be done in Scotland, at the owner’s local loch. All went very well, and the SeaDragon turned out to have a surprisingly short take-off and excellent handling, both on the water and in the air. Our customer is delighted and, finally, his dream has been realised. You can see a short video of the SeaDragon making its first water landing and take-off on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/FlyLightairsportsltd/ videos

The Peabee

Back in 2017, the CAA made a very brave decision and created a new category of ultralight aircraft. The criteria was that any aircraft with a flexible aerofoil wing, weighing under 70kg with full fuel, having a minimum speed of less than 20 knots and an operator with third-party insurance would need no certification and the pilot no license. As Flylight has been producing SSDR microlights since 2007, it was an obvious choice to adapt one of our existing designs to comply. Our new machine, the PeaBee, was created from the FoxCub, using the basic structure and successfully putting it on to a weight-loss programme. The PeaBee has an empty weight of under 62kg, which means that 8kg of fuel can be carried, giving a duration of over three hours. The light weight also means that the aircraft benefits greatly

in climb rate and short-field operation, and as the structure is so light it can be physically lifted off the ground by a mere mortal, making it superbly easy to move around. Being such a simple craft, the PeaBee is the most affordable aircraft in our range. Just £10k, including VAT, gives you a ready-to-fly aircraft, which makes the PeaBee one of the most affordable British aircraft on the market today. The PeaBee is designed to fold into a very small package which can be carried in and on top of a normal family-sized car – for instance, the trike unit will actually fit inside a Citroën C1, with the wing going on the roof rack. Production started in September of 2017 and the orders came thick and fast. Although the PeaBee is produced to meet UK regulations, we’ve also had a healthy number of enquiries from abroad, especially from the older members of the hang-glider fraternity who are looking at being able to take-off and land on wheels – knee problems no longer mean retirement from their chosen form of aviation. You’ll find a number of videos of the PeaBee on our Facebook page.

Flight Training

Our club and school microlight flight training is still in full flow, with instructors, Irwin, Kevin, Simon and Paul, giving many people their first taste of flying. They produce many licensed pilots through the training scheme and now that we have a dedicated flexwing instructor on board, we can offer a complete package to potential PeaBee customers, as well. If you’ve always wanted to fly but been afraid of high costs, etc, come and have a chat with us, as you might be pleasantly surprised at how affordable it is to learn, and we have many options for continuing to fly without breaking the bank.

For more information about the aircraft, training and maintenance services offered by Flylight Airsports, call 01604 494459, email info@flylight.co.uk or visit www.flylight.co.uk 31 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

Sales/Engineering/Operator/Training History

Sloane Helicopters

ituated in a central location at Sywell Aerodrome, Sloane Helicopters has been operating for over 49 years and continues to provide customers with an extensive variety of aviation products and services. Sloane has proudly operated as the sole UK and Ireland Distributor for Leonardo Helicopters for over 23 years and remains the longest established UK and Ireland Dealer for the Robinson Helicopter

Company with over 42 years’ experience. Sloane’s wide-ranging capabilities include engineering, flight operations and flight training. As a Leonardo Distributor, Sloane has secured early delivery positions for the AW109SP GrandNew and the AW169, together with the AW109 Trekker. As the latest variant of the AW109 series, Leonardo has selected Sloane to be

the European launch customer for the AW109 Trekker. Based on the successful AW109S Grand model, the Trekker is equipped with a simplified yet state-ofthe-art glass cockpit and a spacious cabin for up to six passengers. The Trekker’s rugged undercarriage, ease-of-use avionics and reduced acquisition costs makes this an ideal aircraft for private owner flying, utility, EMS and charter operations.

Sloane Helicopters is the sole UK and Ireland distributor for Leonardo Helicopters, including the AW169 series

For further details on the products and services Sloane Helicopters has to offer please visit www.sloanehelicopters.com or contact Sloane at info@sloanehelicopters.com or on +44 (0)1604 790595. 32 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

History Sales/Engineering/Operator/Training

As the UK’s leading Robinson Helicopter Dealer, Sloane has a distinguished record of selling, assembling, overhauling and supporting the whole range of Robinson helicopters from the R22 through to the five-seat, single-engine turbine R66. Robinson’s R22, R44 and R66 are the most successful single-engine helicopters in the world and are popular for both flight training and private ownership. Sloane has already taken delivery of three new Robinson helicopters this year with another eight confirmed for delivery later in 2018.

s Sloane has secured early delivery positions for the Leonardo AW109SP GrandNew

s The UK’s leading Robinson dealer, Sloane offers the full range, from the

Sloane has recently delivered the UK’s fifth VIP AW169 helicopter to a private customer. This helicopter is being maintained by Sloane along with the entire UK Corporate/VIP AW169 helicopter fleet, which is the largest operational AW169 fleet worldwide. The AW169 is designed to achieve superior performance and safety, whilst excelling in luxury and comfort. The AW169 employs the latest generation of avionics to provide maximum safety and pilot situational awareness. Its advanced avionics suite includes a digital glass cockpit, 4-axis autopilot, Helicopter Terrain Avoidance Warning System (HTAWS) and a Synthetic Vision System. The AW169 boasts the largest cabin in its class, offering flexibility for a variety of configurations from five to eight seats.

piston-powered R22 to the turbine R66, below AW109 Trekker

Sloane’s renowned Flying School offers excellent training facilities with experienced instructors providing the highest standard of training for every level of pilot, taking you from the novice right through to a professional pilot. Flight Training courses include Private Pilot Licence - PPL(H); Commercial Pilot Licence - CPL(H); Flight Instructor Rating - FI(H); Multi Engine Instrument Rating – MEIR(H); Night Rating and Type Ratings. 33 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

Engineering History

SkyTech Helicopters & Sharman Avionics

MD Helicopters MD 500, G-BIOA, working on the €20m moorland restoration on Kinder Scout in the Peak District

espite the uncertain economic climate, SkyTech has enjoyed another fantastic operating year, making the past three the best since the company was established, some fifteen years ago. SkyTech was started with an initial set-up loan from one customer, which was repaid within nine months, plus a huge amount of enthusiasm, and the support and trust of all our customers. We’re very fortunate that SkyTech’s customers have remained very loyal and are also firm friends. Along with sprucing up our hangar and redecorating the offices and stores, we’ve had two new bright orange ‘H’ pads painted onto the landing area and invested in a new SkyTech van. It’s also been an extremely busy year for Sharman Avionics, the division which operates under the SkyTech approval and provides avionics support to maintenance organisations and private aircraft owners, on both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft. 34 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Sharman Avionics’ services include sales, modification, repair and scheduled maintenance on all avionics systems. Most of the last eighteen months have been taken up with 8.33kHz radio fits, and we’ve also completed some bigger upgrades.

Globe-trotting support

Not only is SkyTech the principal maintenance company for MD Helicopters, providing support for the brand throughout the country – we currently maintain eighteen examples on the UK Register, which represents sixty per cent of the type – but we also provide maintenance and support in Hong Kong and Mallorca, Spain. SkyTech maintains the only MD520N and MD 600N helicopters on the UK

Register, and also two US-registered E models. With our approval capability, we can also maintain the Bell 206 series of helicopters, of which we support a BIII model.

A novel request

SkyTech’s Martin Lovell recently helped an award-winning novelist, Sue Moorcroft with her latest book, Just for the Holidays, the plot of which involves a helicopter pilot. Sue needed accurate information, which Martin supplied, and in return, she put a wonderful acknowledgment in the front of her book: “A special mention for Martin Lovell of SkyTech Helicopters who advised on all things related to Ronan’s career and the hard landing he suffered.

History Engineering “He also introduced me to Matthew Bolshaw, who kindly shared his extensive knowledge of aviation insurance, and aviation medical examiner Dr Kevin Herbert, who advised me on the pilot/AME (Aeromedical Examiner) relationship.”

Sharman Avionics carried out a full Garmin upgrade, consisting of G500H EFIS, GTN750H GPS/Nav/ Com, GTR225A com, GTS800 traffic awareness system, GTX335 Mode S/ADS-B transponder and a GMA350H Audio panel on this MD500, G-HKHW

s SkyTech’s hangar and new company van, which enables easy transport of tools and equipment around the country

s SkyTech’s Martin Lovell flies to Hong Kong at least once a year, to provide engineering assistance and maintenance on this 520N

For more information about SkyTech Helicopters, please call 01604 493137, please email info@skytechhelicopters.co.uk or visit www.skytechhelicopters.co.uk To talk to Sharman Avionics, please call 07702 028 559, email info@sharmanavionics.co.uk or visit www.sharmanavionics.co.uk

s This lovely E Model was brought in from Germany and has a new paint scheme. It’s locally-based and is a very frequent visitor to Sywell

35 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

Hotel History The Aviator Hotel is an Art Deco gem with an enviable range of facilities

The Aviator Hotel T he Aviator enjoyed a successful 2017, with the Hotel, Bar and Restaurant continuing to be busy throughout the year. Amongst the hustle and bustle we achieved a programme of décor improvements to the bar and restaurant areas, to further enhance our unique Art Deco style.

The most notable of the improvements was the extension of the use of cherry wood panelling from the bar area through to the restaurant and into the Cirrus room. The additional bespoke wood panelling alongside warm lighting and a range of specially sourced period prints has provided a renewed authentic feel for all to enjoy.

Due to popular demand

Towards the end of last year and due to popular demand; we embarked on completing the 9 new bedrooms on the

2nd floor of the Hotel. The new bedrooms, comprising 8 standard doubles and 1 King / Twin, provided an opportunity to use different colour schemes and fabrics to distinguish from the original bedrooms.

The rooms offer a stylish Art Deco space with superior double bed, en-suite bathroom with large bath and power shower, tea and coffee making facilities, TV / Radio, WIFI and air conditioning. The new 2nd floor rooms are accessed via our bespoke aviation styled staircase, with casual seating area and period lighting. Our new 2nd floor bedrooms are now complete and available to book with a Standard Double Room costing £85.00, and a King / Twin £102.00, breakfast is at an additional cost of £7.50 per person.

A warm welcome awaits

With our latest refurbishments now complete, we are looking towards a busy

The Aviator’s Art Deco bar stocked with an extensive range of Gins & Whiskies

36 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

summer offering our customers a friendly atmosphere in which to enjoy delicious food and a variety of fine wines, spirits and real ales in our bar, restaurant, and spacious terrace and garden areas overlooking the bustling airfield. The Aviator bar is open 7 days a week from 11.00am until 11.30pm. Lunch is available 7 days a week between 12.00pm and 2.30pm including Sunday Lunch, and our seasonal Bistro and Restaurant menu is available for dinner Mondays through to Saturdays. We are proud to source our ingredients locally with additional specials available every day. We look forward to welcoming you soon.

The Aviator Hotel’s beautiful Art Deco staircase

History Hotel

The new air-conditioned superior double rooms on the upper floor

sClassic Art Deco touches around the Hotel Classic woodfloors and panelling throughout the public areas

s The Aviatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s refurbished restaurant

Stepping into The Aviatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entrance lobby is to enter a world of Art Deco elegance

37 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

Hotel History The Aviator Hotel classic Art Deco character throughout

Events at The Aviator... I f it’s atmosphere you’re looking for, The Aviator Hotel combines all the nostalgia of a bygone age with the very latest in conferencing and function facilities. Sitting at the edge of the Sywell Aerodrome airfield, The Aviator now has 59 comfortable en-suite bedrooms.

Fine dining & much more

toilets and private bar, so is in great demand for wedding receptions and private parties.

Meanwhile Hangar Two seats 220 theatre-style and has been designed to facilitate business conference needs with its bespoke equipment including a stage with presenters desk for three or four people and inbuilt LCD screens and lectern.

For smaller groups, lectures and training courses, the Cockpit Conference Room can accommodate up to 50 delegates theatre style, while the Briefing Room has room for up to twelve people in any meeting configuration and has its own reception area, which is ideal for registration and coffee breaks.

Similarly, the Cirrus Suite can accommodate up to 150 delegates in theatre style with full blackout facilities available for film or slide presentations. The self-contained suite, however, also boasts its own dance floor and private reception area with cloakroom, own

For conferences, exhibitions, functions and presentations, the facilities are second to none. Hangar One is adjacent to the Aviator Hotel and overlooks the airfield. With its own large bar and kitchen, as well as a passage to the east side that connects the function space to the Aviator Hotel’s Bar and Restaurant, Hangar One is an ideal venue for product

launches, conferences, training days, team building events and dinner dances, easily accommodating up to 500 people.

The Cockpit Conference Room is able to accommodate up to fifty delegates

s The Jaguar Estate launch in Hangar One 38 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

When holding more informal meetings, interviews or for use by an aircraft syndicate, the Club Room is ideal. Offering excellent views of the airfield, it benefits from its own cloakroom and is suitable for up to twenty people.

History Hotel

History

s The Mercedes Citan launch

s Hangar Two is designed for business conferences and can seat 220

The Cirrus Suite is popular for private parties and wedding receptions

2 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

For full details of all the facilities available at The Aviator Hotel, call 01604 642111 and speak to the Events Coordinators or visit www.aviatorhotel.co.uk SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 39 83

Hotel History

Staging a party, dance or conference? The choices at Sywell are extensive...

Hangar One

A range of event-hosting options, for parties, weddings, dances, conferences & much more

We are looking forward to hosting a variety of Events, including the Atomic Vintage Festival, Corporate Exhibitions & Parties, Charity Events, Wedding Receptions, The LAA Rally and Sywell Classic; Pistons & Props. Throughout 2017, the Conference & Events department was fortunate enough to accommodate all manner of conferences and meetings, ranging from small groups of 5 – 30 in the smaller conference rooms, and up to 250 - 500 in Hangar One and Hangar Two. Some of these larger events within Hangar One also chose to utilise the outside space available to them, with team building activities taking place on the Airfield at the front of Hangar One. In March 2017 we kicked off our event season with our first ever Wedding Fayre to show off our truly unique Wedding Venue. Our newly refurbished Cirrus Suite was transformed to show a range of colour themes and ideas, whilst Hangar One housed 25 local suppliers promoting their talent and services. On Sunday 30th September 2018 we will be working with local company SilverLinings, to introduce The Aviator’s first Wedding Showcase, which will give couples an insight into what to expect when they book their Wedding Reception with us. 40 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

November 2017 included a week-long conference which incorporated both Hangar One and Hangar Two, for the Mercedes Benz finance team. Hangar One was divided into a catering area with street food vendors and many other breakout areas which included a yoga room and a maze, to entertain the 200 guests attending each day. The possibilities are endless!

We ended our year celebrating the Festive Season with a variety of local businesses. Hangar One is a great space for corporate clients that are looking to hold a private Christmas Party for up to 500 guests. The Cirrus Suite is also available for bookings of up to 120 guests. Alternatively, if you are a smaller business or a group of friends that are looking to celebrate the Festivities, we have our 2018 Hangar One Christmas Party Nights which are available to book now by calling Kathy on 01604 491112.

ur Events here at The Aviator have remained strong over the past 12 months and the team are ready for another busy Summer!

Hangar One is perfect for a banquet

Fast forward to August/September 2018 and we are looking forward to hosting Britain’s largest fly-in event, The LAA Rally. Over 1000 aircraft are expected to join us from across Europe throughout the weekend. Once again, we will be hosting our annual Beer Festival which coincides with the Rally. We have been busy sourcing a great variety of real ales from local suppliers, which will be accompanied by evening entertainment in Hangar One. Be sure to join us on Friday 31st August, Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd September 2018.

If you would like to enquire about holding a function here at The Aviator Hotel, please contact our Events Co-ordinator on 01604 642111 or by emailing; conference@aviatorhotel.co.uk

History Hotel

The Swinging Blue Jeans play a Hangar One Christmas party

A popular venue for Indian weddings

s Hangar One, ready for a charity band night

Set up for a Charity Ball

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 41 83

History

Christmas Party Night 2018 Saturday 15th December

INCLUSIVE PACKAGE - £59.50 PER PERSON OR BOOK A TABLE FOR EIGHT OR TEN (£100.00 DEPOSIT PAYABLE)

ALL TICKETS SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY & CHANGE STRICTLY BLACK TIE TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS FAYRE

DIETARY REQUIREMENTS AVAILABLE IF PRE BOOKED RECEPTION 7.00PM

DINNER 8.00PM

CARRIAGES 1.00AM

Formed in late 2011 by Glamrus front man Kevin Beecroft, with Colonel Hathi and bass player Richard Barker, former Big 10 and Glamrus drummer Nigal Driver and guitarist Phil Watts who has been on the music scene for many years having his own recording contract in the 80’s as well as penning his own material. Last but not least Kevin Hall on keyboards who also has been in the business a long time working with a string of well known artists. All together they bring years of experience to a well polished band performing up and down the country from pubs, clubs, weddings and cooperate events, performing 80’s hits including Duran Duran,Spandau Ballet, Human League, Simple Minds, Haircut 100, omd, Howard Jones, Madness, Level 42, ABC, Wham, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and many many more.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND BOOKING CONTACT: KATHY PUTMAN CHRISTMAS PARTY NIGHT, THE AVIATOR HOTEL, SYWELL AERODROME, SYWELL, NORTHAMPTON NN6 0BN TELEPHONE: 01604 491112 FACSIMILE: 01604 790701 40 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME Email: info@sywellaerodrome.co.uk www.aviatorhotel.co.uk

History

Big Band Show Friday 21st December

INCLUSIVE PACKAGE - £59.50 PER PERSON OR BOOK A TABLE FOR EIGHT OR TEN (£100.00 DEPOSIT PAYABLE)

ALL TICKETS SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY & CHANGE STRICTLY BLACK TIE TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS FAYRE DIETARY REQUIREMENTS AVAILABLE IF PRE BOOKED RECEPTION 7.00PM

DINNER 8.00PM

CARRIAGES 1.00AM

Jamie Knight and the Manuka Band Christmas Show Jamie Knight makes a return this Christmas to Sywell Aerodrome where he will perform with the Manuka Band. Christmas hits are promised with “the best in swing, a groove of soul, classic pop and plenty of lively rock ‘n’ roll”. A spokesman added: “This tight band knows how to make music really come alive for a truly memorable night. The seven-piece Manuka Band combines an eclectic mix of sax, trumpet, trombone, piano, bass, drums and, of course, “Jamie’s rich and inimitable vocal, featuring a line-up of highly experienced musicians”.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND BOOKING CONTACT: KATHY PUTMAN CHRISTMAS PARTY NIGHT, THE AVIATOR HOTEL, SYWELL AERODROME, SYWELL, NORTHAMPTON NN6 0BN TELEPHONE: 01604 491112 FACSIMILE: 01604 790701 41 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83 Email: info@sywellaerodrome.co.uk www.aviatorhotel.co.uk

2018 LINE UP

Event

Jerry, Robin, Mary Ann and Colette of Atomic

Thrill-a-Minute! For a truly vintage experience, head to Sywell for the annual ATOMIC festival on 28-29 July 2018...

he most colourful and stylish vintage event on the calendar, the ATOMIC festival will return to Sywell Aerodrome this summer for another weekend of authentic fifties fun. ATOMIC attracts thousands of visitors from all across the country, many from Europe and even some from Australia, all of which contributes to the festival’s unique atmosphere.

Amazing line-up

A huge international line-up of bands and DJs provides the soundtrack for two days of non-stop action, with traditional flag-start drag racing, a classic and custom car show, and a whole range of free activities, including dance classes, crazy golf, classic car rides and a rock’n’roller rink.

46 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Thrilling Demon Drome Wall-of-Death

“For adrenaline junkies, there’s the thrilling Demon Drome Wall-of-Death, and heritage stock car demonstration races” There’ll also be a free afternoon cinema showing classic movies and you can enjoy watching the breathtaking skills of the finalists in the UK Rock’n’Roll Jive Championships. For adrenaline junkies, there’s the thrilling Demon Drome Wall-of-Death, heritage stock car demonstration races, vintage fairground rides and even an old-school soapbox derby. The huge vintage market features a hand-picked array of the very best dealers. It’s one of the UK’s best places to find the finest vintage and top-quality reproduction clothing, shoes, accessories and homewares. It really is a collector’s dream.

Event With food served from period vans, a field full of pre-1966 cars, rows of polished fifties Airstream trailers and all manner of colourful vintage caravans, the attention to detail guarantees an experience like no other. There’s even a Friday night pre-event party for early arrivals, if you want to get the weekend off to a flying start. For one weekend in July, you’ll be able to forget the world’s problems and lose yourself in all the glamour, style and excitement of the Atomic Age!

s The Atomic Lindy Hoppers

s Old-time rock’n’roll, blues and R&B

s The runway becomes a fifties-style drag strip during the ATOMIC festival.

s Catering Airstreams from the fifties

s The Atomic Bombshells!

For more information and tickets, call the ATOMIC festival booking office and enquiry line on 01435 812508, email: jerry@atomicfestival.co.uk, robin@atomicfestival.co.uk or colette@atomicfestival.co.uk, or visit www.atomicfestival.co.uk

s Opportunity to jive, whether you’re just learning, competing or simply doing your thing

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 47

Event

48 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Event

s Dan Griffith in the Type R Mystery Ship overhead the LAA Rally (Photo Ed Hicks)

The LAA Rally T The LAA is the largest association for powered light aircraft in the country, overseeing the airworthiness of over 4000 aircraft, homebuilt and kit-built aircraft, vintage and classic aircraft, microlights, and gyroplanes. The Rally’s raison d’être

is to present a fun packed weekend for LAA members to meet up with old friends and new, and non-members to come along, join in the fun and see what the Association can do to help make their personal aviation dreams fly.

With up to 1000 aircraft flying in; a trade exhibition of aircraft kits, avionics and just about everything that makes an aircraft fly; a themed marquee, which this year will feature racing aircraft through the ages; a homebuilders’ marquee featuring a number of part-built aircraft projects and opportunities to try your hand at riveting, woodworking, composites and fabric covering; and evening entertainment, including a live

band and a beer festival in Hangar One on Saturday night, there is plenty to see and do. Oh, and you can get up close and personal with the aircraft in the aircraft park, meeting and chatting with the pilots. It is an ideal opportunity to learn about how affordable aircraft ownership can be (an additional charge is made for airside access for non-members). A serviced campsite is available across the road from the airfield throughout the event.

he Light Aircraft Association’s annual Rally has an association with Sywell that dates back to the 1960s and 70s but was held at a number of other locations before returning to the airfield in 2009. It is now a regular event here, being held on the first weekend after the August Bank Holiday each year, the 2018 event will take place over the three days Friday 30th August to Sunday 1st of September.

See what an aircraft looks like under the skin and try your hand at some of buillding skills in the Homebuilders’ Marquee, including English Wheeling

The Rally’s trade exhibition features aircraft kits, avionics, engines and pilot supplies – in fact, almost anything associated with recreational aviation

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 49

Event

The 200mph Van’s RV kitplane is popular with British builders, around 400 are flying in the UK

A number of awards are presented at the Rally and a major new one for 2016, marking the LAA’s 70th birthday, was the Best in Show and is a beautiful crystal glass vase donated by our patron, HRH Prince Michael of Kent. The first winner of this prestigious trophy was Alan James for his beautiful Isaacs Spitfire, G–ISAC, which he built from plans

The 2016 Rally also saw the UK debut of the Sling 4 from South Africa’s The Airplane Factory (TAF). A Sling 4 was built by a team of amateurs and TAF personnel at Sywell from start to finish over eight days, and made its first flight on the Sunday evening of the Rally!

Bart Verhees has flown his self-designed and built, single-seat flying wing, the Verhees Delta, into the Rally from Belgium on a number of occasions. For 2018 he plans to bring his new two-seat Delta Wing, which flew for the first time earlier this year

The Light Aircraft Association is based at Turweston Aerodome, Northants. For more information about the LAA and the Rally, please call 01280 846786, email office@laa.uk.com or visit www.laa.uk.com 50 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Event

s The super bikes warm their tyres ready for action

Pistons & Props 2018 Fires Up its Engines ...

he Sywell Classic - Pistons & Props event will return to the Aerodrome on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 September 2018. This major event combines hot-rods, historic racers and bikes with exciting air displays, car and motorcyle clubs, and a superb variety of live music.

Track & air action starts

Formula 1, Formula 2, racing cars will form the mainstay of the Racing Runway, tearing up the runway with speed and thunder of a yesteryear, together with a selection of famous race motorbikes. On the Sprint Strip, the popular Street Car Shootout will be providing smoke and squeals of rubber from a superb line up of hot rods.

s Judd powered Leyton House F1, one of the first designed by Adrian Newey

The air displays including such stunning aircraft as the Supermarine Spitfire, TF51D Mustang and the Avro Lancaster, will wow the crowds over the course of the weekend, alongside vintage aircraft, on both the mornings of both days. 52 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

s Lorena McLaughlan in her B192 Benetton F1 of Michael Schumacher fame

Event

s There will be hot-rods galore

s Chassis of all kinds

s The crowd enthralled by the racing runway

s Classic Grand Prix racing cars too! (Photo: Pete Austin)

s The ladies dress for the occassion

s His & Hers tandem in vintage style

s Super bikes ready for the off!

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 53

Event It’s party time!

Bring your dancing shoes as there will be live music in the Scarf & Goggles Bar, including Lola and her Blue Light Boys, who boast a wonderful fusion of Art Deco chic and forties Hollywood glamour. The Houndogs, who are without a doubt one of the UK’s best rockabilly bands, and Beat Bop-a-Lula a vibrant, beat group covering a wide spectrum of fifties and sixties rock’n’roll and beat tunes, will also be wowing the crowds. For those who want to make the most of the weekend and are camping over, in Hangar One on Saturday night, we’ve The Jitterbug Jets, with a fantastic repertoire covering the iconic rock’n’roll tunes of the fifties and sixties, including classics by Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley & the Comets, Elvis Presley and more – they know how to get a party started! With WWI and WWII reenactments, a vintage fun fair and vintage craft fair, Pistons & Props isn’t all about transport. There’s fun for all the family to be had at the Sywell Classic, with awards for those who come in period outfits and are the ‘best dressed’. What’s more day tickets for under-twelves are free!

s Enjoy live entertainment throughout the weekend

s From Minis to Jaguar E Types, expect an absolutely fantastic array of classics..

Own a pre-1986 vehicle?

Car clubs are invited to apply for space in one of the best classic car club events in the UK. Pole position parking is available for classic cars. So, if your vehicle was made pre-1986, book your tickets and reserve a space at the heart of the show, and let everyone else see your pride and joy.

s The Morgan Motor Car Company stand

Where else are you going to see such a fantastic display of Triumph Stags, apart from at Pistons & Props? 54 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Event

s An array of classic motorbikes

s The Lotus owners’ display

sTry your hand on the ‘Red Arrows’ Flight Simulator

s A shareholder and her Van Diemen RF86 Multisport

sThe iconic Jaguar E types

s Enthusiasts enjoy the roar of the racing runway

For more information about Sywell Classic – Pistons & Props, and to book your tickets and arrange to bring your classic car along, visit www.sywellclassic.co.uk

s Mini Mokes and Minis galore

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 55

Event

The Blades aerobatic team is based at Sywell and considered by many to be the best in the UK

Sywell Great War Airshow

he 17th of August 2014 seems a long time ago now but that was the date of the last Airshow we held at Sywell. As with previous years the Airshow was supporting the Northamptonshire & Warwickshire Air Ambulance plus other local Charities. The theme of the show was “The Great War” as it was the centenary of the start of the First World War. Then in its tenth year the show has gained a reputation for being one of the highlights of the UK Airshow Calendar with a wide variety of acts and something for everyone.

The Breitling Wingwalkers thrilled the crowds with their daring moves in brightly-painted Stearman biplanes

56 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Sense of anticipation

Our pre-Airshow build up had concentrated on the star attraction, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum’s Avro Lancaster, which had been flown over for the 2014 season, to fly with the world’s only other airworthy example of the famous bomber, belonging to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. With a good variety of other attractions, including the Great War Display Team, Breitling Wingwalkers, WWII fighters, thirties sporting aircraft, the Sywell-based The

Event

The Trig Aerobatic Team put on a polished performance in their Pitts Specials

The capacity crowd enjoyed a wonderful â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Garden Partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; atmosphere Blades aerobatic team and the everpopular RAF Red Arrows, all 10,000 Airshow tickets were sold.

The day dawns

Over the years, the weather gods had been kind to the Airshow but that time they let us down. The day dawned bright and sunny, but the wind was blowing a strong and gusty 25-35 knots. Unfortunately, that put paid to the lighter aircraft appearing in the Airshow, including the Great War Display Team and an original Royal Aircraft Factory SE5 WWI fighter. Sadly, it also grounded the two Lancasters due to safety concerns. Disappointments aside, the capacity crowd was still treated to a spectacular show and, as a consolation, a largescale, 18ft-wingspan model Lancaster

A Biker Chapter proudly displayed their beautifully prepared machines There was plenty of ground-based activity too - here WW1 re-enactors march past Great War Display Team Aircraft

Photos by Beck Photographic

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 57

Event bravely took to the skies to entertain the assembled masses. The show was brought to a close by the RAF Red Arrows displaying in their 50th year. Although there was some disappointment regarding the nonappearance of the two Lancasters, the majority of attendees went home having had a super day and the best result of all was that the Airshow again raised a huge amount of money for the Air Ambulance and other charities. Over £41,500 was donated to the following charities: the Air Ambulance, The Royal British Legion, Sywell Parish Council (for grass-cutting), Ecton Parish Council (for play equipment), the then newly-formed Sywell Air Scouts, the Hannah Payne Memorial Trust, a Business Times charity event for the Cynthia Spencer Hospice, plus we also purchased a defibrillator in memory of our dear friend, Richard Miller (see page 106).

Things change…

The next Sywell Airshow was to take place in 2016, but I’m sure most of you are aware of the tragic accident which took place at Shoreham Airshow on 22 August 2015. Our hearts still go out to those involved and, quite rightly at the time, the Civil Aviation Authority carried out a review of airshows in the UK which was to The Red Arrows ascending to start their display sequence...

The Red Arrows iconic Stardust manoeuvre

58 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

change its face forever. As a result, our 2016 show was cancelled, pending the results of the CAA review. Sywell Aerodrome has a rich history of and a good reputation for putting on Airshows. Hopefully, in the future, the event will make a return so watch this space!

Event

The Red Arrows certainly wowed the Airshowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capacity crowd!

Sywell Airshow 2014

Participating Aircraft and teams which appeared at the Airshow included:

n Great War Display Team n Breitling Wingwalkers n The Blades n MD 500E helicopter n Travel Air Mystery Ship n RAF SE5e n Sopwith Camel n Grace Spitfire n Trig Aerobatic Team n Warplane Heritage Museum &

s Carolyn Grace with the Grace Spitfire, ML407, preparing to display

RAF Battle of Britain

Memorial Flight Avro Lancasters n RAF Battle of Britain Memorial

Flight Hawker Hurricane n Barnstormers Flying Circus n Miles Messenger n Miles Whitney Straight. n Glider FX n Hawker Hurricane n P51 Mustang x 2 n Gloster Gladiator n Mew Gull n Comper Swift n Aeronca 100 n Ryan PT22 n DH Rapide n Folland Gnat n EE PR9 Canberra n RAF Red Arrows

s Flying the flag in the VIP enclosure

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 59

Event TT racer and all-round daredevil, Guy Martin gets airborne in the Southampton University Human Powered Aircraft (SUHPA) during the Icarus Cup 2013

Cycling into the Sky at Sywell

The Aerodrome hosts the annual Icarus Cup, which is run by the British Human Powered Flying Club

he final push by humans to fly under their own power really began during the 20th century. Historically, there had been attempts to fly by jumping off church rooftops and other high places, which usually ended tragically. However, it wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that successful flights were made by gliding.

Competition hots up

In 1912, Peugeot, the French bicycle manufacturer, announced a prize of 10,000 francs for anyone who could achieve a flight of ten metres. Yet it wasn’t until 1921 that the prize was won, by the French racing cyclist, Gabriel Poulain, on a bicycle with two small wings attached. This bicycle didn’t even have a propeller, Gabriel achieved a distance of eight metres by cycling up to 58 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME 60

around 40kph and then altering the angle of attack of the wings. In the thirties, theories of aerodynamics were well established and increased data available, so a more scientific approach was now possible, and this would lead to success. Also, by that time, the definition for a human to achieve flight was defined so pilots would need to power their aircraft into the air from level ground. In 1933, the Polytechnische Gelellschaft in Frankfurt offered a prize for a humanpowered aircraft flight of 1km. Two years later, two engineers working at the Junkers aircraft factory, Franz Villnger and Helmut Hässler, build the HV-1 Mufli (Muskelkraft-Flugzeug) aircraft, was launched by a stretched bungee anchored to the ground, to attempt to win the prize. They achieved the 1km flight but were denied the prize due to the assisted launch method used.

The Brits are coming…

The Man Powered Flight Group was formed within the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1959, and it persuaded industrialist Henry Kremer to donate prize money of £50,000 for an aircraft, powered solely by the pilot, to fly a figure-of-eight course marked out by two pylons set half a mile apart. Southampton University students constructed an aircraft named Southampton University Man Powered Aircraft (SUMPAC) to attempt to win the prize. On 9 November 1961 SUMPAC took off at Lasham Airfield, Hampshire, with renowned glider pilot Derek Piggott pedalling away, and made the world’s first truly human-powered flight. But it wasn’t until 1977 that the Kremer Prize was won, by an American, Bryan Allen, flying the Gossamer Condor, which had been designed by Paul MacCready.

Event

s During the early 20th century, Peugeot, the French

cycle manufacturer, sponsored a prize for human-powered flight and held a competition in Paris

s David Barford’s Betterfly, seen here during the 2013 Icarus Cup, has been one of the most successful HPAs. His daughter, Charlotte flew Betterfly in 2016, becoming the UK’s first successful female HPA pilot

Another successful machine is Aerocycle 3, designed and developed by Optica aircraft designer John Edgley, seen here at Sywell in 2016

In 2012, the renamed Human Powered Flight Group launched the Icarus Cup competition, which consists of a series of tasks, each carrying a number of points, with the winner being the pilot who accumulates the most. These tasks test various flying characteristics of the aircraft, power and flying skill of the pilot. The competition introduced a sporting approach to human-powered flying, and a new breed of Human Powered Aircraft (HPA) has emerged, including Aerocycle 3 and Betterfly, both of which have good overall handling characteristics.

To Sywell!

The British Human-Powered Flying Club (BHPFC) was formed in 2014, took over running the Icarus Cup from the Royal Aeronautical Society the following year, and 2018 will be the third time that Sywell Aerodrome has generously hosted the competition.

The Aerodrome’s well-kept grass fields, and the concrete and grass runways, are ideal. In addition, the Pilot’s Mess and the comforts of The Aviator Hotel’s restaurant and bar, plus its Club Room for briefings and meetings, add immeasurably to the pleasure of participation. Sywell’s handy, central location ensures that the BHPFC’s events attract the maximum number of visitors from around the UK. David Barford made the first flights of his Betterfly at Sywell in 2012, and in 2015 TT racer and TV celebrity Guy Martin attempted to set a new HPA speed record during the Icarus Cup. A Russian TV crew has also visited, to film the competition.

This year’s Icarus Cup is set for the 14-22 July and, for the first time in the UK, will feature a figure-of-eight course. The Jacobson figure-of-eight prize sets new standards for HPAs to achieve, and the pylons will be placed 350m apart.

In 2016, at the end of the Icarus Cup competition, Charlotte Barford stepped into her father’s aircraft for the first time and took off with ease, thus becoming the UK’s first-ever female human-powered pilot.

For more information about the British Human-Powered Flying Club, please email bhpfc.info@gmail.com or visit www.bhpfc.org.uk

The BHPFC is constantly seeking sponsors, and in 2013 Breitling supported the Icarus Cup at Sywell. Its goal is to, one day, have the sport of human-powered flying included in the Olympic Games, and already, other countries are adapting the competition’s formula for their own events.

61 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 59

Event

The Championship competitors’ aircraft parked on Sywell Aerodrome’s grass – the calm before the storm!

National Aerobatic Champions are Crowned at Sywell

he British Senior Aerobatic Championships returned to Sywell in June this year, the airfield now being the competition’s wellestablished home. The BAeA extended a very special thanks to the Sywell airfield management team for once again agreeing to host the event and all the hard-working hotel and airfield staff for making sure that the contest continues to be a resounding success. Though the entry at the top Unlimited level this year was limited to just three elite pilots, the Advanced category attracted 15 highly motivated entrants. The Wednesday afternoon saw the first of the CAPs, Extras and Pitts Specials fly in, ready for the Thursday morning main briefing and contest start. Unfortunately, inclement weather proved a bit more of a challenge to those based in the North

62 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

of the country which remained under a stubborn band of high winds and heavy rain. Eventually the rest of the field arrived and the low cloud at Sywell lifted, allowing the start of Programme 1, the Free Known sequence, by mid-afternoon. Brisk work from the pilots, as well as by the four judging teams out on the airfield, enabled the first routine to be completed shortly before the airfield closed at 6pm. Friday’s weather was more co-operative and allowed each pilot to fly twice, either side of the lunch break. These flights were Programme 2, an Unknown unrehearsed sequence and Programme 3 a pilot designed sequence, unrehearsed but based on nominated figures chosen by the competitors. As none of the Unlimited pilots opted to compete for the David Perrin trophy for Freestyle, that just left the final Unknown sequence, Programme

4, for each pilot to fly on the Saturday. Again, the early weather presented a low cloud base, but this quickly lifted enough for the contest to get going and the final flight to be completed by the early afternoon. Guest judge from the USA, Peggy Riedinger, representing the world’s largest aerobatic organisation the International Aerobatic Club (IAC), kindly agreed to award the trophies and medals and the congratulations go to the two 2018 National Champions: Gerald Cooper at Unlimited, winning the coveted Daily Telegraph Neil Williams’s trophy for a record equalling eighth time, and David Thomson the Advanced champion, taking home the wellcontested Advanced trophy.

Event

Modern, top-level aerobatic aircraft are almost exclusively monoplanes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; G-ZVKO is an Edge 360

s The podium finishes in the Advanced category were: First, David Thomson (centre); Second, Emily Collett; and Third, Paul Tomlinson

s An Ultimate category sequence, pinned to the panel of Phil Burgessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DR107 One Design

s The winners in the Ultimate category were: First, Gerald Cooper (centre), holding the

coveted Daily Telegraph Neil Williams Trophy; Second, Chris Brock (right); and Third, Phil Burgess (left)

For more information about the British Aerobatic Association (BAeA), please visit www.aerobatics.org.uk SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 63

Facilities

The original Hall Farm offices adjacent Hall Farm 2 under construction

Sywell Estates

Quality offices, industrial units and storage facilities

here can be few business areas in the county which provide more exciting and unusual surroundings than Sywell Aerodrome, one of the UK’s leading General Aviation airfields and home to a host of high-end businesses.

Gate, Holcot Lane. These modern units have office and toilet facilities, storage and light industrial spaces with rollershutter doors plus ample outside space for parking and unloading. The second phase of additional units is planned to follow on in 2019.

In addition to the Aerodrome itself, hangarage, The Aviator Hotel and conference facilities, Sywell also offers a large quantity of industrial space, totalling approximately 500,000 square feet, which is split into 65 units, ranging from 500-80,000 sq ft.

Construction has already started on Hall Farm 2, a stone-and-brick office building of 5,500 sq ft. The build will have all the modern facilities expected, such as air conditioning, broadband and ample parking. Completion, ready for occupation, is expected in early 2019. Superfast broadband infrastructure has

Secure & modern

Our lettable commercial properties are located in a secure estate which has recently completed a refurbishment programme that’s brought the units up to a modern-day standard. The refurbishment included recladding with insulated composite panels and upgrading the offices with kitchens and toilets. Sywell Aerodrome has also completed construction of the first phase of smaller units of up to 3,500 sq ft at the Bellman 64 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Sywell’s industrial and office buildings range from 500-80,000 sq ft

been installed to each commercial and office unit throughout the site as it’s a facility which has become a necessity in today’s business world. Work has also finished on the landlevelling to extend the Aerodrome’s cross-wind runway 14/32. The area has been reseeded and, hopefully, the grass will establish quickly so that the extension can be brought into use. Two new Blister Hangars have been constructed on the Wellingborough Road boundary, which now house a number of exotic warbirds.

Facilities The Brooklands Bellman now occupied by Elevations Exhibitions & Design Ltd

s Collingwood Lighting Ltd headquarters

s Land drainage for the runway

s Trenching for the runway lighting cables

Spare grassland on the Aerodrome, which isn’t in arable cultivation, is cropped for hay for livestock producers. Cattle and sheep are also grazed and fattened on the land.

The industrial site is ideally situated, with easy access by road or air, between Northampton and Wellingborough, and close to all major motorway networks. A mainline railway station, Wellingborough, is within a ten-minute drive.

s Lancaster Gate Science Park

Heritage & technology

The estate has evolved from a WWII RAF facility into attractive commercial units, with the aim of preserving and enhancing the Aerodrome’s natural character wherever possible. The result is high quality commercial property and office accommodation at competitive rentals, in a rural location which is pleasant for work or play, protected by outstanding security.

Our commercial estate portfolio continues to grow, in response to demand, and a number of ‘centres of excellence’, in engineering, aviation and design, have established themselves on the Aerodrome. Consequently, Sywell Aerodrome has allocated a three-acre site within our commercial estate as a potential Science Park, to attract more hi-tech companies and jobs to the area.

If you’re looking for new premises or relocating in the Northampton area, Sywell Aerodrome is an ideal location for commercial premises with an impressive range of benefits. For further details, please call Michael Bletsoe-Brown on 01604 491112 or visit www.sywellestates.co.uk

The two new Blister Hangars which house a number of exotic warbirds

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 65

Facilities

11-17 of Rothwell Grange Court, which combines a pleasant rural location with great transport access

Rothwell Grange Court R othwell Grange Court is a complex of 17 stylish barn conversion office units full of character and finished to a very high standard.

The complex sits in a rural location with country views to the North but is only a few minutes from Kettering town centre.

Currently available

No 1 Rothwell Grange Court, which offers ample parking

The offices have been finished to a very high standard, and offer all modern amenities, including kitchen areas and super-fast broadband

Rothwell Grange Court is available. The unit is approx. 1,900sq.ft. on two floors split into five office areas of differing size with a kitchen and toilet areas. The property has recently been refurbished to a very high standard and offers a pleasant environment in which to work, full of character and style. There is ample car

parking and super fast broadband is on site.

The site is totally enclosed within a security fence with a timed security gate, which opens in the morning and closes each evening giving tenants security and peace of mind. Access can be gained out of hours via a coded keypad.

Original features give real character to the offices

Keycode access and a security gate means no unwanted visitors 66 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

For further details please contact Kevin Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Dell at Berrys on 01536 412464 or Sam at Propsearch on 01933 223300

WEB DESIGN. BRANDING. ADVERTISING. DIGITAL. PRINT. AN AWARD WINNING GLOBAL DIGITAL AGENCY HALL FARM SYWELL AERODROME SYWELL NORTHAMPTON NN6 0BN +44 (0) 1604 671 714 | www.blayneypartnership.co.uk 67

The The TVR Owners Club is a regular visitor to The Aviator Hotel

Dream Machines at Sywell

s the Aerodrome hosts several events featuring vehicles, such as our Sywell Classic – Pistons & Props weekend and the ATOMIC festival, and a number of car clubs and enthusiasts use us as a destination for a run, we’re fortunate to see a wide range of interesting automotive history. There are also companies on the Aerodrome, such as Classic Sport Engineering, who work on exotic race vehicles, and we also get the odd visit from a local racing team, as this area of the country is close to Silverstone the hub of UK motorsport.

s A lovingly restored, streamlined thirties saloon outside the equally Art Deco The Aviator Hotel - a perfect match!

68 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Here’s a selection of just a few of the interesting cars which have graced the Aerodrome and The Aviator Hotel over the past couple of years…

s The starter waves off a pair of hot-rods on Sywellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s runway - old s A vintage hot-rod outside The Aviator Hotel school thrills galore

s Aston Martin Owners Club meeting The Ford Model T Club in the Aerodromeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s car park

s Necessary on - the - go repairs

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 69

s Testing the revolutionary Nissan prior to the Le Mans 24hrs

s Chevrolet Touring Car aeromapping ready for the race track

s Strakka Racing Shakedown

s LMP2 bedding in brakes ready for a race in Fiji

s Touring car shakedown by RML

70 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

s Penske Indy cars rebuilt by Dawn Treader on the Aerodrome

s McLaren Heritage for a shakedown ready for Goodwood

s Camel F1 preparing for computer game sound recording

s The Sywell Chevron leading into the first corner of the Historic Formula 2 Gold Cup at Oulton Park in August 2017

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 71

Engineering Thomas and Ian Castle with Mike Bletsoe-Brown, with his 1974 Chevron B27 Formula 2

Classic Sport Engineering The much-respected, family-run aircraft and race car facility

lassic Sport Engineering have had its roots based at Sywell for nearly 40 years. Originally operated by Ian Castle, the company maintained and restored Tiger Moths for many of the typeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s private owners as well as the Delta Aviation fleet at Sywell. In 2007 Ian was joined by his son Thomas, who was initially building, supplying and repairing high performance sailing dinghies. Thomas

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soon showed an interest in the aviation and engineering aspects of the business and has developed the aircraft restoration side. He currently looks after all elements of the business and carries out all our fabric work and paintwork. Classic Sport Engineering has undertaken paintwork for DT Performance, both on Grand Prix motorbikes and a Penske PC-23 Indy

race car, meticulously restored. The Penske has gone on to feature at many prestigious motorsport events. The aviation side of the business has been very busy with involvement in many exciting projects including undertaking the fabric covering of the famous Buchon aircraft that appeared in the film The Battle of Britain, which are being restored at Sywell by Air Leasing Ltd.- for more about this project, turn to page 20.

Engineering

s Three Tiger Moths are currently under restoration – here wings are being covered and painted

s Fabric work and the painting of control surfaces for Air Leasing Ltd’s restoration of an historic Hispano Buchón Continuing the close working relationship with Air Leasing, Thomas and Ian assisted with the re-painting of the newly restored P-47 Thunderbolt. More recently, we’ve been re-covering the Tiger Moth G-ANFM, which also has some film star status as it featured in one of the Early Thunderbird films as Thunderbird 6. In fact, we currently look after several Tiger Moths G-ANTE, G-ALIW, G-AMTV and G-AOIS all of which are based here at Sywell.

Track & airfield

Following on from Ian’s motorsport background, we’ve been involved in the engineering and race preparation of Michael Bletsoe-Brown’s 1974 Chevron, which culminated in him winning the Derek Bell Trophy series and taking the runner-up spot in the FIA Historic F2 Series. Possibly the most prestigious trophy that he and the car received was for being the most successful Chevron in the Historic Sports Car Club for 2017. This year we’re currently leading our class in the FIA F2 Series. Classic Sport Engineering is currently working on the complete restoration of three Tiger Moths, and the repair to

s The company has carried out paintwork on Moto GP bikes for Dawn Treader Performance, such as this nineties RGV500 Suzuki

another, which suffered an off-airfield forced landing. We also have some work on two Pitts special’s together with the restoration of another Chevron B27 which belongs to former Derek Bell Trophy Champion Martyn Donn. We have recently expanded our workshop facilities and have acquired the Aerodrome’s old Fire Bay, which has enabled us to increase our manufacturing facilities, with in house computer-aided design (CAD) capability plus a CNC routing machine, both of which are used for prototype and production work.

For more information and updates of what we’re up to please visit www.classicsportengineering.com Should you have an enquiry, please call us on Tel. 01604 647657 Email. info@classicsportengineering.com

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 73

Event

The 2018 Sywell Historic Sporting Trial

s Grahame White and Tim Barrington making good progress

s Tim Kary with son Zak at the wheel, heading up one of the steep climbs in their beautiful Imhof

s Daphne Halliday transfers her weight as husband Martyn tries to keep on the straight and narrow crossing a steep gradient 72 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME 74

Event

record entry of 59 drivers was received for the third Sywell Historic Sporting Trial which was held on the 4th February 2018 in the old stone pit close to Sywell Aerodrome near Northampton. Unlike previous events the weather was fine and dry; as a result the ground was in prime condition for the trial. Ian Wright and Stephen Barnes had set out 6 excellent long and challenging sections which tested the competitorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; skill to the maximum. There was a reasonable amount of grip; however the steep climbs had to be attacked in a spirited manner whilst the equally steep descents required a degree of caution. We were fortunate to have 17 marshals who did a superb job of keeping the event moving, no mean feat with so many competitors and the sections being close together. At the end of the first lap many drivers had kept their score in single figures but only Andy Gowen, Ian Wright and Mark Howse had retained clean sheets. Mike Storrar and Mike Harris managed to break the gearbox on their Renford 16 and Jim Chapman and Clive Tizzard retired with a broken front damper.

s Frank Lyons and Trevor Woods thread it between the trees on their way to second place in the Historic Class in his Cannon Trials car

Although the sections were altered for the second lap Dave Oliver, Graham Wilson, Steve Courts, Paul Howse and Richard Poole achieved clear rounds along with Ian Wright and Mark Howse. Phil Cooper had to retire after the front axle broke on his 750 Formula Jemira trials car when he hit a large rabbit hole at speed. More drastic changes were made for the final round and it was Paul Faulkner who joined the elite band who had a clear round. Graham Wilson, who up to the penultimate section had only dropped 1 mark all day, was rather put out when his dad Frank wrecked the front axle hitting a tree before Graham could attempt his final section! In all it was a very enjoyable trial where the results were declared and printed by 3.30. Mark Howse (Post Historic) and Ian Wright (Historic) did not lose a mark all day, a remarkable achievement. Markâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nearest rivals were Andy Gowen and Richard Poole on 1 each while Frank Lyons had another great drive in the Historic class to finish 6 marks behind Ian. The 2018 historic sporting trials season is off to a flying start.

s Ian Wright and his father, Barry, on their way to victory

s Martyn Halliday (left) presenting Mike Bletsoe-Brown with the Best-Prepared Cannon Award

The Sywell Historic Sporting Trial is organised by the Historic Trials Association, which is associated with the Silverstone-based Historic Sports Car Club and runs an annual calendar of events across the UK. For more information, contact Martyn Halliday by calling 07739 464170, emailing martyn_halliday@msn.com or visit www.hsta.org.uk 73 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 75

Engineering After four years work, the Penske PC-23 Indy car was restored to its original specification

Dawn Treader Performance

If you’ve read previous issues of Aerodrome you will be well aware of our enthusiasm for the Indycar series over in the USA. After some troubled times Indycar has returned to its roots after the brave decision to slash most of the downforce from the cars making them sleeker, tidier and visibly brutal to drive. It’s a new era that harks back to the pinnacle of the series popularity in the 1990’s epitomised by the arrival of Nigel Mansell and cars like Emerson Fittipaldi’s Penske’s PC 23. We have rebuilt Penske’s before but PC 23 chassis 8 has been by far the hardest to complete. On arrival at Sywell in 2012 the car was barely a shell with no engine, no gearbox internals, no electronics and bodywork that was covered in nearly 5mm of paint. That’s about 20 kilograms of paint, pealed expertly from the carbon 76 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

fibre by our friends at Classic Sport Engineering next door. While Tom and Ian attacked the paint we started on the engine and the painstaking job of scowering the world for original components. It’s quite astonishing what you can find in the most unlikely places. Oil coolers, gearbox coolers and a box of other parts came from Australia having been left after the 1995 Surfers Paradise race to satisfy import and export laws. Parts for the Ilmor 265D engine proved much harder to find. While working with Jade Gurss on his excellent book ‘Beast’ about the Mercedes-Benz 500I pushrod engine that was fitted to several PC 23

he last few years have brought interesting challenges, and some demanding projects. We’ve been privileged to work for some of the major car companies and Formula 1 teams in recent times in addition to the private owners who do so much for historic motorsport. We’ve completed some fascinating and technically challenging in-house projects, two of which are best described by the phrase ‘blood, sweat and tears’.

cars for the 1994 Indianapolis 500, we learned that almost all the 265D’s had been upgraded to provide a cost-effective supply for smaller teams the following season. Only a very few engines survived in original condition. The correct turbocharger was also a challenge, as were the exhausts, wastegates and boost regulators. One of the innovations on the PC 23 was its ‘Mono-Bump’ suspension system that prevents the car from diving under braking or acceleration. Such was the effectiveness of the system that rumours circulated that the cars were fitted with traction control (they were not) and

The PC-23 Ilmor 265D engine - we had to scour the world to find the parts required for Chassis 8

Engineering The PC-23 has a unique Mono-Bump suspension system, to prevent it diving under braking and acceleration

we’ve been fortunate to be able to fit the original system to the car. While new wishbones were produced by Ady Matthews, one of the fabricators who produced them in period, the bodywork was extensively repaired to keep it original. This proved to be an incredibly time-consuming job and the finished product is a testament to the dedication of James Waddington and the team at MCT Composites in Daventry. Firing up any car for the first time after restoration is always a mix of thrill and nerves. When this one barked into life the overwhelming feeling was relief that

four years of work had finally proved worthwhile. To run the car at the Pistons and Props event here on the airfield was a real privilege, more so as we were also able to run a scattering of MotoGP bikes, most notably Casey Stoners 2008 Ducati Desmosedici, another rebuild that pushed endurance to the limit. Like Formula 1 cars, MotoGP bikes feature a plethora of electronic control systems. Unlike a Formula 1 car thirty percent of the vehicles mass (the rider) moves about almost all of the time, pitch and lean angles are so extreme that a racing motorcycle could be considered

Australian World MotorGP Champion Casey Stoner’s GP8 Ducati,which we restored, has a very complex electronics package

a two wheeled unicycle. Getting the electronics to work correctly is the difference between a faultless ride and an enormous accident. In the case of Stoner’s ‘CS2’ bike, a multiple race winner, more than a little imaginative ‘electric trickery’ had to be employed to make sense of the streams of data flowing from sensors to the bikes ECU brain. Ultimately the effort has proved successful and with a rev limit of over 20,000rpm, a more urgent motorcycle you are unlikely to find. Our attention is now turning to Jacques Villeneuve’s first race winning Williams FW18 from the 1996 Formula 1 season and it’s fabulous Renault V10 engine. Both car and engine are exquisitely designed and we’re looking forward to getting stuck in over the coming months.

For more information about Dawn Treader Performance, please call 01604 670345 0r send a message via the form in the Contact section of www.dtperformanceltd.co.uk

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 77

Event Club members and their cars on Sywell’s wintry runway

(Photo: Rick Noel, Sprite Photography)

Petrolheadonism Despite the Snow!

With plans to blast the cars down the runway, the convoy arrived to test the conditions by lining up for a group photograph shot by Official Event Photographer Rick Noel of Sprite Photography. Following the group photograph the cars tested the runway for braking and then whilst 75% of the group parked up for static display the remaining cars lined up for runway speed tests for the next 2 hours. With rubber and fuel being burnt at a ridiculous rate, the consortium of Lamborghini’s, Porsche, Ferrari, BMW M cars as well as GTR’s and several other performance vehicles were averaging 130mph. The top maximum speeds on the day were 150mph achieved by a tricked out M5, Supercharged Mustang 78 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

The day’s fastest cars reached 150mph, despite the wintry conditions (Photo: Rick Noel, Sprite Photography)

he Sharnbrook Hotel’s 5.0, Audi R8 GT Spyder, Nissan GTR Petrolheadonism division for and of course the inimitable Huracan Car Shows & Events hosted it’s Performante Spyder. season opener on Sunday 18th March, and withstanding the minus degree conditions and snowfall, their Breakfast Meeting attracted over 150 Supercars, Muscle Cars & Classic Cars. Gathering at Sharnbrook from 8.30am then enjoying a lavish and plentiful English & Continental Breakfast the drivers’ and passengers had the opportunity to catch up and talk the A to Z of motors before setting out on a 150 car eclectic convoy to our equally cold Sywell Aerodrome for the part two of their epic day.

s The Club’s members arriving at Sywell (Photo Rick Noel, Sprite Photography) For more information about Petrolheadonism and the events it runs, please call The Sharnbrook Hotel on 01234 783142, email events@thesharnbrookhotel.com or simply visit www.petrolheadonism.club

Event Chris Lodge’s 1957 VW Split on hydraulic suspension

Early Edition 2018 VW Meet

Presented by Edition38, the water-cooled VW event organisers

his is our 2nd year at Sywell Aerodrome and wow what a fantastic venue. With so much anticipation from the successful first year, with the help of the aerodrome this year was bigger and better! We couldn’t have asked for better weather, glorious sunshine all day. The quality of cars was outstanding. A total pleasure to walk round and judge the vehicles for the later prizes! Hangar One was also used also to display hand-picked show cars. With the bar open and the DJ playing the tunes it created such a good vibe in the beautiful Aerodrome setting. Hat’s off to the club displays organisers. To name just a few, Low down Transporters (50 vans!!!, amazing sight), Golf Mk1 owners, R32 Owners, Seat Ibiza Owners.

The sponsors had selected some stunning vehicles on their stands and we would like to say a massive thank you for all their effort! Also a big thank you to www.slamsanctuary.com for the pictures

s James Barton’s VW Mk 1 Golf on H&R

We already have some big plans afoot for next year’s Early Edition and cannot wait to work with Sywell Aerodrome in 2019. See you there!

suspension and Ronal Racing wheels in Hangar One

For more information about Edition38, please call 07747 800803/07979 818810 or visit wwwedition38.com

s RIIVA Design’s VW Arteon on Air Lift suspension and Rotiform ROCs

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 79

Engineering The magnificent sight of Olivia in flight, looking to all the world like the genuine Avro 504K

Olivia’s Adventures in Wonderland

n August 2015 Avro 504 Replica “Olivia” arrived at Sywell by road from Wycombe. The Aeroplane had been built by a company called Pur Sang in Argentina imported to the UK by Eric Verdon Roe, grandson of Elliot Verdon Roe the founder of the AVRO company. In 2010, Hearing that Pur Sang would be attending Retromobile a classic car show in Paris Eric agreed to meet them there. This was followed by a visit to Argentina in early 2011 when he visited the factory in Parana and met the owner Jorge Anadon. Eric was stunned by the range of machinery that they had available to build the 504’s in the outbuildings of his home. Eric inspected the third replica 504 that they were building and was impressed by the workmanship and agreed that one should be imported to the UK in time to celebrate the centenary. A book could be written about how difficult it was to import the 504K, but S/N 002 registration LV-X 430 was finally released from customs just in time to appear at the Goodwood Revival in September 2013 where it appeared in a display with replicas of A. V. Roe’s 1908 Biplane and his 1909 Triplane, the first all British aeroplane to fly. The A/C was assembled at Goodwood

80 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

By Sywell based engineer Matthew Boddington

by Tony Bianchi and Personal Plane Services and following its appearance at Goodwood it was disassembled and transported to PPS’s facility at Booker. Then began the process of getting the A/C onto the UK register and issued with a UK Permit to Fly. The 504 stayed at Booker until early June 2015 when Eric made the decision to bring the A/C to Sywell under the care of “Biggles Biplane” who had been responsible for the rebuild, and now operated the now well known BE2c replica. The A/C was disassembled at Booker by Steve Green and Rory Cook, with Eric and Geoffrey New assisting and transported by road to Sywell. During its time at Booker the process to get the A/C onto the UK register had been started but little progress had been made. Light Aircraft Association Chief engineer Francis Donaldson had inspected the A/C and a list had been prepared of information required by the UK Authorities from the Manufacturers Pur Sang. Although the Aircraft had been constructed to original drawings and the airframe had been built exactly as per the original there were significant differences from the original aeroplane. The main change was the installation of a modern 9-cylinder 150hp Rotec 3600 radial engine in place of the original Rotary

engine. This also meant the Aeroplane had an electric system, which of course the original did not. The Aircraft also, for ease of operation, had disc brakes fitted. The engine installation required a new mount which needed to be Stressed and to do this we needed drawings from Pur Sang. What with a time difference, a big language barrier and a certain Latin American attitude to urgency this took a long time and a lot of emails but finally stress engineer John Tempest had sufficient information to be able to certify the new engine installation. A complete survey of the Structure was also carried out and some of the nonAviation attaching nuts and bolts were replaced with Aviation spec hardware. The Aircraft covering was also not up to UK spec, all the flying surfaces had to be re stitched and re tapped to meet requirements. To do this all the metal fittings needed to be removed from the wings and tail surfaces, the work was carried out by Steve Green and when completed and returned to Sywell the surfaces needed to be repainted before the fittings could be re installed. With this work carried out the A/C was re assembled and re rigged at Sywell and “Olivia” made her second UK appearance at the 2015 LAA Rally where it was met with great enthusiasm being the first

Engineering

s Olivia at the 2015 LAA Rally ,with a BE2c replica and an original 1914 Vauxhall D Type Staff Car. She won Best Replica at the show

s Presenter Dan Snow with Olivia after shooting a feature for BBC TV’s The One Show

s Reassembling Olivia at Sywell after her road trip from Wycombe Argentinian registered Aircraft to attend the Rally! It was displayed alongside the “Biggles Biplane” BE2 and an original 1914 Vauxhall D Type Staff Car and was awarded the Pooley Sword for best Replica.

The work required by the UK authorities had now been completed but unfortunately there was still a small snag, the A/C was still not registered in the UK and this could not happen until the Aircraft had been removed from the Argentinian register. There was another long period of waiting for the Argentinian Authorities to confirm that the 504 had been de registered and provided the correct paperwork, this finally arrived in early February 2016 and she was placed on the UK register as G-EROE. While we were awaiting confirmation of the deregistration from Argentina we received an interesting phone call from Simon O’Connell of Shoot Aviation, he was looking for a large WW1 Aeroplane for the filming of a major Hollywood Blockbuster in the UK and could we help?? Well if an Avro 504 could fit the bill then maybe we could. Simon paid a visit to Sywell and took some pictures of “Olivia” to show the film producers but he thought that she would

certainly fit the bill, only snag was that she would have to represent a German Aeroplane ! A few days later Simon called to say it was all go and could they come up to Sywell to apply the false paint and markings. On the 27th of November 2015 “Olivia” was loaded onto a lorry and driven to Tilbury Fort where the filming was to take place, by the magic of Hollywood Tilburys Ancient fort had been transformed into a Turkish Military Camp occupied by the Germans during WW1. The film we were taking part in filming was Warner Brothers “Wonder Woman” staring Gal Gardot and Chris Pine, the part “Olivia” was playing was that of the Aeroplane, our hero Chris Pine, uses to arrive at the secret military base to try and steel the note book of the evil Dr Poison !!!! With the Aeroplane re assembled within the fort a week was spent filming the arrival of Steve Trevor, Pine, at the base and then his subsequent escape in a stolen German Eindecker which he uses to shoot the place up on his departure ! The straiffing scenes were filmed over and over again with the usual Hollywood pyrotechnics and at times it was diffuclt to stop them trying to blow “Olivia” up in the process !!! We also had to show Chris Pine how to get in and

out of the Aeroplane without putting his foot through it !! Every morning it was an early start to move the Aeroplane into position ready for the days filming, we usually had to move it between two different positions on set and you will see in the finished film that as the result of Hollywood magic there are two “Olivia’s” Now on the UK register as G-EROE the 504 first flew in the Uk from Sywell on the 5th of May 2016. She can now be seen at many UK airshow, very often as part of the Bremont Great War Display Team. And recently she appeared on the BBC “One Show” with Presenter Dan Snow who came to Sywell for the filming. So why “Olivia”, we had wondered this ourselves and it wasn’t until we had a visit from Carlos de Bortoli from Argentina, Carlos had been part of the original built team and told us the story behind the name “Olivia”. The Original owner of the 504 had a daughter who was called “Olivia”, sadly she had Leukaemia and had passed away, the 504 was named after her so “Olivia”she will stay, for now anyway! Olivia can now be seen at many UK airshows, very often as part of the Bremont Great War Display Team, and she recently appeared on BBC TV’s The One Show with presenter Dan Snow, who came to Sywell for the filming. SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 81

History

The founder Members and Organising Committee of the first Flying Pageant, September 1928. Left to right: Harold Brown, H.Shale, C.A.Reading, C.E.Bayes, C.M.Newton, Capt. B.H.Olney, Capt. J.Addis, G. Linnell, B.Carrick, A.J. Linnell

Ninety years of Sywell Aerodrome

ywell Aerodrome dates back to 1927 when local landowner, Mr Harold Brown, (the present MD’s grandfather) agreed to let 55 acres of his land off the Holcot Lane, adjacent the Bellman Gate, to the Northamptonshire Aero Club founded by Jack and Geoffrey Linnell. Club members worked to remove hedges and level the land to make it a suitable landing ground. There was a grand opening of the airfield by Air Marshal Sir Sefton Brancker and the First Great Aerial Pageant on Saturday 29th September 1928 attended by many local dignitaries and 3,000 spectators. This event raised sufficient funds for the club to erect a clubhouse and hangar and to buy a second-hand Cirrus Moth, G-EBRX, in March 1929.

The pageant was attended by many dignitaries and an even larger crowd than the previous one. It was such a success the pageant raised sufficient funds for the Club to sell its first aeroplane and purchase two new Gypsy Moths. By this time 14 aircraft of differing types were based at Sywell. The same year also saw the First Aerial Beagle Meet on 30th November 1929 arranged by Mr Noel Lloyd of Pipewell Hall, Master of the Pipewell Beagles. The First All Women’s Flying Meeting, chaired by Mrs Harold Brown, the wife of the Club’s Landlord, took place on Sunday 19th September 1931 and was opened by the famous lady aviator, the Duchess of Bedford. The Club also organised some very splendid balls, typical of their time, held at Sywell and in London.

The Second Great Aerial Pageant on Whitsun Monday 20th May 1929 the following year, was opened by the Club President, the Rt. Hon. the Earl Spencer.

The Northamptonshire Aero Club also published a regular magazine called “Sywell Windsocking”, which was apparently a “lively and provocative” journal, recording in considerable and

82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

1928-2018

sometimes entertaining details of the activities of the club and its members. Its issues comprise a valuable record of a period now regarded by many as the golden age of British flying clubs, during which the Northamptonshire Aero Club was one of the leaders.

The Great Depression

The slump in the early 1930s took its toll on recreational flying. Although the members of the Club had enjoyed 4 years of flying and partying at Sywell, sadly by 1932 the club ran into financial difficulties brought on by the depression reducing demand for flying lessons, growing unpaid fuel bills and unpaid bar tabs putting the Club into liquidation. This was when Charles Newton, one of the founder members of the Club, initiated the foundation of Sywell Aerodrome Ltd to put matters on a more-sound basis. Lord Willoughby de Brooke was the first Company Chairman and Director. Charles Newton’s vision

History Duchess of Bedford opens The First All Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Flying Meeting on 19th September 1931

s The original Clubhouse & Hangar on the Holcot Lane s The First Aerial Beagle Meet, Nov. 1929

s Duchess of Bedford plus Hon Mrs Victor Bruce, Pauline Gower & Dorothy Spicer

s HRM Edward the Prince of Wales with Charles Newton visiting the s Duchess of Bedford plus Hon Mrs Victor Bruce, Pauline Gower & Dorothy Spicer

Aerodrome in 1934

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History was for Sywell to become not only the “Air Port of Northampton” but the “Central Airport of England”. This included expanding the services on offer by letting sites for commercial aviation, including air taxis services, engine manufacturers and so on. This required additional land and additional funds. Mr Harold Brown, the Company’s Landlord, agreed to put in the extra land that makes up the Aerodrome today and Colonel Shaw from Whilton agreed to put in the funds for the building works in exchange for shares in the Company. From here on was a time of great expansion at Sywell.

Years of Expansion

s The new clubhouse, which was extended to accommodate the Officers Mess during WWII, was converted into the Sywell Motel in the sixties

On 17th September 1933 the Brooklands Flying School took-over flying operations at Sywell, later to be renamed Brooklands Aviation Ltd. Building works on the Aerodrome continued, these were carried out by Wilson & Sons Builders (later to be become Wilcon PLC), the works included hangars, offices and miscellaneous buildings. On 22nd April 1934 the new clubhouse (now known as the Aviator Hotel) was opened and a few months later in June was visited by HRH Edward the Prince of Wales. In 1935 Sywell Aerodrome was responsible for building one of the first grass drying plants in the UK, which was operated by a subsidy company, the Midland Grass Drying Company run by Peter Bletsoe-Brown, son of Harold Brown. The company also cut grass on the RAF aerodromes at Upper Heyford, Brize Norton, Abingdon, Weston-onthe-Green and Brackley then dried the grass at plants built at Upper Heyford and Harwell. New plants were added after the war at Finmere, Cranfield and Bitteswell, however, the fuel crisis in 1974 made the cost of drying the grass too expensive and so production of this valuable cattle feed ceased. The unused grassland on The Aerodrome was ploughed up and used for arable crop production overseen by the farm manager, Mr Frank Pinney, who originally worked for the Grass Drying Company. 84 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Grass Drying Co. mowing the Aerodrome grass to dry and cube for catle feed

Midland Airways De Haviland Fox Moth

History Sywell Aerodrome Ltd also had another subsidiary company, Midland Airways Ltd, which was an air taxi service for local dignitaries operating a Gypsy Moth and a Fox Moth. Crilly Airways also operated in and out of Sywell using de Havilland Rapides. They ran two services daily in each direction on the route Cardiff – Bristol – Sywell – Leicester – Norwich. Prior to WWII you could catch passenger flights to most major cities in the UK from Sywell. However, at the onset of war all civil aviation in the UK was closed down, including Midland Airways and all other civilian operators at Sywell.

s Crilly Airways Ltd departing from Sywell

Commandant Pinot with“B” flight & No.4 Free French Course, March 1945

RAF Wellington Bombers were repaired and serviced at Sywell during WWII

Preparing for War

By 1935 the Government had begun to prepare for War. This resulted in a Civil RAF Flying Training School opening at Sywell (later known as 6 EFTS) operated under contract by Brooklands Aviation Ltd. The Clubhouse was extended with wings to accommodate RAF mess rooms. A school admin and instruction block was constructed with a room to house a Link Trainer close to the clubhouse. This is currently occupied by Ashby Computers Ltd. The Wellington Hangar and the Bellman Hangar on the Holcot Lane were erected in 1939 as an RAF Repair Depot for Wellington Bombers. The two large Hangars by the main Aerodrome entrance were built (known as CRSP - Crash Repair & Spare Parts) for the Tiger Moths and the Bellman Hangar at Brooklands Gate to the South, which was used for the assembly of Wellington engines. A total of 1,841 Wellington Bombers were repaired during the War period. By 1942, 126 Tiger Moth aircraft were being operated at Sywell to train an average 235 students at any one time. By the end of the War 6 EFTS had flown 235,000 hours training 2,500 pilots from the RAF, Belgium, Australia, Czech, Canadian and the Free French under the Command of Commandant Pinot. During this time the Aerodrome included a satellite airfield between Denton and Brayfield, which the enemy tried to bomb. They never found Sywell Aerodrome due to its heavy camouflage, which also made it difficult for students to find at times. 85 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

History RAF flight training continued at Sywell after the War operating 20 Chipmunks up until June 1953. In 1942 the Lancaster Factory was built by Lancaster Gate adjacent Hall Farm. Nearly 100 Mk II Lancaster Bombers with Bristol Hercules engines were assembled and flown from Sywell between July 1942 and November 1943, this was a third of the total production of the Mk II fleet. The renowned Alex Henshaw would fly in to Sywell in his Spitfire to carry out the test flights of the newly built Lancasters prior to their delivery for active service. In 1943 the Air Ministry considered making Sywell a fully-fledged Bomber Command Station with three hard runways. However, in the end it was considered so strategically important they could not close Sywell for the 6 months required for construction. A plan of that proposal is displayed on the wall in the Aviator Hotel lounge bar.

A Wellington Bomber in the Wellington Hangar ready for despatch with Brooklands Staff & Engineers

Post WWII Sywell

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After the War Brooklands continued as an RAF contractor. This started with the repair and servicing of 750 Wellington Bombers that were operated as advanced trainer aircraft. As the Wellington was phased out the Valletta and Varsity replaced them. 840 Mosquitos, Vampires and Chipmunks followed on. Then came the Berlin Air Lift and almost 200 RAF Dakotas were serviced and repaired in the Lancaster Hangars. After the Dakotas followed an RAF contract for the RAF Varsity aircraft from 1951 up to 1971. Modification work was undertaken on Bristol Freighters and preparation for storage work on Harvards. RAF spares were stored at Sywell until 1975. Later Jet contracts forced Brooklands to move to an airfield with a hard runway at Little Staughton. By 1977 all the RAF contracts had finished and Brooklands was left operating the Northants School of Flying, private aircraft maintenance and some general fabrication work. The latter part of the business was not very profitable. This resulted in their purchase of Norde Suspensions in Derbyshire, which they moved to Sywell. Norde manufactured rubber suspensions for

Tiger Moths of 6EFTS ready for training sorties There was the occassional mishap by trainee pilots!

Amy Johnson with local school children in 1953

History dumpers and HGV’s. From there on Brooklands concentrated on the truck market under the Norde Suspensions banner.

Members of the Royal Air Force Police stationed at Sywell during WWII

Later Norde was purchased by Hendrickson Suspensions of Chicago, which expanded rapidly at Sywell through the 1990s and up to 2014, when the company decided to move to smaller premises in Wellingborough having already outsourced much of its production. The Northamptonshire School of Flying, which included aircraft maintenance, changed hands a few times before moving to Sibson Airfield in 2005. After the War, Sywell Aerodrome negotiated to purchase the buildings erected by the Air Ministry. First planning permission was required from the local authority to utilise them for commercial purposes and after this was granted, the purchase was completed. Sywell Aerodrome also built the Mullards site for Phipps Electrical in 1960, which would have been one of the largest distribution centres in the UK at the time at 200,000sq.ft. However, when Mullards revealed plans to double the size of the site, Sywell Aerodrome sold them the site and the additional land instead of taking on additional funding.

A Dakota of the Berlin Aircraft with Brooklands staff & engineers

Amy Johnson visited Sywell Aerodrome in 1953 and a picture was taken of her with local school children. Later when they made the film “Amy Johnson” at Sywell, another picture was taken with the actress playing the part of Amy Johnson and the then local school children. Both pictures are displayed in the Reception of The Aviator Hotel. On 27th June 1954 Errol Flyn with his wife and Freda Jackson flew into Sywell for a visit, just as many other famous people have done over the years and continue to do so today. In 1958 Derby Airways began operating Miles Marathon and Dakatos on a scheduled service to the Channel Islands plus charter & freight flights to the Continent. Avon Cosmetics products were flown out to the Continent and Phipps electrical goods flown in on the return from Holland. Overseas Aviation

Errol Flynn visited Sywell Aerodrome in 1954, with his wife, Patrice Wymore (far left) and Freda Jackson

87 85 SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 83

History

(CI) Ltd operated from Sywell to various destinations in the UK, Jersey, Isle of Man and Ostend using Vickers Viking and de Havilland Herons.

A Public Enquiry

North Bucks farmers departing for Longchamp Racecourse in Paris in 1953

s WW11 fighter pilots Douglas Bader (right) & Johnnie Johnson attended the opening of the Airport Restaurant in August 1958

s HM Queen Elizabeth II visited Sywell Aerodrome in 1962, flying in on an Andover of the Queen’s Flight 88 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

In response to demand from aircraft operators, an application was submitted to construct a hard runway, which resulted in a Public inquiry in May 1965. At the end of the Inquiry the Inspector failed to deliver a conclusion stating the future of Sywell Aerodrome could not be decided until the Northampton Development Corporation had decided the future of the Northampton area as a whole. This triggered the decision by Derby Airways to move away from Sywell as they were changing their aircraft fleet to Argonouts and Viscounts that required to operate off paved runways. Consequently, they moved their main base to East Midlands Airport. Derby Airways subsequently changed their name to British Midland Airways. This was a bitter pill for Charles Newton, who later died suddenly in 1968. His son, Mike Newton, took his place as Managing Director of Sywell Aerodrome Ltd. From this point on, scheduled passenger flights ceased at Sywell. The Aerodrome buildings continued to be let for commercial purposes and the tenants included Avon Cosmetics, Phillips Electrical and Hotpoint. By that time the Clubhouse and RAF Mess had already been refurbished and converted into one of the first Motels in the UK, known as The Sywell Motel. RAF heroes Douglas Bader and Johnnie Johnson opened the Sywell Motel’s new Airport Restaurant on 30th August 1958 (there is a plaque to commemorate this on the wall in the restaurant). In July 1965 HRH Queen Elizabeth and HRH Prince Phillip flew into Sywell in an Andover of the Queen’s Flight. Unfortunately, on departure the aircraft had sunk in the soft grass requiring full throttle before the aircraft lurched forward to taxi for take-off. The Sywell Motel was managed by the legendary Wests, Keith and Di, from 1963 up to their retirement in the early 1990s. Initially there were three bedrooms over three garages growing

History later to sixty bedrooms in response to local demand. During the 60’s the TT Disco & the Sweet Pea Disco in the Cockpit at Sywell Motel was “the place to be”. Many locals frequented the Cockpit Discos and still talk fondly of those days, a lot having met their partners there! Being one of the first discotheques in the UK, it attracted coach loads of party goers from far and wide on four nights a week. However, the growing drug culture in the 70’s became its demise and sadly the Cockpit Disco closed at the end of that decade.

Derby Airways Miles Marathon on arrival from Jersey

Derby Airways airfreighting Avon Cosmetics products for Europe. Return loads were often Phillips Electrical products for London Carriers, Sywell

In 1971 Avions Robin, a French aircraft manufacturer, based its UK sales operation at Sywell run by Andre Baldet from No 1 Private Owners Hangar. An air-taxi company, Skycab, started operations at Sywell in 1972 with a Cessna 337 and Cessna Golden Eagle. In 1974 David George created Sloane Helicopters having acquired six Hiller helicopters, which he had converted for crop spraying. This operation was based in the Blister Hangar now known as Hangar One. The crop spraying operation continued for a number of years before Sloanes became an agent for Robinson Helicopters and later an agent for Augusta Helicopters. In 1989 they moved to a purpose-built hangar and offices near Hall Farm on the Aerodrome where they remain to this day. March Helicopters moved into the Blister Hangar after Sloanes vacated to specialise in Hughes Helicopters. That operation, now known as Skytech, has since moved into a new Hangar on the Holcot Lane side of the Aerodrome.

One of the Hispano Buchón (Messerschmitt) 109s on the Aerodrome for the filming of the‘Battle of Britain’ in 1968. The same 109 has returned to the Aerodrome to be rebuilt and is now flying from the Grace Collection

The Oil Crisis of 1974

The oil crisis in 1974, as a result of the Gulf War, saw aviation fuel prices increase considerably and for some time fuel was rationed. The Government also banned Sunday flying. This resulted in private aircraft remaining in the hangars and not being flown. In response to this crisis a number of private owners, including Chris and Mavis Parker, formed the Sywell Aero Club with the aim of pooling aircraft to obtain better utilisation and thereby make flying more affordable, in the same way aircraft syndicates do today. Jack Linnell, one of the founder members, was the President

s In June 1977 on the site of the first landing at Sywell by Geoff and Jack Linnell (centre) in 1927, a toast was drunk “To the next 50 years” far left Mike Newton (MD) far right Peter Bletsoe-Brown

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History offered to compile the illusive business plan.

In October 1995 the Board of Directors and shareholders approved “The 1995 Blue Print for the Future”. The main thrust of the plan was to invest all surplus cash generated by the trading account into the refurbishment of the Aerodrome buildings and infrastructure, at the expense of shareholder dividends. Since that point the Aerodrome has slowly transformed from being a tertiary site into what you see today. The Aerodrome’s Art Deco style has been preserved and developed with a modern twist to retain the feel of a bygone age of style and design, yet deliver the amenity and requirements of a modern hi-tech age. Sywell Aerodrome is now the largest employment site in the Borough of Wellingborough, occupied by hi-tech companies, creating “Centres of Excellence” in aviation, engineering, software, artwork and design.

Sywell Aero Club Rally in 1979

Paul Morgan’s Memorial

s Sywell Aero Club group photo 1979, Mavis & Chris Parker far left, Jack Linnell in his Alvis car and the club continued to organise events and rallies in the tradition of the thirties. The wooden clubhouse purchased by Chris Parker from a company in Kettering is still standing on its original site adjacent the private owners hangars. Chris Parker would later become the Aerodrome’s historian giving many talks and lectures on the history and events at Sywell over the years.

Stagnation & Rebirth

Without Charles Newton’s vision and motivation, the Sywell Aerodrome lacked direction and fell into a period of stagnation. Aviation plateaued with very little commercial activity, just pleasure flying and private pilot training. Buildings slowly fell into disrepair as little maintenance was 90 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

undertaken. The Motel looked tired and in need of investment. By the early 1990’s Sywell Aerodrome had reached a crossroads. Shareholders had enjoyed inflated dividends at the expense of the commercial estate, the part that had produced the majority of the Company’s profit in the past. The Company Directors knew something had to change. A new Managing Director was appointed in 1993 with the remit to compile a new business plan to tackle the Company’s challenges and difficulties. However, that proved to be a false start as the new plan never materialised. That was when MHBB, who by then had been appointed to the Main Board, along with two other Directors, Frank Pinney and Mike Newton, took control of the day to day running of the business. MHBB also

The old business plan “The 1995 Blue Print for the Future” achieved its aim. A significant sum has been generated enabling the refurbishment and development of the Aerodrome’s buildings and infrastructure. This significant investment has created a unique site, which attracts leading edge companies in many fields of expertise. The business plan also included seeking permission to construct that hard runway, so critically important back in the 1960’s. A battle for twelve years followed with planners and opponents demanding endless studies and reports, Council hearings, Public meetings, a High Court hearing and a Public Inquiry, culminating in permission being granted by the Secretaries of State in 2008. The cost of this battle equalled the estimated construction cost of the runway back in 1996. The new construction estimates in 2008 came in much higher and beyond a comfortable level for the Company. Therefore, following a special Board meeting in June 2008, the decision was taken for the Company to construct the hard runway as the main contractor using Sywell staff and sub-contractors. The only way the figures worked was if a concrete runway was constructed as opposed to

History a tarmac one, as concrete has a 50 year life rather than the 15 year life of tarmac. One construction grey head commented “What you are trying to do is precision engineering in concrete and the two don’t go together”. Probably why it is the only new concrete runway since 1957, so it was with some satisfaction to hear the CAA sign the construction off as the best runway in the UK! Now the All-Weather runway at Sywell Aerodrome is used by corporate business aircraft flying the captains of industry in and out of Northamptonshire to the benefit of local business. The old Sywell Motel has been totally renovated and rebuilt in places, now known as the Aviator Hotel, one of the larger conference and function facilities in the UK. Sywell Aerodrome also operates the Brooklands Flying School, Brooklands Engineering providing aircraft maintenance and Sywell Aviation, which operates the licensed airfield.

s The 1970’s Sywell Motel

s The remodelled Aviator Hotel

s Directors of Sywell Aerodrome Ltd in 1994. Bruce Minards, David Roberts, Richard Deterding,

James Shaw (Chairman), Mike Newton, Frank Pinney, Michael Bletsoe-Brown, Meryl Findlay, Major Anthony Gurney

s Paul Morgan’s Memorial

s The new hotel bedrooms

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History Sywell Aerodrome is also home to 2Excel, the renowned display team flown by ex-Red Arrow pilots, along with their other operations involving aviation testing, corporate charter and oil-spill response. The Grace collection of historic aircraft, including the Grace Spitfire, have re-located to Sywell rebuilding iconic war-birds and offer, for a fee, the flight of a lifetime in their two seat Spitfire ML407. The Cirrus Aircraft sales operation for the UK is based at Sywell. Flylight Airsports, an innovative microlight designer, builder and operator, began life at Sywell back in 1995 and continues to prosper, continually developing and building new microlight models, which they export world-wide. Sloane Helicopters provides sales, maintenance and training on Robinson and Augusta helicopters. Skytech specialise in Hughes Helicopters. Today Sywell Aerodrome hosts a number of large events each year, such as the LAA Rally, the largest aircraft rally in the UK, which started at Sywell in the early seventies. The Atomic Festival, a 1950’s American life style and dance event and the Sywell Classic Pistons and Props, incorporating all manner of motorsport and aviation. The Sywell Air Show was held for many years until “Shoreham”, raising significant funds for charity, particularly the local Air Ambulance.

Sywell Aerodrome Michael Bletsoe-Brown (centre) being presented with the Airfield Operators Association’s Best General Aviation Airport award for 2012/2013 by Ed Anderson, Chairman of the AOA (left), and Martin Robinson, Head of AOPA (right)

There are also a host of smaller events such as the British Aerobatic Championship and the Human Powered Flight Challenge, numerous fly-ins and car rallies held each year. To add to the Company’s achievements, the “Aerodrome” magazine received a Silver Award from ACI Europe and the AOA presented Sywell Aerodrome with the Best General Aviation Aerodrome in the UK Award for the years 2009, 2011, 2012 & 2013. The Company now has a new business plan, which is quite different in many

ways. The old plan dealt with the Company’s infrastructure and property issues, laying down a bed rock from where the new plan can develop new revenue streams so that the Company can continue to prosper into the future. Sywell Aerodrome is very much alive again and once more breaking frontiers in a number of areas just as it did back in the 1930’s. This is a very short account of the Aerodrome’s rich and at times challenging history. In 1978 a book was written by Christopher Paul, entitled “The Story of an English Aerodrome 1928 – 1978”, which makes for a fascinating read. The period since 1978 would prove just as fascinating. I guess someone will get around to writing about it at some time in the years to come. MHBB

The latest additions in a continuing story of development and improvement - the two Blister Hangars with some of their exotic incumbents

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History How we Built the First New Concrete Runway in the UK for Fifty Years... By Michael Bletsoe-Brown

lthough the approval for the All-Weather runway was granted by the Secretaries of State in November 2007, it wasn’t until 19th June 2008 that the Council confirmed all the pre-construction conditions had been discharged. We started stripping top soil on 24th June 2008.

Prior to this we had received quotes for the construction, which were far more than expected and beyond our budget. Therefore the decision was taken to build the runway ourselves. Sywell Aerodrome would be the main contractor using subcontractors where required. There were still gaps in the construction plan, which were giving me sleepless nights. In early August we held “The Grey Head Team” meeting of all the party principals involved. My idea was that the experience of the grey heads would outweigh theory and B…T. We talked through the project and the commitment required if we were to be successful. I sensed a real passion amongst them to deliver the first concrete runway in 50 years. I could now sleep a little easier.

Stripping the top soil was carried out in glorious sunshine that was to stay with us until that was finished along with the subsoil cut and fill. Whilst doing this I decided to alter the runway profile to a straight gradient from one end to the other and get rid of the large dip in the middle of the land contour. That entailed lifting the centre of the runway by approx. a metre which required a huge amount of clay subsoil fill, care of Doug at Storefield, to make up the large area to be lifted. As the subsoil was layered it was stabilised with cement and lime and consolidated to ensure there would be no future movement. Once the cut and fill was complete and graded to within +25-30mm, it was ready to hand over to Des Ferguson of Powerbetter, the stabilising gang with their huge Wirtgen machine which literally eats up the ground, mixes it with cement, lime and water and spits it out to be consolidated by a vibrating roller to a density of 95%. Once set the stabilised subsoil achieved a CBR of 30, strong enough thankfully for a heavy HGV to drive on it by accident without even marking the surface. Quite incredible.

Powerbetter then handed us back the 300mm stabilised subsoil layer trimmed to +0/-50mm by the grader - an ex MOD Caterpillar Grader that had been beautifully restored driven by an old paddy puffing away on a roll up permanently perched on his lip. Each phase of the process was surveyed and checked by our engineer, Jimmy and his small team from Samsett. Having set out the levels of each phase of work, they would go back and survey the finished surface to ensure they were within tolerance. Jimmy looks like an old hippy and is quite a character but has an incredible ability for mental arithmetic. Richard Anstee and his small team from Soil Mechanics were also testing and checking the construction strengths. Both teams would stay with the project to the end of concreting providing me with the results of their surveys and testing to ensure all phases of the construction were up to specification. Richard, a Welshman, had a huge voice. He and his laughter could be heard all through the Hotel in the evenings increasing in volume in accordance with the volume of beer consumed!

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History

Stripping off the topsoil

The Wirtgen stabilising machine

The cut-and-fill of the subsoil

The Caterpillar grader

Stabilising concrete compound

Stabilising subsoil on the runway

Building up the subsoil

Pushing Type 1 up the runway

Tippers delivering Type 1 94 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Stabilising the Type 1

Just as the stabilising of the subsoil was nearing the end it started to rain and did it rain. The original plan was to lay a 150mm sub-base layer consisting of a mixture of crushed concrete, road planings and lime stone. All these materials were readily available locally at a good price. However, I was concerned about the rain knowing how crushed concrete can go to mush when wet and how on earth we were going to place this layer without making a mess and damaging the foundation layer. So I decided to switch to Type 1 granite from Croft Quarry in Leicestershire, albeit at extra cost. Granite does not absorb water so it remains stable when wet. So we reversed the tippers along the service track at the middle of the runway, tipped them up on the edge and the CAT pushed the granite out, first at a depth of 300mm. We kept tipping and pushing until we had pushed the granite out over the stabilised subsoil to the top of the runway creating a wide roadway. We then pushed the granite back down the runway pushing it out to depth of 160mm leaving the grader and old paddy to finish off at 155mm depth trimmed to a tolerance of +0/-35mm. This worked well we were able to work all through that long period of rain without damaging the stabilised layer beneath. While this was going on we were still sourcing aggregates for the concrete mix. We were very fortunate to have had the help of a very capable “Concrete Doctor”, namely Peter Able of Laing O’Rourke along with his assistant Bill Halley. We scoured the Country for aggregates with samples arriving daily at Hall Farm for trial. Finally a mix was agreed. The carboniferous limestone came from Cloud Hill in Derbyshire, the sand from Needingworth in Cambridgeshire, the PFA & cement from Yorkshire and the additives from BASF. While all this was going on Powerbetter’s Wirtgen was stabilising the 150mm type 1 granite layer and the grader trimming it to a tolerance of +0/-25mm. The stabilised type 1 granite performed very well achieving a strength of around 11n/mm2. Following up behind Powerbetter, Andy and his team from AC Construction laid the lighting ducts and Porky and his gang put in the large drainage pipes under the runway formation. Jon Gammons and his men were concreting the apron and the taxiway on the base prepared by Porky and his gang.

History The “Main Circus” arrived in August. The Concrete plant supplied by Richard of Stelex Ltd arrived in mid-August to be built up on the foundations that Andy of AC Construction had already built along with aggregate bays and a large yard area. The concrete plant was up and running ready for trials when technical problems hit the controls. Trials had to be delayed waiting for spares to be flown in from Germany. Paul Baird and his men from Select Plant Ltd then delivered the huge slip form paver along with the texture machine and a whole load of ancillary plant. It took them a good week to assemble both machines ready for tests and trials. The plan was to start laying concrete on 1st September, but the weather was terrible, just as well as the trials could not be done due to niggling problems. Anyway we finally laid our first 80 metre trial length of concrete on 4th September in the rain. There were problems with the concrete and the finish. But both Peter Able and Bill Halley were on hand to help. Peter very politely asked Harry, the Batcher, if he could play with his computer controlling the concrete plant. Bill was on the paver. They both had two way radios. I watched as Peter, the Maestro, played the keyboard of the computer like a piano making slight changes to each load of concrete sent to the paver, then asking Bill on the radio what difference there had been. Finally after a couple of hours Peter said “That’s it, Harry” and locked the formula into the computer’s memory “You can crack on making concrete”. Peter then told me how lucky we were to have the mix work “straight out of the box” as he said “It can take days”. I thought about what he had said and then it dawned on me. Peter had the choice of all the ingredients available, free of any financial constraint to compromise his mix. That is why I think it worked “straight out of the box” as he said. We started the runway for real on 10th September and Harry, the Batcher, went on to produce 11,000 cubic meters of superbly consistent concrete. Consistency is the name of the game for the slip form paver we were using. If the consistency changes the concrete either falls over after being laid as there are no forms and shutters or the 44 ton paver cannot lay it as it is too stiff and it’s a very fine line between the two. During the whole pour

Cubes for testing the Type 1

Installing ducts for the lights

Stoning the apron base

Concreting the apron

Pushing out the subsoil

The first eighty-metre trial slab

Bill Halley and Peter Able

Tippers loading concrete

The first runway slab Harry the Batcher

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History

we did not have to breakout a single bay, which was quite incredible. After each day’s concreting the slab required sawing at 5metre intervals to induce cracks as the concrete cooled and contracted. The two cutters would come in overnight to cut the slab when the concrete was ready, sometimes after midnight under floodlights.

Drilling the Type 1 to fix pins

Setting the string levels

Spraying the Type 1 with Bitumen seal

Concrete samples for testing

Aubrey and his concrete

Ben and Brian inspecting cores

Checking the surface tolerance

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The paver being fed concrete by the 360

Each day we wasted the last 8 cubic metres of concrete because that was the amount left in the paver which cannot be laid. The waste would be cut off and loaded into a tipper and dumped on our concrete heap for crushing. Well Richard’s brother, Aubrey, my brotherin- law, was building at home. He asked if I could do him a favour and let him have some of the concrete left at the end of the day. I told him he could have it with pleasure but I warned him I was doing him no favour as he was to find out. Aubrey turned up with his David Brown tractor and trailer we loaded a couple of bucket loads on to his trailer and off he went looking very pleased, the tractor bellowing out black smoke under the load. A short while later Richard received a call “help, help, it’s going off ” Aubrey had just discovered it was not the concrete he was used to. It’s so stiff and dry it is difficult to do anything with, let alone shovel and level it. Well I think after most of the family had turned out to help, the concrete got laid. Needless to say, Aubrey didn’t come back for anymore! Progress at the start was slow. We now had about 15 Polish and Lithuanian labourers helping us but we were still very short of the daily output required to finish by the third week in October. I was pushing hard as I kept telling everyone “It’s going to start raining the last week in October” and how do I know that? Because it always does. We were only laying 100metres length instead of the average required of 315metres and I was worried we would have to abandon the job until after winter if we did not finish by then. The weather was also hampering progress. So I purchased enough concrete tents to cover 100 metres length of concrete, which is the amount we could lay in a 2 hour period, the time required for the concrete to go off sufficiently to accept rain with no damage. But they proved a real pain to handle, like huge wings ready to take-off at any time if you faced them the wrong way. But they did the job and meant we could make the decision

History

to lay when the forecast suggested we shouldn’t. This undoubtedly saved many days of concreting when we would have otherwise stood down. Anyway after a few nights in the bar and a few beers later we soon started to work as a team and didn’t that team just tick - like a clock all the way to the end, pushing out 450metres length or 500metres cube on good days, finishing a superb job on schedule on 22nd October! The one tolerance I was particularly concerned about was the surface tolerance that had to be within 3mm over a 3metre length. That’s very tight. We achieved between 1 to 2mm over 3 metres. After laying the last piece of concrete I remember someone asking how I felt. I replied “I feel both very happy and relieved we produced such a good job, but, very sad to have to break up such a great Team”. There were a few beers drunk that night and a few tears as well I can tell you. On the last day after clearing up we took all those left on site flying to show them what they had built. I saw it for the first time too. We were all blown away by the experience. It started raining the following week! I know now why this is the first concrete runway since 1957 - because it is so damn difficult in concrete. With concrete you only get one shot at it and it is either right or wrong, mistakes in tarmac are very much easier to correct. As one person said to me “What you are trying to do is precision engineering in concrete and the two don’t go together”. I would like to personally thank everyone involved in making this project possible and everyone involved in the construction for their support and commitment. There is no doubt that everyone that has been involved in this project has had a passion which has resulted in going above and beyond the call of duty when the going has been tough. To think we built the runway in just 17 weeks and 3 days is just incredible and I am sure we will all have our own amusing memories of how we did it. Thank you all for building a great runway that should last for at least 50 years or even longer.

A slab coming out of the rear of the paver Marking the slab for cutting

The concrete tents

The texture machine applying the friction surface

Washing down

On the last slab

MHBB tipping the final load

The end

The All-Weather runway will give Sywell a real future and give the County a facility, which can only assist in improving job prospects and improving the economic success of business in Northamptonshire. M. H. Bletsoe-Brown

A toast to the runway!

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Organisation History

Sywell Air Scouts Group By Ellie Doak, Assistant Group Scout Leader

ywell Air Scouts is the only group of its kind in Northamptonshire. The Scout Association is the UK’s biggest mixed youth organisation, and we are a specialist division that focuses on Aviation education. We aim to change lives by offering 8 to 18-year-olds fun and challenging activities, unique experiences, everyday adventure and the chance to help others so that we make a positive impact in our community. Launched in September 2014 with just 3 young people and 1 leader, the Group has grown at a rapid rate and now incorporates over 70 young people that travel from throughout the County and further. Although we are only 4 years old, Air Scouts celebrated their 75th birthday last year so we’ve been around for quite some time. Our Group now consists of 3 sections all hosting a wealth of age appropriate activities from survival skills and first aid, to learning how to fly a plane or glider. Merlin Cub pack 8 to 10.5 years 1stsywellcubs@gmail.com Sywell Air Scout troop 10.5 to 14 years sywellairscouts@outlook.com Spitfire Air Explorer unit 14 to 18 years spitfire.explorers@gmail.com The Group is very proud to hold a number of awards and affiliations. We have earnt both Royal British Legion (RBL) and Royal Air Force Association (RAFA) affiliation. We were also awarded ‘Group of the Year 2018’ by Northampton Association of Youth Clubs (NAYC). Perhaps the most significant achievement is that we have become RAF recognised. For our assessment we had to prove that we consistently deliver an exciting and fulfilling programme of aviation based

98 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

s Getting up close to a Jet Provost at the annual Light Aircraft Association Rally at Sywell Aerodrome

lessons to a high standard, and we’re pleased to say we passed with ‘flying’ colours!

So what does our programme include? Our young people take part in activities as diverse as hovercraft driving, kayaking, climbing, surfing, photography, and indoor sky-diving. As a Cub, Air Scout, Air Explorer and Adult Leader, there’s something for everyone and it’s a great way to have fun, make friends, get outdoors, and experience the wider aviation world. From Cubs through to Explorers there is the opportunity to get to grips with ‘Back to Basic’ Scouting skills with fire-lighting, camping and pioneering. We have the great privilege of being based close to Sywell Aerodrome which is at the heart of Northamptonshire’s aviation community. Both the staff and businesses at the aerodrome have been incredibly supportive of our ventures from helping us to take our first flights in AT-3’s and Cessna’s, to helping us to fly over our own homes in an R44 Helicopter. The group aim to fly at least 4 times a year including Gliding with our good friends, Welland and Husbands Bosworth Glider Clubs. It’s not all about becoming a pilot, engineering and ground support are also a critical part of any aviation team. As a result leaders ensure equal emphasis is placed on communication skills, first aid and fire safety, marshalling and STEM activities for budding engineers right at the outset at Cubs all the way through to 18. As 1 of just 15 UK finalists in this year’s RAF100 Youth Engineering Competition, our Air Explorers are currently working on the design and testing of a top secret prototype which will be judged at Duxford in September.

You can find out how we get on in the next magazine. We like to put the ‘out’ in Scout with visits and camps all over the UK. Some of our highlights include a medieval themed camp (Cubs), 75th birthday celebrations in Cornwall (Air Scouts) and London’s Monopoly Run (Air Explorers). Some of our most memorable moments have been meeting the Red Arrows at Scampton, visiting Bomber Harris’ office and attending the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford. Our older members were also invited to a youth aviation forum held at the House of Lords. The pleasure in seeing the young people’s reactions when they experience something new drives us forward to find new opportunities. Andre Faehndrich’s Young Aviators Day & Jet Day are prime examples of aviation at its best. These have given us the chance to learn map reading, guidance on how to speak to the control tower, as well as learning how a Jet engine works. Watching the T11 Vampire Jet put through its paces, and then learning about its component parts and how they help with each element of flight increases understanding when it is right in front of you. Aviation history has also been brought to life, with the help of Sywell Aviation Museum and Military Vehicle Trust. We had the privilege of meeting Rusty Waughman, a WW2 Lancaster pilot. He spoke very frankly about his experience of the horrific attrition rates on missions and the very personal loss of pilots and crew he knew in conflict; Cold War readiness was covered by Bill Ramsey, XH558 Vulcan Bomber Display pilot and Modern day ‘Flying for Fun’ was introduced by Stephen Slater current CEO of the Light Aircraft Association (LAA).

History Organisation

s Having fun at Box End Park in Bromham

s Learning how to pull blind aircraft rivets during Metal Seagulls’ visit.

s Members take in the finerpoints of aerial navigation. The Air Scouts have a number of aviation-specific badges to earn

Learning about the world around us is a key element of scouting. Patricia and Jonathan Porter of Metal Seagulls are another example of inspirational teaching; Patricia lived in a mud hut and worked on an African airfield doing hard labour for no pay until eventually she was able to get the chance to fly. Engineering is their passion and the Cubs, Air Scouts and Air Explorers learnt all about the workings of a piston engine from them as well as being given the chance to use a variety of tools safely and pop some rivets. A visit from Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) taught us about flying onto desert and jungle airstrips, lakes and rivers, tracks and roads, in light aircraft to provide a lifeline for remote communities bringing medicine or transporting patients. Helping in the community is also an area that we focus on. On a practical level litter picking may not be their favourite activity but it does help the aerodrome’s events to run smoothly. We are very proud of the way our young people have supported the Royal British Legion selling poppies throughout the county, and formed guards of honour at many Remembrance events including laying a wreath at the aerodrome’s own war memorial every year. Their hard work is reflected in their achievements with one of our Merlin

Cubs winning the junior section of the LAA’s youth art competition, with Air Scouts also coming top in the intermediate section. Within Wellingborough District Scouts, our Air Scouts have also won the ‘Nighthawk’ trophy for the last 2 years which has involved navigating around a set route in local woods visiting base stations to complete challenges which test they ‘back to basics’ scout skills, along with their ability to work under pressure in darkness. For our oldest Air Explorers we are delighted that several also work with the younger sections as Young Leaders developing their leadership skills for future life. This has shone through, with 2 members recently completing their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh awards, and Queens Scout Platinum awards, and are now continuing to the next level.

So what does the future hold? Air show tickets are booked, museum visits are in the diary, camps are planned and flying is scheduled – fingers crossed the weather is kind to us…. We hope this has given you a little taste of how Air Scouting here at Sywell encourages young people into aviation. Can you help us?

Pilots - Can you offer flights to our young people, or speak to them about your experience?

s Laying a wreath at Sywell’s War Memorial on Remembrance Day

Engineers - Can you help us learn about the maintenance of aircraft and how they work? Ground Team – Can you help us with how to communicate with the Tower? Map reading? Meteorology? Marshalling?

Adventurers – Do you want to have a go at Indoor sky-diving, driving Hovercraft or a tank? Leaders get the chance to do everything our Cubs, Scouts and Explorers do so join us on a weekly basis as a Leader – full training is given and looks excellent on any CV (Subject to DBS clearance).

Please get in touch

sywellairscouts@outlook.com Finally we would like to formerly thank the Sywell Aerodrome management team and wider community for all their support since the outset. Mr BletsoeBrown’s enthusiasm to have a youth organisation close to the aerodrome has really taken off. The help from businesses and supporters of Sywell aerodrome has been invaluable, and has made us one of the most well-known Air Scout Groups in the UK.

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Museum History

Sywell Aviation Museum

The local Air Training Corps Squadron, 378 (Mannock) ATC, presenting the Museum with a plaque commemorating the RAF’s centenary and Sywell Aerodrome’s 90th anniversary

ow in its seventeenth year, the Sywell Aviation Museum has become a popular visitor attraction here at the Aerodrome. The Museum has also become a valued member of the wider community – in 2012 it was awarded a ‘Highly Commended’ in the Special Project category of the Northants Heritage Awards and the following year won the category for Operation Hawker Hunter, the acquisition and installation of our new gate guardian (see page 84). In addition, 2014 saw the Museum win the Community Award for its Young Aviator Tours, which have seen some 15,000 youngsters taken around the Museum and Aerodrome by our enthusiastic volunteers.

Ongoing projects

Museum Trustee, Ben Brown takes up the story of some of the our recent and ongoing projects… 100 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

1928-2018

Our annual Grand Opening on 30th March 2013, with snow on the ground, saw the unveiling of a Roll of Honour and a commemorative bench to mark the 70th anniversary of the deployment of the USAAF 20th Fighter Group to Kingscliffe, Northants, in March 1943. The Museum displays five very rare original mission ‘ops’ boards from the unit. Major Steven Gorman, from USAF Croughton, attended to complete the unveiling which was marked with a minute’s silence and a bugler playing The Last Post. The significance of the event was further marked in fine style by Peter Teichman displaying his wonderful North American P-51D 44-72035 (G-SIJJ), Jumpin Jacques, from the Hangar 11 Collection (www.hangar11. co.uk). Peter has been a kind supporter for many years and regularly attends our grand openings in one of his warbirds.

In March 2013 we were able to acquire the cockpit of de Havilland Tiger Moth II, G-AOES, which was built by Morris Motors, Cowley, Oxfordshire, in 1941 as RAF serial number T6056. She saw wartime service with 18 EFTS (Elementary Flying Training School) Fairoaks, Surrey, before moving to Benson and Waddington in the postwar period. Operated by the late Ken Broomfield, G-AOES was involved in a crash in 1999 and subsequently stored. The Museum had been searching for a Tiger Moth project for many years and she’s currently pending restoration. The following year saw the acquisition of the cockpit frame of North American Harvard KF532 in an exchange with Newark Air Museum. She was built by Noorduyn in Montreal, Canada, as a Harvard 11B on 25 September 1944 and delivered in May 1945. Post-war she was one of 39 allocated to the Royal Navy before being struck off charge in 1954.

History Museum

Major Steven Gorman, from USAF Croughton, unveils the Roll of Honour and a commemorative bench to mark the 70th anniversary of the deployment of the USAAF 20th Fighter Group to Kingscliffe, Northants, in March 1943

This display, marking the RAF’s centenary, is new for 2018 purchased by Museum Trustees Andy Shemans and Ben Brown – she’s in remarkable condition, considering that she ended her days upside down in a skip! We’re still working to locate the few remaining instruments and parts which were missing.

s Peter Teichman, a friend and supporter of the Museum, flew his North American P-51D Mustang into Sywell for our 2013 season Grand Opening

Sywell-based Brooklands Aviation overhauled a large number of Harvards so she’s a relevant acquisition. She’s presently under restoration, while the cockpit of Harvard KF650, on loan from Mark Evans, takes her place. 2015 saw the unveiling of a Roll of Honour to those who lost their lives at Sywell during WWII, which is now proudly displayed in the Museum. We’ve also adopted the airfield memorial, which has been refurbished and mounted on a special plinth in our car park. Further work has been undertaken to refurbish the Museum buildings, which included the installation of new drainage and the fitting of UPVC windows. A full repaint took place in 2017, by Richard Barrick of Direct Painting Services, which has smartened the Museum up no end.

Major developments

There have been major changes with regards to the Museum’s exhibits over the last few years, both inside and out. By far the biggest change outside was the arrival of Hawker Hunter F.Mk.2 WN904 from RAF Waterbeach in August 2012. Since then, ‘904’ has undergone major work to restore the cockpit and ejector seat and we’re now on the verge of giving her a much-deserved repaint, to return her to original 257 Squadron colours. WN904’s arrival prompted the construction of a fenced and gravelled display area at the end of the Museum, which has since welcomed other exhibits, such as the WWII Allan Williams Airfield Turret and the front end of a 12,000lb Blockbuster bomb. In October 2014 these were joined by the nose section of English Electric Canberra TT18 WH887, Cindy, which had been

The last exhibit to go into the new display area was the Fire Watchers’ Hut, which came from the Fire Services Museum at Weedon, having originally served Fire Watch duties at the Ocean Salts factory. Inside the Museum, the new displays include the history of radar (first tested in Northamptonshire in 1935), the filming of the Battle of Britain movie at Sywell, and one entitled On Holidays from Sywell, which charts the history of the airlines that flew from the Aerodrome. In 2016 we acquired a rare 1930 Armstrong Siddeley Lynx radial engine – a fantastic cutaway display which can be rotated to observe the powerplant’s complex moving internals. This year has seen our de Havilland Chipmunk cockpit WG419, Clare, moved to the central display hall, in order to make better use of her. She was based at Sywell as a complete aeroplane in the fifties and will now serve again, giving our younger visitors a cockpit experience and, following their ‘flight’, they can claim a special sticker! The introduction of Wi-Fi throughout the whole Museum has allowed us to adopt the QR Code System, enabling visitors to use their mobile phones and SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 101 83

Museum History tablets with a QR Code Reader App, to discover more information about our exhibits. We’ve also added a number of digital projectors, with appropriate video clips and sound effects, to enhance some of our exhibits. The final big change to the Museum is that, in addition to opening every weekend and Bank Holiday, from Easter Saturday to the end of September, between 1030-1630, a team of Museum members (The Wednesday Club) now opens up 1200-1600 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from the end of May to mid-October. This has meant that, for the first time, we’ve been able to accommodate school parties, which has been very popular.

Grand Opening 2018

Saturday 31 March 2018 saw the Museum open its doors for our seventeenth season! This year’s theme is the centenary of the formation of the Royal Air Force. With that in mind, our local Air Training Corps Squadron, 378 (Mannock) ATC, presented the Museum with a plaque commemorating that anniversary as well as the ninety years since the establishment of the Aerodrome at Sywell. Our friends from the South East Midlands Military Vehicle Trust, Troops Trucks & Stores Group, and the Northamptonshire Home Guard braved the weather, along with many individual re-enactors and military vehicle owners. Music was supplied by our friend May Blossom, who provided an atmospheric background (www.poptop.uk.com/supplier/ may-blossom-vintage-songbird/) from the back of a Land Rover Pulse Ambulance! The plaque was presented to the Museum by F/L Phil Warr and blessed by our Padre, the Rev Jez Safford (himself ex-RAF), and is now proudly mounted atop one of our new displays. Put together with the assistance of Flying Tiger Models (www.flying-tigers.co.uk), which is based at Sywell, the display presents a large collection of scale aircraft charting the types used by the RAF over the last 100 years. Flying Tigers was also able to supply the missing piece, a 1/72-scale Avro Vulcan, for which we’re very grateful. 102 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Museum wins prestigious award

Photo: Mike Goodman and David Knight with the award, at Althorp House. At the Northamptonshire Heritage Awards which was held at Althorp House on the 5th July 2018, the Sywell Aviation Museum received a Highly Commended Award in the ‘Best Event’ category. This was received for the visit by St James School in October 2017 (see main Museum article) and is a terrific achievement. The award was accepted by Museum Trustees David Knight and Mike Goodman, who thanked those at the Aerodrome, including Matt Boddington and all at Air Leasing Ltd, for making the event such a success. Since the Heritage Awards’ 2007 inception, the Museum has won an award no less than five times and been Highly Commended on three separate occasions.

The Museum doesn’t charge an entry fee and relies on donations to survive. We welcome the donation of relevant artefacts, model kits, diecast aeroplanes and military and aviation books, to help us raise funds. Outside our usual opening times, guided tours are available for Cub Scout packs, history groups, car clubs, etc – contact us for more details. And if YOU would like to become involved as a volunteer, please let us know! For more information, email sywellaviationmuseum@gmail.com or call Ben Brown, Museum Secretary on 07968 061708. The Museum is what it is today thanks to the efforts of its Members and Trustees, and the continuing generosity of YOU, our visitors and supporters, for which we are eternally grateful. Come and visit us soon! To keep up with the latest news, please ‘Like’ our Facebook page www.facebook.com/SywellAviationMuseum

and visit our website, www.sywellaviationmuseum.org.uk

Despite the weather, members of the South East Midlands Military Vehicle Trust, Troops, Trucks & Stores Group, and the Northamptonshire Home Guard turned out for the 2018 Grand Opening

Commemorating the Northampton Zeppelin raid During WWI, on 19 October 1917, Luftschiff LZ85 (L45), a German Zeppelin, was ordered to bomb Sheffield. LZ 85 reached the coast at Withernsea, near Grimsby, but was ordered to turn to the southwest, towards Leicester. Having arrived at Leicester, it was spotted by a Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2b from the Royal Flying Corps, which fired three rounds at the airship but wasn’t able to keep pace with it.

loaned by The Manor House Museum, Kettering, which was dropped in an earlier raid in 1916, close to an antiaircraft site near Gretton, Corby. Lily and Gladys Gammons had been pupils at St James CE School and a plaque in their memory was erected by their schoolmates in the twenties. In 2017, with the centenary of the raid approaching, volunteers from Sywell Aviation Museum worked closely with

Youngsters from St James CE School visit Sywell to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Zeppelin raid which killed two of its former pupils L45 continued south to Northampton, which she reached at 2245, and dropped 22 bombs, including nine incendiaries, over Kingsthorpe, Dallington, Far Cotton and St James End. The fifth bomb to be dropped passed through the roof of 46 Parkwood Street, just west of the train station, instantly killing Mrs Eliza Gammons while she was asleep in her bedroom. Mrs Gammons’ 13-year-old twins, Gladys and Lily, who were also in the house, later died from the burns inflicted by the incendiary. Eliza, Lily and Gladys Gammons are buried at Dallington Cemetery, and believed to be Northampton’s only victims of the WWI air raids, which killed over 500 people throughout Britain during the conflict.

Paying tribute

One of the incendiary bombs dropped onto Northampton racecourse burnt itself out and was retrieved. It was placed on display at Sywell Aviation Museum in 2006 by the Northampton County Records office and remains on show, together with an intact example

History Museum

Please pass on our thanks to those involved – especially to the owners of the impressive WWI aeroplanes, who allowed us such privileged access.” This was a terrific example of the Sywell Aerodrome community coming together, to mark the events of a century years ago. The Museum would like to thank the volunteers who organised the event, Sarah Beach, Matthew Boddington and Air Leasing.

Staff from Air Leasing wheeled out an original WWI SE5e fighter aircraft for the school party to see

school’s headteacher, Sarah Beach, to commemorate the tragedy. On 17 October 2017, pupils from the school attended the Museum at Sywell Aerodrome, to view the surviving artefacts from the raid and to unveil a plaque in their memory for display. Thanks to the kindness of Matthew Boddington, who owns a replica Royal Aircraft Factory BE-2, the children were able to view an early scout aeroplane, similar to the type which tried to intercept the raid, at close quarters. In addition, courtesy of the staff at Air Leasing, which is also based at Sywell, they were able to see an original WWI Royal Aircraft Factory SE5e fighter. After the visit, Sarah Beach wrote to the Museum: “Gentlemen, I just wanted to say a massive thank you for today on behalf of the children. They had a wonderful trip up to Sywell and really enjoyed the activities and learning more about Zeppelins, flying and WWI in general. Your hospitality and generosity of time is greatly appreciated.

Northampton was bombed by an R-class Zeppelin, like this example, on 19 October 1917 (Photo: Wikimedia)

Matt Boddington describes his BE-2, which is a similar aircraft to that which attacked the Zeppelin during its raid, to the enthusiastic youngsters SYWELL SYWELL AERODROME AERODROME II 2018 2018 II 103 83

Museum History

Finding a Home for Heidi The Story of Sywell Aviation Museum’s new Hawker Hunter F.Mk.2 WN904 1954-2018

ur Hunter was built by Armstrong-Whitworths at Coventry under contract No.SP/6/6315/CB.7a in 1953/54 and was the 17th F.Mk.2 to be produced (a total of 45 were built). Essentially similar to the Hunter F.Mk.1, the F.2 was powered by an Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire engine rather than the RollsRoyce Avon used by the F.1. This gave it superior performance to the F.1 - and fewer problems! WN904 was first flown on 27th July 1954, being delivered to the RAF’s 257 (Burma) Squadron on 13th September 1954. Soon painted in squadron colours (green and yellow checks either side of the fuselage roundel), with tail code ‘Q’ for Queenie, her service career was, however, a short one (in common with most F.2s). In January 1956 she was declared as Cat 4 - damaged, requiring special facilities or equipment and return to the manufacturer or a contractor for repair. These repairs were carried out by the Gloster Aircraft Company but with the improved Hunter F.4 and F.5 in production, the RAF simply didn’t need their small number of F.2s any more. 257 Squadron had already begun converting to the F.5 when WN904 was damaged, and they were disbanded at the end of March 1957, before WN904 had a chance to be returned to them. The repaired WN904 was therefore struck off charge on 22nd November 1957 and became a ground instructional airframe, 7544M.She was then transported to No.12 School of Technical Training at RAF Melksham and by 1959 had moved to No.9 SoTT at RAF Newton. In 1974 her ground instructional duties came to an end and she was donated to the

104 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

s WN904 as she looks now, complete with a cockpit ladder and new canopy Photo: Damien Burke

Imperial War Museum (IWM) at their then-new facility at Duxford. She was put on display there, still wearing the rather anonymous ‘3’ marking she had gained while a ground instructional airframe. In 1989 WN904 was repainted in a dual scheme showing off the markings of 1 and 56 Squadrons and loaned to the Army to become a gate guard at Waterbeach Barracks (a former RAF station, where later marks of Hunter were flown from). Both 1 and 56 Squadrons operated Hunters from Waterbeach, though not the F.2 version, and of course WN904 never flew with either squadron. She returned to Duxford in 1998 for a refurbishment as she was looking pretty tired, and had her existing tired paint stripped off before a complete repaint was carried out. The aircraft returned to Waterbeach’s gate in 1999, with a new set of specially manufactured intake and exhaust blanks to replace the authentic items previously fitted which had long since “disappeared”. The markings were as before - dual 1 and 56 Squadron colours. In July 2011 the MoD announced that Waterbeach Barracks would close by

2015, with the based units moving elsewhere. By November it was clear that 39 Engineer Regiment (Air Support) would move from Waterbeach to Kinloss in the summer of 2012, and HQ 12 (Air Support) Engineer Group would move from Waterbeach to RAF Wittering in the summer of 2013. WN904 was to become surplus to requirements, as she had no particular relevance to the departing Army units, or to Kinloss or Wittering. The Museum had learned that in 2012 IWM were having something of a ‘clear out’ and contacted them with a view to being considered as a suitable home for any ordnance or Sywell-related items. As a joke, we indicated we would be delighted with a ‘gate guardian’ of our own! Imagine our surprise then when a few weeks later we were offered WN904 - the only Hunter F.2 in the world- as a gift! Arrangements were put in place to dismantle WN904 and transport her to Sywell with the help of IWM Staff and Welch’s Specialist Movements. The Move was carried out on the 2nd August 2012 and WN904 was reassembled the

History Museum

same day with the help of Dave Thomas outside the Museum building. Thirteen years of exterior display had done WN904 no favours and her paint had faded once more and there had been a considerable build-up of dirt, moss and even lichen. However, IWM Duxford had done a good job back in 1998 and under the muck the airframe has been found to be very sound - with minimal corrosion. The all-important wing spars are in excellent condition with just a little surface pitting around the attachment pin points. Inside the various access panels she is remarkably complete and in good condition. The paint is very thin in places and the roundels had suffered particularly badly

s Saluted by the Red Arrows at the 2012 Sywell Airshow Photo: Damien Burke

A couple of weeks intensive work on the aircraft including a thorough cleaning and polishing and the application of new roundels and fin flashes in vinyl (courtesy of Ollie at Sprint Graphics from Isham (www.sprintgraphics.co.uk) had her looking much better just in time for the 2012 Sywell Jubilee Airshow where she was much admired. Since then, she has had a bit more fettling including refitting her pitot probe and most importantly having her original canopy glazing (which was badly crazed and cracked) replaced with a brand new example (thanks eBay!). The early Martin Baker MK2H ejector seat has been refurbished and will be installed shortly. Her cockpit has been fully restored by Damien Burke, her radar set reinstated thanks to Rainbow Aviation at St Athan and she has a bespoke set of winter covers courtesy of Cambrai Covers. She also now has a set of intake blanks and a cockpit access ladder! Now in her own compound together with stablemate Canberra WH887 she has a secure future at Sywell which now has its own gate guard! For the time being she will retain her dual 1/56 Squadron colours but we

s WN904 in formation during her time with RAF 257 Squadron, 1955 intend to repaint her in an accurate scheme to represent her service with 257 Squadron. To this end we would welcome any photos of her in service at RAF Wattisham in 1954/55, along with photos of other 257 Squadron Hunters from the time. If you served on 257 Squadron or even flew WN904, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d love to hear from you!

Our sincere thanks to all who helped us in acquiring WN904 (or Heidi as she is known!) namely John Delaney, Emily White & all at The Imperial War Museum, Welchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Specialist Movements, Cambridge, Dave Thomas & Donna Harding @ Phoenix Aviation and Sywell Aerodrome users, staff and management for their support. SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 105 83

Obituaries History

Paying our Respects

rank died after a short illness in May this year in his 92nd year.

Frank’s long and successful career in aircraft maintenance lasted from 1936 when he joined Brooklands Aviation at Sywell up to his death. His life with aeroplanes was fully documented in the last issue of Aerodrome magazine when we reported on his 90th Birthday party held at Sywell. Many of Frank’s friends and colleagues gathered together in the Cirrus Room

t was with great sadness we learnt of Richard’s premature passing in January 2015. The gang on the Aerodrome had all enjoyed a drink and a laugh with him just a few days before in the Aviator after he had fallen off his bike on the ice and hit his head. He looked like a panda bear with his two black eyes! For many years Richard was always at the Aerodrome on his time off. He enjoyed flying and he had a pilots licence. He flew a Piper Lance for a number of years flying to many destinations in the UK and abroad. He was a part-time fireman on the Aerodrome to help the Fire staff at all the large aviation events. He loved being involved in whatever was going on. In his last few years he became very interested in historic motorsport and he would accompany Ian, Tom and myself around the tracks in the UK with the Chevron. It is such a shame that he is

Frank Golding 1921-2013

Frank with a model Tiger Moth in Brooklands Aviation livery, which was presented to him at his 90th Birthday party (Photo - Anne Stenhouse)

Richard Miller

Richard with the real live Adam Ant at the Atomic Festival 2014

not here now to enjoy our current run of success.

He loved gadgets and was always looking for a new one to play with. He was a keen fisherman and he enjoyed cycling early in the morning before the hustle and bustle of the working day. In his business life he was Millers, the successful Estate Agents in Northampton.

for a Service of Thanksgiving following an earlier family service. The service was ably and humorously led by the Reverend Jay Phelps and stimulated many happy memories of Frank’s skill and achievements, his unstinting help and most of all, his friendship. Over £1000 in donations in Frank’s memory has been received benefitting the Air Ambulance and the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

As a result of Richard’s untimely passing, the Air Show Committee purchased a defibrillator in his name, which is in the Jetstream Hangar handy to anyone on the Aerodrome who might need it. Not long ago a cyclist passing the Aviator had a bad heart attack. When the medics arrived they commented that the guys on the Aerodrome aided with Richard’s defibrillator had undoubtedly saved the cyclist’s life. Although too late for Richard, he would be pleased about that.

He was a kind, likeable guy, who would help anyone if he could. He was so proud of his sons and always talked about how well they were doing. He also doted on his daughter and would tell me how well she was doing with her riding lessons. He lived in Moulton with his wife Cheryl. We all still miss him and often refer to him, he certainly left us well before his time. God Bless.

George Reginald Charles Shaw 8th August 1939 to 22nd June 2018

eorge was born 8th of August 1939. He was educated at Hawtreys and Eton. On leaving school he took the civil Service for the Royal Navy but failed on his eyesight and his stammer. Eventually he got into the Secretarial section of the Navy and joined the Dartmouth Royal Naval College I January 1958. He first went to sea in October 1959 as a Midshipman on H.M.S. Venus. His Naval career continued till the end of August 1966. He left as a Lieutenant. He joined Lloyds of London where he remained for most of his working life, although latterly only part time as he wanted to pursue various business interests. George always had an entrepreneurial spirit and was a great supporter and appreciator of theatre and ballet. He invested in some successful West End Shows. He dabbled in the property market, buying and selling properties and at one stage had an estate 106 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

agency. He invested money in Pet food companies, Horse minerals and various others. Some were more successful than others. George was always an enthusiast at heart and put heart and soul into everything. He enjoyed his fox hunting, and was a regular with the Heythrop hunt for many years when he lived in Gloucestershire. He was keen on his horses and bred several. He would enjoy watching the various horses he had bred on the Event circuit. He enjoyed life to the full, he was a keen sailor and at one

time kept his yacht in Ibiza, and for a short time in the Caribbean. He did sail it across the Atlantic. He held a PPL licence for some time, having started his licence in America, it was finished off here in the UK. He enjoyed travelling and had travelled to many countries around the world. He enjoyed his hunting, skiing and when in London enjoyed nights out at the Ballet at Covent Garden with his long term friend Monica. He took great interest in Sywell Aerodrome. He became a Director of The Aviator Hotel in 1998, and joined the main Board following the death of his Brother, the Chairman James Shaw, in 2006, and remained on the Board till his death. In his retirement, he lived in Notting Hill where he took to writing Computer software, again this he did with great enthusiasm. He was well known for being liberal with his Business Cards!

Jack Dent February 1923-October 2012

isitors to the Brooklands Aviation’s aircraft maintenance hangar during the sixties and seventies might have been surprised, at least on their first encounter, to hear a powerful tenor voice singing the songs of the period. But the voice was not coming from a radio, it was actually Jack Dent, who was enjoying himself and giving great pleasure to others whilst they worked. A very likeable and friendly individual, Jack possessed many talents apart from his singing, including still and cine photography and a passion for vintage aircraft.

Professionally, his eye for, and attention to, detail befitted his work as a light aircraft engineer with Brooklands Aviation at Sywell. In particular, Jack and his colleague, the late Ray Tibbetts were widely appreciated as experts on the restoration of wood and fabric types, such as the Tiger Moth and Jodel.

He was born in Tottenham on 8 February 1923, and some years later Jack and his family moved out of blitz-torn London to Wellingborough, Northants.

In October 1940 aged seventeen, Jack started work at Sywell with Brooklands Aviation Ltd as a trainee aircraft engineer. Enlisting with the RAF in 1944, and following further training, Jack spent three years out in the Far East, working on such types as Sunderland, Dakota and Catalina.

History Obituaries

Jack recorded much of the daily aviation life at Sywell Aerodrome, from his earliest connections in 1940 right through to the eighties and beyond, in the form of several documents detailing his memories and activities.

Returning to the UK in 1947, Jack resumed his working life at Sywell with Brooklands, and in 1949 embarked on a happy, 63 year marriage to Vera whom he met at Wilby Lido. His first spell of aviation work ended in 1953, when the Volunteer Reserve was disbanded by the Government and the RAF Reserve Flying Schools, including Sywell’s Brooklands-operated No 6 RFS (code ‘RCO’), were closed down. As a consequence, activity at Sywell reduced substantially so Jack was obliged to make a career change, and he moved into retail with Saxby’s in Wellingborough.

However, in 1961, he was offered a return to civil aircraft engineering at Sywell and he jumped at the chance. By that time, the types of aircraft he worked on included the newly imported US types from Cessna and Piper, in addition to the evergreen Tigers, Austers, Messengers and Proctors.

One project during this period of which Jack was particularly proud, was the Be2C replica being built at Sywell in 1969, to the order of the late Charles Boddington and his brother David. In addition to the construction work itself, Jack made a film record of the entire project. This aircraft is, of course, currently based at Sywell, following its return from the US, and the extensive repair work carried out by Charles’ son Matthew. Jack was able to record this ‘second life’ of the project by regular visits to the Aerodrome. A feature of Jack’s interest in his field of work was to record events of note – hence his large collection of photo’s, film and video taken of Sywell and Sywellconnected events. All this material is a valuable resource which will be of much historical value to future generations.

Jack retired from Sywell in 1983, but maintained his links with the Aerodrome until the end of his life. Everyone knew that when Jack appeared with his camera, something important was about to happen!

Many thanks are due to Jack’s wife and his daughters for their help in compiling this obituary.

Major Anthony Richard Gurney January 1922-February 2013

ne of the larger than life characters in Norfolk, Major Anthony Gurney, who frequently entertained the Queen Mother, died aged 91 in February 2013. As a farmer, politician, countryman and sportsman, ‘The Major’ as he was always known, had a zest for life and was always prepared to help young people, especially the Scouts.

Anthony Richard Gurney, who grew up in the village of Northrepps, was schooled at Aldeburgh Lodge and Charterhouse. In 1941, he joined the Royal Norfolk Regiment at Britannia Barracks, Norwich, and was sent to India and commissioned the next year into the 9/12 Indian Frontier Force. In May 1944, he was badly wounded in the battle for Imphal. Having recovered he rejoined his battalion in the advance through Burma and into Vietnam and was at the surrender of the Japanese in Saigon harbour. Post-war, he married Trish Shaw at St Margaret’s, Westminster, and having joined Barclays Bank Overseas in 1948 spent two years in east Africa.

A former president of the Aylsham Agricultural Show Association, he was a regular finalist in the Norfolk County Farms’ competition.

Major Gurney, former director and chairman of Sywell Aerodrome, and a great lover of the countryside

Returning to Norfolk in 1950, he joined timber merchants AR Taylor, of Wroxham, later becoming chairman. Among his many roles, he was director and chairman of Sywell Aerodrome, Northampton, for many years.

Major Gurney started farming in 1953, when he moved to Manor Farm, Northrepps, which was his home for the next 60 years.

He loved farming with a passion and built up a top Friesian dairy herd and was named National Malting Barley Champion in 1989 – the first title won by a Norfolk farmer for years.

His love of life, which was shared with young people, saw countless students learning to farm at Northrepps. For years, the North Norfolk Pony Club had its annual camp there, and as a passionate supporter of the Scouts, he helped establish a permanent home at Roughton for the local group. He was president of the British Legion branch and, in 2008, as Parish Council chairman, welcomed the Duke of Kent, who was making a visit to Cromer.

His house was always open to visitors and he was proud of his friendship with the Queen Mother, who often lunched at his home. He hunted, shot and was a great sportsman but above all he loved the countryside, Norfolk and people. His cheery cry: “Well done, Well done” in the shooting field, at a hunter trial or during a party will be missed.

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 107 83

History Letters

Sywell Letters

A Sywell-Prentice connection

I chanced on your website today, and the page about the Percival Prentice and its association with Sywell. As a footnote to history, I bought Prentice G-AOPL in 1967, from Shackleton’s at Sywell. It was festering, filthy and dusty, at the back of their hangar.

It had very few engine hours left and they let me have it for £700 – all I could afford. I was on leave from the Army in Sharjah (Trucial Oman Scouts) and after a few flights round England I set off from Gatwick to fly back to what’s now the United Arab Emirates. After several mishaps, the Prentice caught fire on take-off in Baghdad, so I had to leave it there for repairs, returning about two months later. An RAF friend then flew it to South Africa, where he sold it.

The fire resulted from a maintenance error by Shackleton, but I never pursued that. They weren’t very helpful when I got it – I’d fewer than 100 hours in my logbook at the time and had never used a VP (variable-pitch) propeller. Five hours with an instructor came with the deal, but he was on two months’ holiday, as I found out after paying them. So I had to learn how to fly it solo, on my first trip from Sywell’s grass runway, which seemed very, very short as the hedge got closer and closer. The Prentice never was a high performance aircraft. Regards, Jon Cousens

s A Percival Prentice I’m hanging up my neckerchief at the end of summer but will leave your contact details in the footnotes of my ‘memoirs to the next leader’. Fly high, fast and safely, and keep away from those whirlygigs! Kindest regards, Jill Cadman

A cup for Ben!

Dear Ben, We would just like to say a big thank you for giving up your time last Monday and letting our Beaver Scouts come and gain their Air Activities Badge.

It was a brilliant night enjoyed by all. You were engaging and entertaining and held them in awe with your tales of being sick while flying – among the more technical information, of course. We look forward to coming again. Many thanks, 1st Long Buckby Beavers

Thanks for the visit…

15th Kettering Beaver Scout group’s visit to Sywell

Hi Ben, On behalf of my little folk, and also from me, a huge thanks for a fantastic evening at Sywell. Thanks also to your two glamourous assistants. You have a fantastic way with the tiddlers, ever thought about becoming a leader? 108 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Before WWII there were two brothers, then farmers, but formerly in the RAF. They owned a Gamecock in the midthirties and they were always worth watching. Sorry, but I can’t remember their names.

During the war, from 1940, my parents had a succession of Sywell’s cadet pupil pilots billeted with us at Birchfield Road. Brooklands serviced Wimpies at the airfield and Alex Henshaw used to fly over from Castle Donington in a Spitfire to test them. I once saw him loop a Wimpy. I always had a hankering to try it myself when I flew them, but I could never feel confident enough about their state of repair. Wings did sometimes let one down – rather too heavily! After the war, I became manager of a company in Da es Salaam, Tanzania, and at my interview they told me there was a six-month waiting list for sea passengers. I said to them, “I see you are agents for Auster Aircraft.” “No” they replied, “but one of our directors is also a director of a company that is.”

Hi Ben, The group from Rushden Probus Club have asked me to thank you for the tour of Sywell Aviation Museum. They really appreciated the information you provided and the obvious enthusiasm you have for your organisation.

If you’re in touch with anyone in authority at The Aviator Hotel, please pass on our gratitude for a wonderful buffet, which completed a most enjoyable evening. Geoff Wiggins

Congratulations on reviving flying at Sywell…

I told them I had experience of flying in West Africa and it might be a means of getting my wife out from England.

s The Beaver Scouts’ cup for Ben An Auster, similar to that used by Mr & Mrs Sharman on their Africa flight

It was then June. The long rains were on in the Sudan and the thirteenth Auster to fly out was just about to come to grief in the Sudd. It turned out that, in heavy rain, he overshot Malakal and when he

History Letters got a pin point there was insufficient fuel remaining to return. He finished his journey by boat on the Nile, and I got the replacement aircraft, which would be ready to collect from Rearsby, England, that September.

By then the rains had finished, although the Sudd was still under about a foot of water for 300 miles – such is life. On Sunday 14 September we flew from Sywell for Gatwick, which was then a tiny fighter aerodrome, but we didn’t make it due to low cloud and turned back to Croydon for the night. And so began our African adventure… Yours sincerely, David Sharman

A memorable ninetieth birthday celebration Hi Ashleigh, I wanted to thank you and your staff at The Aviator Hotel for doing such a wonderful job for my Mum’s ninetieth birthday – we all had a fantastic time.

Everyone commented on how good the food was – very tasty, with plenty of vegetables on offer – and the puddings were delicious. The waitresses were very attentive and made the party appear seamless. I know they all worked very hard behind the scenes, to make sure everything went according to plan. Thank you again for all your help and making sure that we had such a memorable day. Rachel J White

The spirit of Sywell

Dear Michael, A colleague just pointed me to your Summer 2010 newsletter, reciting the planning history of Sywell.

I’ve probably worked on fifty or sixty planning inquiries in my time as a solicitor and I do think the team spirit at Sywell was among the best I have encountered so far – so I wanted to echo your comments there! I also really enjoyed attending the airshow – hope that’s still going strong. I moved in-house, to work in local authority for a few years, but returned to private practice in 2015.

Anyway, I do hope that you’re well and that the Aerodrome is prospering. Regards, Oliver Bussell

Grumman weekend

A little belated but I just wanted to pass on our formal thanks for the kind help and co-operation you gave us over the weekend of 6-9 June. Without exception, our guests were

wowed by the Aerodrome, The Aviator Hotel and the way in which we were able to make it as easy as possible for them. Even the Americans – who, after all, are used to General Aviation facilities which, overall, are far more impressive than what we can offer in Europe – fell completely in love with the place. Many thanks to you and your team once again, and I hope to see you again during a visit soon. Kind regards, Graham Baker, Montgomery Aviation

A Comet query

Dear Kathy, Reference an earlier communication we’ve had, please find enclosed photo of a DH88 Comet. I’d be interested in any information your readers might have, including the identification of the pilot in the raincoat. Yours sincerely, Alan Pennie

So well organised

I would like to forward my appreciation to all at Sywell who were involved in the organisation of your magnificent event over the weekend [AeroExpo UK]. I flew in with a student (who gained her PPL yesterday) and two other pilots in a Piper PA-28, G-BTSJ, from Newquay Cornwall Airport.

We’d flown into Sywell before, but it was our first visit to one of your events. I thought that the organisation was fantastic. The arrival procedures were clear and worked well, the parking well thought out and the marshalls and staff amazing. Things of this size are a nightmare to organise and I’d just like you to know that we really appreciated all the effort that went into it. Thoroughly enjoyed looking around all the exhibits, met lots of new people and we’re already planning to come back to the September event [the LAA Rally]. Brilliant, and all our thanks, Lyn Facy

s Do you know anything about this DH88 Comet?

A long-time friend

Friends, I enjoyed your welcome again on Friday. Efficient ATC, welcoming booking in and the offer of a lift as I strolled back to our plane after a hot day.

Having now read Aerodrome, I wish I’d been further away and had a ride in your new fire truck. You are a credit to General Aviation. Aerodrome is, as ever, excellent. As a retired architect/planner and former local councillor I always read the runway saga reports with interest.

If travelling north by car, sometimes I use The Aviator Hotel for fish and chips – beats eating at a service station! I know this is all a bit sycophantic, embarrassingly so, but Sywell is a gem.

I do have a soft spot for Sywell. At 15:35 on 2 June 1990 I landed there, from Denham, after flying the first leg of my PPL-qualifying cross-country. Keep it up, John Webb

Well done The Blades!

Hi there, My wife and I were at your recent presentation at Sywell, and I feel sure it answered many of the complaints regarding The Blades.

We’ve lived in Sywell for over fifty years – we knew about the Aerodrome but chose to live here. I served in the RAF and love everything about aircraft.

I feel that the protesters are very hypocritical, no doubt they use aircraft themselves. I feel it’s a case of ‘anywhere else but not in my back garden’. Continued success in whatever you do, keep up the good work at Sywell, Richard Penn

SYWELL AERODROME I 2018 I 109 83

History Letters Dear Kathy, Thank you very much for returning my aircraft notebook, mounting board and even the elastic bands holding it! (from the LAA Rally on 1st). The book is not worth very much monetarily, but is valuable to me with my records in it, as an aircraft enthusiast/’spotter’. I thought if I’d lost it in the car park, it might well have gone under a car, and it does look slightly ‘worse for wear’, with tyre and gravel marks on it from the gateway area, but I’m delighted to receive it back. I enclose a £5 cheque to cover postage and your trouble, thank you. If you feel Sywell doesn’t need it, you could pass it on to the LAA for Rally funds! I had a great day and thought it was a fantastic Rally, with a brilliant variety of aircraft – Mustang, Fokker Tri-Plane, all the Moths, Great Lakes bi-plane, Cirrus etc and all the new home builts – amazing. It was obviously helped with the weather but I think it has a unique atmosphere airside – being able to see and examine all the aircraft, be next to them when starting and taxying, and talk to the pilots – there’s not another ‘Airshow’ like that. I did wonder if it could be less than £20 for the dual admission, but if that’s what it has to be, fair enough?! I thought the organisation on the ground was amazing too – thanks to the ATC and the marshalls (& others). Oh please thank the ‘security person’ who found my book and handed it in. P.S. I’ve been employed in the aircraft industry all my life – BAC/Vickers Armstrongs at Weybridge, the RR Derby – now retired. Also I came to a much earlier PFA Rally (International) at Sywell in about 1978. Great to have them back there. P.P.S I recorded about 590 aircraft at the Saturday Rally (probably including 100 or so duplicates) and I hear there were 350 there on the Friday. So I wondered /thought you probably did reach your ‘1000 aircraft’ target for the weekend? Yours faithfully Mr. E. J Bardgett

Hi I noticed from our garden and saw and heard a Spitfire near Brigstock several times today and have also since Spring and just like to say how pleasurable it is to hear and view such magnificent machines presumably from Sywell Aerodrome and glad to see the planes owners can fly it about for the enjoyment of themselves and everyday people. Regards P & M.S. Brigstock 110 82 I 2018 I SYWELL AERODROME

Dear Kathy Just a note to tell you that the handsome big glass Beer Tankard you so kindly gave me at Sywell has now been ‘Christened’ today!!! And not with the dreadful Australian Lager, but with Draft Guinness. Many thanks again for such a present. I’m doing a lot of research for Chris Parker on Amy Johnson and the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race. Finding it most interesting. P.S. I’ve been put in touch with Tricia Smith in Cornwall, by mutual friends. Widow of Paul Smith who was CFI when I was an Instructor at Sywell in 1972! My respects to Michael Bletsoe-Brown Lloyd Poulton NSW Australia

Dear Michael This is a quick note to say very many thanks for allowing our use of the facilities at Sywell for the Jenson Interceptor R photo shoot on Monday, we were so fortunate with the weather and your guys on the airfield were immensely helpful. James Mann, the photographer, has been doing photo sessions like this for 25 years and remarked that it was very refreshing to have such helpful people on location.

I enclose a couple of prints for you which I hope are of interest and will look forward to seeing you next at the wedding, Alex and I are overnighting at the Aviator and we’re really looking forward to it! Yours sincerely Durran

s Colin and Durran Heslop with the Jenson Interceptors To the Chairman, FOSA Dear Sir Thank you for the latest “Aerodrome” magazine with all its news. I note the correspondence regarding the promotion of the work ‘Aerodrome’. I would also add a similar push for ‘Aeroplane’ (not the erroneous ‘Airplane’)

Your ‘Friends’ organisation seems to be a good example of the ‘genre’ – not like others that I could name, which are now effectively useless due to HSE related restrictions. My own activities are confined to occasional preservation and museum visits, if time allows from local Maidenhead Heritage and Berkshire Aviation Museum duties.

You may care to know that at Woodley Museum we have the ’mortal’ remains of Miles Marathon G-ANEW- as shown on P65 of your No. 19 magazine – still with a trace of Derby Airways colour-scheme. Yours encouragingly, A.Bamford Marlow

Dear Sir/Madam I was just looking at your excellent website and an article here:http@//www.sywellaerodrome.co.uk/sywellaerodrome-magazine-2005-36-recollectionsof-sywell.php Without wishing to seem a pedant, there are a couple of small errors in the captions to the photographs:-

• The Photo of Geoffrey de Havilland jumping out of the Mew was without doubt taken in 1938, almost certainly at the Kings Cup at Hatfield that year. • The photo at the foot of the page is incorrectly dated, this photo was taken to mark the first test flight, of 0:45m, of the first Castle Bromwich-built Lanc’, HK535, by Alex on 22/10/43. Alex would have known this of course, but things sometimes get lost in translation as it were…! Best Wishes, Stephen P. Taylor July 2012

Flying the Sywell Experience Just about every form of flight is now available on the Aerodrome from hang-gliding, balloon flights to advanced aerobatics, helicopters and iconic Spitfire.

Aerobatic formation flying with the Blades A trial lesson in a fixed-wing at Brooklands A classic Tiger Moth Flight with Brooklands A trial lesson in a flex-wing at Fly-light A Tandem Hang-glider flight from 3,000ft A trial lesson in a Helicopter at Sloanes A 737 Flight Simulator with Virtual Aerospace A Spitfire flight with Airleasing

Brooklands d Tiger Flights Come and enjoy the thrill in the Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tiger Moth bi-planes. This is an ideal gift for someone special as an Anniversary or a Birthday treat. Vouchers are available for 30 and 40 minute Tiger Moth experiences and can be purchased by calling

01604 1 4 801636 1 The ride d of a lifetime starts at ÂŁ240 4

For further information contact Sywell Aerodrome on 01604 801620 or Brooklands Flying Club on 01604 801636 or visit flybrooklands.com

Sywell AERODROME Aviation Charges

Weather, Airfield Status and likely aircraft movements updated daily on the website Sywell Aerodrome.co.uk Microlight Pilot Training

From £125 inc. VAT 1/2hr Trial lesson £80 1hr Trial Lesson £130 Flylight Air Sports 01604 494459

Fixed Wing Pilot Training

From £165 per hour inc.VAT ½ hour Trial lesson £99 Brooklands Flying Club 01604 801636

Tiger Flights

30mins £240, 1hr £440 Brooklands Flying Club 01604 801636

Helicopter Pilot Training

From £285 per hour excl. VAT 10hr rate £280 per hour excl. VAT 20hr rate £275 per hour excl. VAT Sloane Helicopters 01604 790595

Fuel

AVGAS £1.76 inclusive per litre JET A1 75p inclusive per litre MOGAS £1.44 inclusive per litre

Oil

W80/W100 £7 Straight 80/100 £7 15W50 Multi Grade 20W50 Multi Grade

Landing Fees

Microlight £11.75 Single Engine Piston – Fixed or Rotary £16.50 Turbine Single/ Twin Fixed Wing 2500kgs £25.75 Turbine Single/Twin Fixed Wing 2501-3500kgs £72.50 Turbine Single Twin Fixed Wing 3501 – 5000kgs £140 Turbine Single/Twin Fixed Wing 5001kgs £165 Helicopter Single Piston £16.50 Turbine Helicopter 3500kgs £32.50 Turbine Helicopter 3501kgs £42.50 Fixed Wing Jet On Request

Parking

Daytime Free Night Stopover Single £6.50 Night Stopover £10.50

Casual Hangarage

From £15 inclusive VAT per night

Sywell Programme 2018 2019

11th March Chipmunk Fly-in

Provisional Dates

27th - 29th April International Eurostar Fly-in 20th May 12th May Early Edition 24th - 25th May Aerobatic Training days 1st June 2Excel Launch 14th - 17th June British Aerobatic Champs

20th - 23rd June

30th June The Blades Ball

29th June

14th - 22nd July Human Powered Flight Challenge 27th - 29th July Atomic Festival

26th - 28th July

4th - 5th August Aero Legends Weekend “Fly with a Spitfire” 31st August - 2nd September LAA Rally

30th - 31st August 1st September

7th - 9th September Chip-Fest 15th September Young Aviators Day 22nd - 23rd September Sywell Classic Pistons & Props

14th September 21st - 22nd September

28th - 29th September Cirrus Fly-in

From early April to late Sept there are Grace Spitfire Days most

Long Term Hangarage Prices on Request from Sywell Wed & Thurs throughout the summer season. Aviation 01604 801630 Customs

Admin. (inbound only) £6

Aircraft Maintenance

Brooklands Engineering 01604 642000

All prices correct at time of going to print. For all other queries please contact: Mr Jeff Bell in the Control Tower on 01604 801630

Tiger Flights

Book with Brooklands Flying Club on 01604 801636