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A Spritely revival… Tony Barber relates the first of a two-part tale of restoring an unloved, 40-year-old all metal British homebuilt…
M
y project journey started in April 2015, an email from a friend pointing out an interesting looking aircraft for sale on a popular aviation website. We had been considering changing our aircraft and this, unknown to me, all-metal twoseater, operating on a Permit to Fly, looked rather intriguing. Some online research revealed a degree of information about this Practavia Sprite, and I made an impromptu trip to see it the next day. A picture of course, can certainly flatter to deceive and on inspection this aircraft certainly had rather a lot of warts. Having stood outside for many years with no covers, the British weather and very few hours had left their scars. It certainly needed a respray, possibly an engine overhaul, a
Above Looking rather unloved and forlorn on our first visit to take a look.
new canopy and plenty of TLC. However, there was something compelling about it and, after a good look around and a chat over a few mugs of coffee, I decided that it was a viable project. She had a current Permit to Fly and had been regularly ground run, but not flown, which is not always a good thing I know. So, there and then, on the basis of ‘subject to my Inspector’s approval of its airworthiness’, a deal was struck.
Inspections and decisions
The ensuing inspection drew strange mutterings from my own Inspector. I could hear phrases like ‘money pit’, ‘what a travesty’ with lots of head shaking and tut tutting, so I felt a certain sense of foreboding. Finally, I mustered up the courage to ask, “So what do you think then?”.
46 | LIGHT AVIATION | October 2021
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22/09/2021 14:36
