webmaster

Link til Shuttleworth

Photos are taken by Poul-Joergen Christensen (©)

          This year I needed new experiences in my life. Usually at this time of year I would start my car to drive to an An-2 meeting, but instead my journey went to England. My primary goal was to find aircraft museums over there, and to say it gently “there are very many of them in England”. My secondary goal was to visit the North Yorkshire Moor National Park, which is often shown in the famous English TV series “Heartbeat”. Besides I was lucky to experience real shootings, which I found very interesting. But I also had one thing on my mind that I wanted to try over there. What I am referring to is “the Magic Roundabout” in Swindon. There are only three of these roundabouts in England and one of them is situated in Swindon. This is also the most famous one. It consists of a roundabout with two-way traffic and therefore also of a very small roundabout near the five roads that go to and from the roundabout. Actually it was much easier than I had expected. You can read more about the roundabout here.

          I went to England through the Eurotunnel under the English Channel. This part of the journey was easy to get through, since it only took about 35 minutes. About 5.30 a.m. I was in England, and my first goal was the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon. All the way I was driving on the motorway, since only the last part of the way to London was an ordinary road. In spite of some road repairs and rush hours at “London Ring” the 160 kilometres from the Eurotunnel to Hendon took a couple of hours. The English are very good to get through traffic. I think it was rather unproblematic to drive in the left side of the road although it has been 16 years since I did it the last time. Back then it was in Scotland. The whole idea is to follow traffic, since all the others are also driving in the left side of the road.

          One of the visits that had something to do with aviation was “the Shuttleworth Collection” at the Old Warden Airfield. As a personal study in the run-up to my journey I figured out that an aviation day took place on 5 August that was about 10 days after my arrival to England. After my visit to the RAF museum and a bed-night close by, which I had ordered from home, I left for the Old Warden Airfield to get a reasonable place to stay the night close to the airfield in the weekend of this special day. I realized that it was a very good idea to order the stay very soon, since most places were occupied the weekend in question, but I succeeded to get the name of a bed-and-breakfast where I could stay. When I first got there nobody was there. After I had tried to call the place without result I decided to drive on. I was going to call the place later on. This was never necessary, since the place called me. The bed-and-breakfast could see that I had called, and shortly after I received a booking of three bed-nights. Then it cannot get any easier.

          In the past the Old Warden Airfield and the Shuttleworth Collection gave the idea of the Danish Vintage Aircraft Collection that is a flying museum and now has the name of Denmark’s “Flying” Museum and Air Force Museum from 14 June 2007. The Collection is incredibly comfortable, and when you arrive in your car in the morning you will be guided to the centre of action. I was there about half an hour after the gates were opened. Therefore I was in the third row in the parking area. I guess there was about 30 metres to the fence that the audience was forbidden to cross. The audience was allowed to bring picnic tables and chairs and then sit by their cars and enjoy the food and drink while watching the show that went on close by. The Collection has some very unique flying aircraft that are from the time before World War I and some military planes from World War I that took place 1914–1918. Most of them were airborne this day along with some newer ones such as the Hawker Sea Hurricane, which is the only flying one in the entire world, and the Spitfire. Unfortunately the gusts were vicious to such an extent that the old aircraft never got out in the open. For example the Collection has a Bristol Boxkite (replica) from 1910 that was built for the movie “those magnificent men in their flying machines”, and it is actually capable of flying. I really had the wish to see this one airborne. Even though it was too windy for the oldest aircraft, this day was surely a perfect day with regard to the weather that was almost cloudless and the sun was high in the sky. You can also see this if you take a good look at the photos.

          I urge the ones of you who have never been at the Old Warden Airfield to pay the place a visit. The Collection is unique and I am surely going to drop by there again. The aircraft that cannot fly are standing in the hangars while you have the opportunity to enjoy the sight of well restored aircraft that are only available in one single specimen in many cases. The Collection also contains some very old cars and motorcycles. These vehicles are driving about the scene before the airshow to please the audience. In this way it was possible for people to enjoy the sight.

          I am going to let the photos below inform you about the history of the aircraft and the vehicles. The photos are divided into two sections. You can get to the section of the vehicles by clicking on the link above the photo section of the aircraft, and when you get to the vehicle section you can return to the aircraft photos by clicking on the link above the vehicle photos.

Poul-Jørgen

In the front you see an Avro 504K from 1918. Moreover Denmark’s “Flying” Museum and Air Force Museum in Stauning in Western Jutland contains a specimen of an Avro 504N that is a upgraded version of the K-model. The aircraft in Stauning is the only specimen of the N-model in the entire world.

In the background you see a Sopwith Triplane from 1916. Both aircraft were seen in the air. A Sopwith Triplane is besides equipped with a rotary engine and is therefore without a carburetter. Consequently the throttle is either “on” or “off”, which sounds a bit special in particular during the approach for landing. Often the engine stops after the landing.

This is a Sopwith Pup. Its correct name is actually a Sopwith Scout, but it was quickly nicknamed Pup. For example aircraft carriers used the aircraft. On 2 August 1917 a Sopwith Pup landed as the first aircraft ever on a moving ship. The pilot was the squadron commander Edwin Harris Dunning. The ship was called HMS Furious. Moreover Dunning was killed during his third landing on the ship, because the aircraft drove past the ship’s side.

The three aircraft in the background are described above under the first two photos. The front aircraft is a 1917 – Bristol M. 1C (replica). The engine contains 110 HP and is a Le Rhone rotary original engine.

There is an original specimen of an M. 1C in Minlaton in the peninsula of Yorke near Adelaide in Australia. This is said to be the only existing original specimen.

This Bristol F. 2B Fighter from 1918 has a V-12 Rolls-Royce Falcon III water-cooled engine with 275 HP. It has a wonderful sound. The registration of the aircraft is D8096 and is the only one out of two airborne Bristol Fighters in the entire world. However a third one is being restored at the Old Warden Airfield to gain airworthiness.

In the front you see a Miles Magister. The second one is a Miles Hawk Trainer III and finally a Piper L4 Cup.

Here you see a beautiful DH 89 Dragon Rapide that we unfortunately never saw airborne. As you can clearly see the admission to the engine was open in the left side. Then everybody could obviously see that the engine was defective.

Here you see a 1920 Hucks Starter. Unfortunately I do not have any details on the starter, but it seems as if it has been built as a foundation of the Ford T and it is used for starting aircraft engines. We saw that it was used on the Hawker Hind that has a V-12 engine with 640 HP, and therefor it is not possible to crank the engine by hand. The reason that another method than cranking by hand had to be found was that the engines were increasing in size. Later on the electric starters were invented as we all know. You simply drive the car so that it is placed with the front to the aircraft. Then the operator stands on the platform in the front and adjusts the horizontal pipe in the height so that it is suitable for the propeller. After this the front part is pulled out of the pipe and is put in connection with the propeller. When the aircraft engine is going faster than the starter, the starter goes back into the pipe. Two photos show the run-up to the start. They can be seen here.

This is a DH 88 Comet G-ACSS Grosvenor House. The aircraft is no longer airworthy, but is taxiing on special occasions by itself.

In 1934 Sir MacPherson Robertson offered a prize of 10,000 pounds for the winner of an air race from England to Australia to mark the 100^th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Virginia. Most contestants enrolled with existing aircraft, but De Havilland wanted to win the prize. Therefore De Havilland decided to build an aircraft entirely for this purpose. The aircraft was built in wood with canvas wings. The fuel tank was placed in the long nose and the cockpit had room for two persons. The cruising range was about 4,700 kilometres. The two engines were of the type Gipsy Six that – as examples - were used for DH Express and DH Dragon Rapide. The engines were equipped with a twostage variable propeller that was manually put on fine before take-off and automatically changed to cruise through a pressure sensor. Three aircraft were produced before the race. The design of the aircraft was started in February 1934, and in October 1934 one of the aircraft had won the prize of the air race from England to Australia. The aircraft was tested 6 weeks before the start of the race. The cost price of the aircraft was estimated to 5,000 pounds that was much below the actual cost. After the race further two aircraft were built.

The G-ACSS that you can find at the Old Warden Airfield was the aircraft to win the race in 1934. Beyond this aircraft only one aircraft was left. It was found in Portugal in 1979 in a miserable condition. However it is being restored. The third aircraft crashed in Sudan on 22 September 1935, and the crew escaped through parachutes. The last two aircraft were destroyed through a hangar fire in Istres in France in June 1940.

Here you see a Ryan PT-22 Recruit. The 5-cylinder radial engine is a Kinner R-540-1 with 160 HP. The aircraft was the first monoplane that was used by the United States Army Air Force as a trainer. 1,023 specimen of the type have been built to the unit price of 10,000 US Dollar.

Here you see a 1933 Avro Tutor that is the only tutor left in the entire world out of 795 built aircraft. The aircraft was built to replace the Avro 504 trainer.

The tutors of the Central Flying School were famous of their impressive aerobatic team. The tutor was luxurious and well equipped with seats, which could be adjusted in the height, and with pedals that could be adjusted according to the leg length. It also had very effective brakes and a very spacious cockpit. The aircraft was primarily built as a military trainer, but 19 aircraft were later on sold for civilian use. This aircraft has first belonged to the military, but has got the civilian registration G-AHSA later on.

The aircraft has an Armstrong Siddley Lynx 7-cylinder radial engine with 240 HP.

This is a Supermarine Spitfire. This aircraft is not from the collection of own aircraft that is a MK. V with the only existing original De Havilland with a three-bladed propeller on an airborne aircraft. This aircraft that participated in the display is a MK. XI (sn. PL 965) photo version. On the photo you can see the photo window in the left side of the cockade in the white area. Some of these photographing aircraft were equipped with a pressure cabin and could fly in an altitude of 40,000 feet. The aircraft belongs to Hangar 11 Collection, North Weald, Essex.

This is a 1941 - Hawker Sea Hurricane 1b. It is the only specimen of the world and belongs to the Shuttleworth Collection at the Old Warden Airfield.

The first Sea Hurricanes with the definition 1a could only start from a ship and had to either reach a land base or ditches near the ship so that the pilot could be fished out of the water pretty quickly. Of course this was not a huge success. Consequently a hook was mounted to catch a wire. After this the aircraft could land on the ship again. The result of this was model 1b.

This aircraft is built by the Canadian Car & Foundry at Fort William in Ontario in 1940 as an Mk I. After a flight test it was shipped to the United Kingdom. On 27 June 1941 it was modified to a Sea Hurricane 1b Standard. The aircraft had a mingled time of war that ended in 1943, when it was handed over to the Loughborough College to some airframe education. Here it stayed until the Shuttleworth Collection took it over in 1961. As a static aircraft it participated in the movie “Battle of Britain”, before any restoration of the aircraft could take place. After this it was airworthy.

The restoration has taken place at Duxford by the Duxford Aviation Society. The aircraft was moved to Duxford in 1981, but the actual restoration first began in 1986 and was accomplished by the same team that had restored the Collection’s spitfire. Pilot Andy Sephton tested it in the air for the first time after the restoration on 16 September 1995.

The engine is a Rolls Royce Merlin V12 that contains 1030 HP.

This is a 1936 - Westland Lysander. Unfortunately this aircraft was never airborne this day, since problems with the magnetos were discovered after the start-up. They tried to repair it, but unfortunately they did not succeed.

This aircraft is mostly known as “a spy taxi”. For example this could mean that it flew into a hostile country to fetch or transport secret agents. This is also the reason why the aircraft is painted in black. In this way it could conceal itself nights. For this purpose the aircraft were equipped with extra fuel tanks under the aircraft. Consequently the aircraft had a long cruising range. Furthermore a ladder was mounted on the side of the aircraft. In this way the agents were able to get into or leave the aircraft quickly.

The specimen of the museum is built in Canada and was used by the RCAF as a towed target aircraft. It was bought after the war by a farmer for civilian use. In 1971 it was bought by Sir William Roberts for the Strathallan Collection in Scotland. It arrived in the United Kingdom in October 1971 and was registered as G-AZWT.

In December 1979 it flew again and was painted as V9441, a Lysander flown by number 309 (Polish) sqd. The aircraft was grounded in 1986 and was bought by the Shuttleworth Collection in 1998. After this it was completely restored, painted and a ladder was mounted on the outside and a dummy fuel tank under the aircraft. Then it should represent the V9367 / MA-B, an aircraft from 161 sqd. It was flown by pilot officer Peter Vaughan-Fowler during the Apollo operation in the winter of 1942.

The engine is a Bristol Mercury XX 9-cylinder radial engine of 870 HP.

This is a Hunting Percival (piston) Provost T. Mk. 1. (P.56). The aircraft is a two-seater trainer side-by-side. The engine is an Alvis Leonides 126, 9-cylinder radial engine with 550 HP.

During three years the RAF received more than 330 of this aircraft.

The production ended in 1959 with a total production of 461.

This is a Hawker Hind from 1935. The aircraft is a further development of the Hawker Hart, and the prototype flew for the first time on 12 September 1934. The first type of this aircraft entered the RAF in November 1935. All in all 528 aircraft were built.

The Royal Afghan Air Force received 18 Hinds in the years 1938 - 1940 and they were used until the 1950s. The aircraft that is owned by Shuttleworth comes from the Royal Afghan Air Force, where it was delivered as a new aircraft in 1938. The aircraft was donated by the Afghan government and was transported to England assisted by the Ford Motor Co. in 1970. On 17 august 1981 it was again on its wings after a completed restoration.

Of a more recent date there have been some engine problems that resulted in thorough repairs. Parts from the original Kestrel engine and parts from a similar one that the Collection had in its workshop were used. The aircraft was again on its wings in June 2003.

The engine is a Rolls Royce Kestrel V, V12 with 640 HP.

This Gloster Gladiator is from 1938. It was the last biplane fighter in the RAF. All in all 747 specimens were produced.

The Norwegian Air Force owned some aircraft of this type just as well and on 9 April 1940 when the Germans invaded Norway 7 aircraft at the Fornebu Airport were ready for action. All of them went into the air and they managed to shoot down 5 German aircraft: Two Messerschmitt Bf 110, two He 111 bombers and one Ju 52 transport plane. One of the Norwegian Gladiator aircraft was shot down by the German pilot Helmut Lent.

The engine is a Bristol Mercury IX 9-cylinder engine with 850 HP.

This aircraft is a Sopwith Triplane 1916 and has got the description ”late production”.

The production date of the aircraft is of a newer date and would normally be called a replica. The aircraft flew for the first time on 10 April 1992. Sir Tom Sopwith, who was the founder of the Sopwith Company, supported the project in his old age and ended by honouring the company by calling the aircraft “a late production”. He gave it a serial number (153) that was visible in the cockpit. The aircraft has an original Clerget 9B rotary engine with 130 HP.

This is a Bristol M.1C - replica.

It was built by the Northern Aeroplane Workshop that also built the Sopwith Triplane. Cf. the previous photo. The aircraft was delivered to Shuttleworth in October 1997 and an original Le Rhone rotary engine with 110 HP is mounted on it. The first flight took place on 25 September 2000 at the Old Warden Airfield, where it has been part of the air activities regularly since then.

The same aircraft as on the previous photo.

This is a Bristol F.2B Fighter from 1918. This type flew for the first time in 1916 as a model F2A, but it was not the great success for the pilots who flew it as an ordinary two-seater aircraft. This went by very quietly and without huge problems. In March 1917 an improved version with the name F.2B was built, and the pilots quickly learned how to throw the aircraft into the air. Quickly it was famous of shooting down very many aircraft during World War I. The aircraft was produced until 1926 and all in all 5,329 aircraft were built. This was an impressive number.

This aircraft was built in 1918 and never had any service during the war. It flew in Turkey in 1923 in squadron number 208. In 1936 it was acquired by Captain C. P. B. Ogilvie who stored it along with other aircraft in Watford. At this time it had a civilian registration “G-AEPH”. Later on it came under the ownership of the Shuttleworth Collection and was restored by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It flew again in February 1952.

This is a Bucker Bu181 Bestmann from 1940 in full pursuit by a Focke Wulf Fw44 Stieglitz from 1932.

Both aircraft are privately owned, but they have their base at the Old Warden Airfield.

This is a Focke Wulf Fw44 Stieglitz from 1932. It is privately owned, but it has its foundation at the Old Warden Airfield.

This is a Piper L4 Cup.

This is a Cessna O-1 Bird Dog – also known as a Cessna-305 or an L-19.

The aircraft is a further development of the Cessna 170 and is used as a military reconnaissance aircraft and has two tandem seats. Furthermore it has more windows than the Cessna 170, as you can see on this photo. The production started in 1950 and ended in 1962. Finally 3,431 aircraft were built. The aircraft has a Continental O-470-11 6-cylinder boxer engine with 213 HP. In comparison the Cessna 170 has 145 HP.

This is an Avro 504K from 1918. The aircraft belongs to the Shuttleworth Collection. The Avro 504 is built in many versions, and this one is a K-model that could be used on more engine types (130 HP Clerget, 100 HP Gnome and 110 HP Le Rhône engines). All in all 8,340 of the 504 model have been built. Some of them have been built on a license in Belgium, Canada, Japan and Denmark.

Here you see the previously mentioned Avro 504K along with an Avro 621 Tutor from 1933 that is also owned by the Shuttleworth Collection. The prototype was equipped with an Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose radial engine with 215 HP. The production models had Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVC 7-cylinder radial engines with 240 HP. Only the later production models had a Townsend ring cowling that is the ring surrounding the cylinders.

The tutor model is built on a license in several countries: 57 aircraft in South Africa, 40 aircraft in Poland, 10 aircraft in Greece and 3 aircraft in Denmark at the naval dockyard.

There was also a model 646 Sea Tutor that was equipped with floats.

This is an Avro 621 Tutor from 1933.

This is an Avro 621 Tutor from 1933.

Here you see two Percival Provost during a formation. The top one is a P.56 Piston Provost and at the bottom you see a P.84 Jet Provost. Both are two-seaters side by side.

At the top to the left we see a Miles Magister from 1939, and below this one a DHC-1 Chipmunk from 1946 and at the far right we see a Miles Hawk Trainer III.

Here we see a Ryan PT-22 Recruit from 1941. The aircraft has been mentioned on a photo above.

This is a Spitfire MK. XI (sn. PL 965). from the Hangar 11 Collection. The aircraft has been mentioned on a photo above.

Hawker Hind ready for start-up assisted by a Hucks Starter. AS you can see the starter is connected to the propeller.

The Hawker Hind running down the airfield to start its beautiful show.

This photo tells us something about how close you are to the airfield area during the display at the Old Warden Airfield. The photo is taken while standing next to my car, and the audience is standing in the foreground at the fence.

The Hawker Hind during the airdisplay.

One more photo of the Hawker Hind during the airdisplay.

This is a Gloster Gladiator from 1938. The aircraft has been mentioned above.

The Hawker Sea Hurricane coming down with short notice. Also this aircraft has been mentioned above.

The DHC-1 Chipmunk has caught some red bands here. It goes on in this way: A long band is held high in the one end with a long stick that is held by a person while another one is walking a few metres. After this the band is going directly up into the air. The aircraft is then flying by with the one wing so low that it can catch the band. Then things are done the opposite way. In this way the aircraft gets a band on each wing. It is a spectacular sight for the audience.

Back to top.