8 FLYPAST November 2018
briefi ngs
NEWS THE LATEST IN AVIATION HERITAGE
RAF100 Chinook visits
Battle of Britain Memorial
The crew of an RAF Chinook HC.6A from the Odiham, Hampshire-based Chinook Display Team
paid tribute to The Few during a visit to the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne, Kent
on August 17. The appearance was part of the RAF’s centenary celebrations. The helicopter
was captained by Flt Lt Stu Kinaston with Flt Lt Matt Smyth as co-pilot and Sgt Gav Anderson
as loadmaster. http://www.battleofbritainmemorial.org PHOTO BARRY DUFFIELD, WITH THANKS TO
ANDY SIMPSONLeonard Cheshire Disability
has released a series of limited
edition artworks as part of its
fundraising activities.
The signed prints, all facsimiles from
original works by different members of
the Guild of Aviation Artists, are now
available via the website of Graham
Singleton (www.singletonart.co.uk).
Graham has produced one of the
studies, which illustrate scenes from
the career of distinguished bomber
pilot Leonard Cheshire VC.
After World War Two, Cheshire
dedicated himself to charity work and
set up a hospice for ex-servicemen.This selfl ess act blossomed into a
network of Leonard Cheshire Homes
for the disabled.
Other works include a depiction
of Leonard ‘buzzing’ his home at Le
Court, Hampshire in a Spitfi re (painted
by Chris Draper), while Keith Burns’
evocative study shows Cheshire’s
Whitley bomber being destroyed by
Junkers Ju 88s at RAF Driffi eld in 1940.
The prints are all artist signed and also
bear the signatures of RAF luminaries
such as former Marshal of the RAF
‘Jock’ Stirrup, AVM Andy Turner
and Dambusters veteran George
‘Johnny’ Johnson.New charity art
unveiled
Artwork by Chris
Draper illustrating
Leonard Cheshire fl ying low over his home
at Le Court, Hampshire. CHRIS DRAPER GAvAStaff at Auckland, New Zealand’s
Museum of Transport and Technology
(MOTAT) are making progress in their
restoration of Short Solent Mk.IV ZK-
AMO Aranui.
The four-engined fl ying boat was
built in Belfast in 1949, and served with
Tasman Empire Airways Limited, the
forerunner of Air New Zealand. It was
removed from MOTAT’s Aviation Display
Hall last November for anti-corrosion
work and a repaint. The large aircraft
has been surrounded by scaffolding to
facilitate this complex operation. The
Solent will be coated in primer, before
layers of fresh paint are applied.
The MOTAT team hopes to have
Aranui back on display by the end of
October, when work will focus on repairs
to engine hatches. The museum is also
home to another British-designed fl ying
boat, Short Sunderland Mk.V NZ4115. See
next month’s edition of FlyPast for a full
report on the MOTAT museum.
http://www.motat.org.nz
WITH THANKS TO MIKE SMITHShort Solent being
repainted in New Zealand
Short Solent ZK-AMO undergoing corrosion
treatment and awaiting new paint. MIKE SMITHThe latest arrival at Tucson, Arizona’s Pima Air & Space Museum is Douglas
A-20G Havoc 43-9436. The aircraft was delivered to the attraction in July from
Wangaratta in Victoria, Australia. While serving with the 5th Air Force’s 3rd BG,
89th BS in 1944 it made a forced-landing in a Papua New Guinea swamp, from
which it was recovered 50 years later. Parts were donated to two other A-
projects – 42-86786 and A28-8 – both based at RAAF Amberley in Queensland.
The remainder of the aircraft was sent to Precision Aerospace Productions in- The restored fuselage and other parts will be assembled at Pima.
The last known surviving Spanish
Republican pilot to serve in the Spanish
Civil War, Miguel Ángel Sanz Bocos (left),
died on August 13, aged 100. He received
pilot training in the Soviet Union and fl ew
Polikarpov I-16 fi ghters. He sought refuge
in France when the confl ict ended in 1939.
MALCOLM V LOWE