Aeroplane September 2017

22 http://www.aeroplanemonthly.com AEROPLANE SEPTEMBER 2017

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Q&A putting ‘Q&A’ in the header

Are you seeking the answer to a thorny aviation question, or trying to trace an old aviation friend? Our ‘questions and answers’ page might help

THIS MONTH’S ANSWERS

why the Bv 141B did not enter

service was not limited

visibility, but the lack of BMW

801 engines, which were

urgently needed for the

Fw 190 fighter. Additionally,

the competing Fw 189 offered

twin-engine safety and there

were few significant benefits in

ordering the Bv 141. By April

1942, only seven Bv 141Bs had

been completed while

production of the twin Argus-

powered Fw 189 was in full

swing towards the eventual

864 that rolled off lines in

Germany, France and

Czechoslovakia.”

Damage repair

Q

In the June issue, Tim van

der Krabben enquired

about damage repair and how

was it fixed.

A

Jonathan Pote responds

with more recent

examples of airframe damage.

“More serious structural

damage in peacetime now”,

he says, “involves the

manufacturer or design

authority making a bespoke

repair, often much larger than

the original damaged area but

guaranteeing the aircraft’s ‘as

new’ return to service.

“As far as the RAF is

concerned, active operations

called for service engineers to

undertake repairs in situ, often

in consultation with the

manufacturer, as occurred with

the most severely damaged

Tornado GR1 which received a

missile strike during the 1991

Gulf War. The photo shows

patches of lighter paint

indicating repair,

supplemented with a new

rudder and tailplane”. The

example in question was

ZD843, then of No 31

Squadron, now a GR4 variant

that is still in service and saw

action (again) in Afghanistan.

The image illustrates several

hits uncomfortably close to the

crew, and the need for a new

rudder and tailplane. “I

understand”, Jonathan says,

“that it was the most severely

damaged Tornado to get

home, after a missile near-

miss.”

‘V-bombers’ in

Southern Rhodesia

Q

In the May issue, David

Russell asked if the

Valiants and Vulcans he saw at

Salisbury airport in the

1958-63 period carried nuclear

weapons on their regular

‘Lone Ranger’ visits.

A

I t can be safely assumed

that ‘V-bombers’ did not

carry nuclear bombs on their

detachments to Salisbury. The

Rapides in Libya

Q

The above photographs

come from Geoff

Bywater, who took them in

Libya in November 1956. The

de Havilland Dragon Rapides

flew a regular supply service

from Benghazi for oil

exploration workers and Geoff

believes, correctly, that they

were operated by Bahamas

Helicopters Ltd. G-AKZP (c/n

6882) was taxiing when it hit a

patch of soft sand and nosed

over. Repairs were made on

site before it was flown out.

Geoff wonders what happened

to the two aircraft.

A

G-AKZP began life as

Dominie NR806 with the

RAF in April  1945  before

joining the civil register and

flying with a number of small

companies. It was acquired in

1956  by Oilfields Supply &

Trading Co — later Bahamas

Helicopters — based in Tripoli.

On 16 March 1957, the aircraft

was en route to the UK for

overhaul when it ran out of

fuel and, during an emergency

landing, overturned and

caught fire at Hammamet,

south-east of Tunis.

G-AKTZ (c/n 6482) was

delivered to the RAF in May

1940  as R9554, serving

through the war until being

struck off charge and civilian-

registered in March 1948. It

went to Morton Air Services at

Croydon in May 1953 and to

Gordon, Woodroffe & Co in

September 1956, transferring

to Bahamas Helicopters in

April 1957. It was damaged on

landing near Benghazi that

May and shipped back to the

UK, but not repaired. Stored at

Croydon, it was officially

cancelled in April 1963.

Rapide ‘Juliet Golf’

Q

Following the Hooks’

Tours feature on Rapides

in the June issue, Derek

Bunning wonders if G-AGJG

was operating at Thruxton on

21  April 1965. He remembers

stepping out of a Rapide over

the airfield as a 17-year-old

parachutist and is curious to

know if it was ‘Juliet Golf’.

A

Mike Hooks’ photo of

’GJG was taken at

Thruxton in  1962  when the

aircraft was owned by Gerald

Dommett. It also flew from the

Christchurch Aero Club and

was used by the British

Skydiving Club from 1962-67,

moving to Booker in June

1967. Co-restorer, current
      co-owner and pilot of ’JG
      Mark Miller kindly checked in
      the aircraft’s logbook and
      confirms that it was operating
      at Thruxton on the day of
      Derek’s jump, logging a total
      of  20  minutes’ flying.

Offset oddity

Q

In the June issue, Bob

Millichap questioned the

advantages or otherwise of the

Bv 141.

A

Maximilian Meindl

responds, “the reason

Benghazi-based in 1956, the fates of Dragon Rapides G-AKZP and

’KTZ are summarised here.

RAF Tornado GR1 ZD843 during the 1991 Gulf War, showing obvious

damage repairs from the areas of lighter colouring.

22-23_AM_Q&A_Sept17_cc C.indd 22 31/07/2017 10:46