Pilot – June 2018

pilotweb.aero | Pilot June 2018 | 83

Books & Gear

Testing the FTA-250L

http://www.yaesu.com typically priced at £190

Since we described Yaesu's super-

compact air band transceiver in the

April issue, we have had a chance to

test it properly, appreciating the ease of

operation and impressive

range. We have also

compared notes with

other users, including

Popham airfield

manager Mike

Pearson, who was

impressed with the

FTA-250L's build

quality and transmitting

power. Here we have

just what the market

needs: something small

and simple to use that

just works. PW

100 not out

RAF 100 by
James Holland
http://www.andredeutsch.co.uk
£25.00 Hardback, 224
pages with colour and
black & white illustrations

This officially endorsed
history of the RAF’s first 100
years is liberally illustrated
throughout its just over
200 pages. Covering 100 years in so few
pages means, of courrse, that it can only
be a superficial summary of the RAF’s
history over the years – any further detail
would extend the length of the book to
an unmanageable size. However, even
though one could argue that the major
development of the RAF (initially the RFC)
and its aircraft took place and proved its
worth in the first and second world wars –

including in between the wars,

this takes up three-quarters

of the book. Leaving just

fifty-odd pages for the RAF’s

contribution to subsequent

conflicts – from the Cold

War, Korean war, and

Falklands conflict, to the

Bosnian operation, two

Gulf Wars etc – and the

development of aircraft

such as the Harrier and the role of the

Chinook, seems a little sparse.

And, as ‘the official story’, it is a pity

that the book contains a number of

typographical errors and some glaringly

incorrect photo captions. For example,

labelling K5054 'an early prototype of

the Spitfire' (p.58); mis-identifying female

ATA pilots as ‘WAAFS’ (p.72); and mis-

captioning the Fairey Delta as a Puma

helicopter(p.177)! JA

The definitive

Auster history

Auster – the company and
the aircraft by Tom Wenham,
Rod Simpson and Malcolm
Fillmore http://www.air-britain.
co.uk £39.95 (£29.96 to Air-
Britain members)

The Auster story began
with its formation as British
Taylorcraft in 1938 and ended
with its absorption into Beagle
Aircraft in 1960. Founded by
entrepreneur Lance Wykes,
the company started out
manufacturing a British version
of C G Taylor’s rival to the Piper
Cub, which offered side-by-side
seating and used a less draggy
aerofoil that made it speedier
on the same power. This was a
good formula that was adapted
as a spotter plane on both sides
of the Pond.
Indeed, as the authors make
clear, WWII saved the British

company’s bacon giving it a

huge boost, more than 1,600

artillery-spotter Austers being

built for the British and other

air forces. The Rearsby factory

was at maximum production

during the war, and was also

engaged in repair work on

aircraft including Hurricanes

and Typhoons (one of the things

covered in this book’s many,

detailed appendices).

The big military contracts

disappeared with the end of the

war, the emphasis now turning

to the civil market (although the

company, now named Auster

after the military name for

its spotter planes, continued

to develop and build military

models).

The Autocrat and its

successors – a confusing array of

models sharing the same basic

design – were successful, not

only in the UK but also across

the world. The Auster constantly

changed its shape and the

authors make a heroic effort to

describe the bewildering array of

different models.

Perhaps more interesting

to the casual reader are the

aircraft Auster didn’t put into

production – a fascinating

array of machines that any

review can only touch on. My

eye was caught by the A2/45,

a sleek and advanced spotter

plane that had a very different,

Storch-like undercarriage and

leading edge slats. While this

design never made it beyond

a couple of prototypes, many

other machines – some of them

very impressive concepts –

never got further than the

drawing board.

Before helicopters took over

the spotter-plane rôle in Army

aviation, Auster has one last

hurrah in the AOP.9 (actually

an entirely new design) but lack

of investment and significant

development in the company’s

private aircraft, which were

being made to look and feel

very old fashioned next to the

new generation of all-metal

aircraft from the USA, spelled

the end for Auster. This was a

sad ending for the company but

at least this rather wonderful,

beautifully illustrated book

pays full tribute to those who

designed, built and flew (and

continue to fly) its surprisingly

diverse range of aeroplanes. PW