FlyPast – August 2018

WARBIRDS BAE SYSTEMS HERITAGE FLIGHT

26 FLYPAST 26 FLYPAST August 2018August 2018

“The project was moved to Woodford

where a team of retired employees, led by

Mike Taylor, set about fi nishing the work”

setting up a museum dedicated to

Avro in 1980. It was not long after

• in 1981 – that it was announced
  the Strathallan Aircraft Collection
  was closing, and its aircraft put up
  for auction.
  Charles and Harry Holmes, a
  keen Avro historian and BAe (as
  it was then known) employee,
  noted the auction was being held
  in Scotland on July 8 and included
  an Avro XIX. With Masefield’s
  backing it was decided that Harry
  would attend and bid for the XIX.
  The plan was for the aircraft to
  become a restoration project for the
  company’s apprentices and form the
  basis of a heritage representation
  within BAe.
  With a £10k budget, Harry
  made the journey to Auchterarder,
  near Stirling, to attempt to secure
  the aircraft. The sale included
  a significant number of
  airframes, with types such
  as a Mosquito and Lysander
  attracting a lot of interest. The
  Avro XIX was one of the early items
  in the running order, which might
  well have been a good thing from
  Harry’s point of view, as most
  buyers were waiting for the higher
  profile lots.
  Bidding opened at £500 and just
  one additional offer of £550 was

and resources for the restoration

diminished. The project was

moved to Woodford where a team

of retired employees, led by Mike

Taylor, set about finishing the

work. After a great effort by all

involved, the Avro XIX took to the

skies on March 8, 2001 in

the hands of the Woodford

chief test pilot, Alistair

McDicken who had Mike

alongside him as

flight engineer.

In June 2002 the

aircraft moved

to Old Warden (home of

the Shuttleworth Collection) in

Bedfordshire to join a Blackburn

B2 and a de Havilland

DH.60 Moth as

made before Harry raised his hand

and pledged £600. To his surprise,

there were no further bids – BAe

had itself an Avro XIX. Plus, as

a bonus, it came with two spare

Cheetah engines and propellers.

Upon his return to Yorkshire,

Harry was directed to Woodford

where a delighted Charles and

transport manager Jack Abberjam

were awaiting him in the

company’s de Havilland Dove.

With Harry on board, the aircraft

headed back to Auchterarder so

that Charles could see the latest

addition for himself. Meanwhile,

Jack prepared a plan to transport

the Avro XIX to Chadderton.

The restoration project wasn’t an

easy one for the apprentices, as

the machine needed a

complete

strip down

before work could begin. Being

made from wood and fabric with

metal wings and tailplanes, the

construction was dissimilar to the

types the trainees were used to,

which further complicated things.

Over time the apprenticeship

programme at

Chadderton

was run down

Above, left to right

The Avro in its more

familiar civilian guise.

Undergoing maintenance

work prior to receiving

fresh paint.

Personnel working to

maintain Avro XIX G-AHKX

prior to its recent repaint

Inside the cockpit.