Fly Past

110 FLYPAST May 2018

FROM THE WORKSHOP HAWKER TYPHOON

“The first time you fly it, you’re on
your own,” he nods. “The consensus
among the trustees and the
members is that a pilot that’s been
involved with the aircraft from day
one is most likely to have the best
understanding of it. In the war you’d
have trained on Harvards, then gone
to an Operational Conversion Unit or
Operational Training Unit and flown
older Spitfires or Hurricanes, before
stepping up to the Typhoon. I already
fly Goodwood Aero Club’s Harvard
so the ideal next stepping stone for
me would be the Hurricane, because
it has more power than the Harvard
and it’s a Hawker.
“After that, it would be good to
fly a [Rolls-Royce] Griffon-engined
Spitfire or even a Hawker Fury, which
was really a step further from the
Typhoon. The performance, in terms
of speed and inertia, is closer to the
Typhoon than the Hurricane would
be, and you’ve still got the Hawker
lineage.
“The Typhoon should be a stable
enough platform to land, but take-
off is likely to be challenging because
there’s not a lot of prop clearance.
You can’t get the tail particularly
high, and there’s so much power and
torque from that engine. I’ve spoken
to a couple of veteran pilots already
who have given me some tips. There
are not many people left to give
that first-hand advice, so it has been
extremely valuable.”

Labour of love
Before such a flight can be
contemplated, there is a huge
amount of work ahead, and money
to be raised. The team estimates the
final cost (including the Heritage
Centre) will amount to between £4
and £6 million.
HTPG’s current base is home to
a treasure trove of Typhoon parts.
Its centrepiece is the fuselage of

RB396, which still bears some of its

original paint. The project has since

acquired the only genuine four-

bladed Typhoon spinner in existence,

plus rear empennage, tail unit and

rudder, and a French group has

recently donated other parts. While

the latter might look like scrap metal

to the untrained eye, the project can

use the items to create patterns for

new parts, or to check existing ones

are correct.

The group’s Napier Sabre IIa

is currently stored in a separate

location. “The noise of that engine

will be quite different to the Allisons

and Rolls-Royce Merlins that people

at airshows hear more frequently,”

says Sam. “We have the powerplant

we need, and it’s virtually complete.

It’s only missing a Coffman starter

and some very small standard

ancillaries. It was inhibited a long

time ago, having been earmarked

as a training engine for Cranfield

University students. It was also given

a protective layer of paint which is

why it appears to be grey. It wouldn’t

have been that colour in service.

“They’re obviously not as common

as Merlins and Griffons, but we don’t

foresee that getting spares will be

a major issue. We’ve got a cache of

extra parts, which probably amounts

to about half an engine, and we’re

also working on a second and third

powerplant.”

Sam adds: “We’re in touch with

[Florida-based collector and pilot]

Kermit Weeks and his engine

specialist, Andy Salter. They’ve

got a couple of crates that include

things like engine ancillaries, spark

plugs, leads, magnetos and fuse

boxes. Nothing’s definite, but we

hope we can form some kind of

working relationship in the future.

They’ve agreed that we can use their

jigs for the cowling, nose section

and radiator when we’re ready for

them, in return for an exchange of

information. We’re also working on

getting a complete radiator, one of

very few known to exist.”

Readers can keep up to date

with progress by joining the

supporters’ club or by keeping an

eye on the project’s superb website –

hawkertyphoon.com

Important target

While HTPG will oversee the rebuild

of RB396, it will be employing

specialist companies to do the work.

By calling on all available expertise,

the group is confident of achieving

its 2024 target.

“It was never our intention to

do the rebuild work ourselves,”

confirms Sam. “We will do some

base level engineering, cleaning

and cataloguing of parts, but the

main task will be done by a specialist

organisation, or perhaps a number

of them. This is a one-off and a

very complex project. You’ve got

monocoque sections and you’ve got

tubular frames, so in a sense it’s like

a combination of a Spitfire and a

Hurricane.

“That’s not to say we’re just going

to hand it over to someone along

with a big wad of cash – we still want

to be involved in the process. It’s

quite likely that different parts will

be done by different outfits that

specialise in them, bringing it all

together at the end.”

Although the team has most of the

significant parts needed, they are

still seeking more specific data in

order to build the wings. Creating the

Sam Worthington-Leese with the fuselage

of Typhoon RB396 at Uckfi eld.

Left

Relics donated from France may be used to

create patterns for new parts, or to check

existing ones are correct.

Above

An archive view of Typhoon Mk.Ib EK170

fl ying in Egypt. RB396 will be restored with

a bubble-style canopy, similar to this. KEY

Tail

arrangement

with rudder fi n

held in place.