14 FLYPAST May 2018
briefi ngs
NEWS THE LATEST IN AVIATION HERITAGE
Remembering
Tim Staples
We are sorry to report that Tim
Staples from Staples and Vine
(formerly Diverse Images) died in
February. Regular readers will be
familiar with the company’s excellent
range of pewter aircraft models and
merchandise.
Tim was born in Hove in 1948 to
an RAF family – his father, Terry
Staples, fl ew Bristol Blenheims with
114 Squadron during World War Two.
After a career in the print and paper
industry, he co-founded Diverse
Images in 1996 with designer and
sculptress Sera Vine. Fittingly, the
subject of their fi rst model was the
Blenheim IV fl own by Tim’s father.
Often attending air shows, Tim
always enjoyed meeting fellow
enthusiasts, seeing historic aircraft
in fl ight and catching up with old
friends. He and Sera were married
in 2007, three years after Tim had
been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Always a passionate gardener, the
outdoor life helped him maintain
his health. In 2017, Diverse Images
changed its name to Staples and Vine
and expanded its range of operations.
Tim passed away peacefully on
February 12, 2018. Staples and Vine
will pause production – but aims to
resume business later this year.MiG to receive attention in California
The March Field Air Museum in Riverside, California is to restore Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN ‘5474’. The jet served with the Czech Air Force
from 1981 and was later acquired by a US collector in 1997. It was donated to the museum in October 2001. http://www.marchfi eld.org
TONY SACKETOSCaudron C.510 Pélican SE-AGA has
been sold to French enthusiast
Frédéric Louis. The aircraft, currently
in Sweden, will be transported to
France later this year. On arrival it will
undergo a restoration to airworthiness.
Built in 1937 and originally registered
F-AOYC, it was fl own to Sweden in May
of that year and became SE-AGA on
June 7 for Norrköping’s Automobil-
och Flygklubb. It was used as an air
ambulance and for ‘air experience
fl ights’, carrying no fewer than 2,
passengers in 1937 alone.
In 1945 the Caudron was sold to
Svensk Flygtjänst, and subsequently
acquired by the Linköping Aero Club
in 1951, where it was named Agaton.
It was fl own by other civilian owners
prior to retirement in February 1958.
It was on museum display at Gysinge
in Sweden until 2002, when a former
owner acquired it for a second time
with the intention of restoring it to fl y.
These plans did not come to fruition
and the machine – one of just 62 built –
was put up for sale. JAN FORSGREN
Pélican on
its way back
to France
Kfi r ready for viewing at
New York museum
The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York has completed its restoration of IAI Kfi r
C-2 999734. The jet on display was gifted to the attraction by the government of Israel,
and carries the markings of both an Israeli Air Force squadron and the US Navy and USMC
squadrons that fl ew it. http://www.intrepidmuseum.org TONY SACKETOSCaudron C.510 Pélican SE-AGA in Sweden
prior to its journey to France. NICLAS AMRÉN
VIA JAN FORSGRENA memorial to Fg Off Peter Pease was unveiled
near Maidstone in Kent on February 15. The
603 Squadron pilot died when his Supermarine
Spitfi re I (X4323) was shot down on September
15, 1940. A lime tree was planted at the
crash site in his memory in 2000. The new
monument was designed by local stonemason
Gordon Newton. ROBIN J BROOKSBücker Bü 181 Bestmann SE-BNK has been
obtained by Swedish enthusiast Joakim Westh.
It was transported by road from Sundbro
airfi eld north of Uppsala to Vallentuna late
last year. Joakim plans to return the trainer,
which served with the Luftwaffe during World
War Two, to fl ying status. It will be repainted in
its original military colours. JAN FORSGREN