Fly Past

HISTORIC TRAINERS PERCIVAL PROVOSTPERCIVAL PROVOST

Stepping

St ne

84 FLYPAST April 2018

A

udiences watching

Percival Provost T.1

XF603 performing at Old

Warden, Bedfordshire, will appreciate

the trainer’s elegant looks and lively

performance. It may not occur to

them that this machine is more than

an exhibit; it works hard for the

Shuttleworth Collection.

‘Dodge’ Bailey, Shuttleworth’s

chief pilot, explained its versatility:

“In flight crew licensing, although

a pilot may hold a rating for any

single-engine piston aircraft, a

number of areas of complexity have

been established which require

‘differences’ training. These include

retractable landing gear, variable pitch/

constant speed propellers and turbo/

supercharging, among other things.

“A typical pilot joining the

Shuttleworth group may not have

completed the appropriate differences

training. The Provost is useful

in providing an opportunity to

cover constant speed propeller and

supercharging.

“The Provost can be used to elevate

Collection pilots to the next level,

a stepping stone to the likes of the

Gladiator, Hind and Lysander. It’s

also ‘nearly a warbird’ in terms of

mass and I’d describe it as a pretty

straightforward aeroplane with a good

field of view.

“The RAF blew hot and cold over

whether it was better to use tandem

or side-by-side seating, one school of

thought being that it was better for

the instructor to be able to sit next to

the student to provide a reassuring

presence and be able to observe the

student directly.

“The other was that it was better to

have the instructor sit in a separate

Darren Harbar profi les the

Shuttleworth Collection’s

Provost T.1

Above

Percival Provost XF603

fl ying from its Old

Warden base. ALL DARREN

HARBAR UNLESS NOTED