Fly Past

Stepping

April 2018 FLYPAST 85

cockpit to the

rear so that the

student got used to

flying ‘alone’ from the get-go. For two

or three decades the side-by-siders

held sway.

“The Provost offers a lower risk

way of progressing Collection pilots

onto something a little chunkier,

without throwing them in at the

deep end. It also serves as a great

confidence builder when making

the transition from the ‘low end’

aircraft, such as the [Avro] Tutor

and [Polikarpov] Po-2, onto more

complex and/or weightier machines.

“As a bridge aeroplane, it’s not

entirely perfect as it has fixed rather

than retractable gear, which would be

ideal for transition training.”

Aside from its instructional role,

the Provost fulfils a couple of other

significant tasks. From an educational

perspective, it enables the Collection

to demonstrate the evolution of the

RAF’s ‘all-through jet’ syllabus which

came in with the Provost’s ultimate

development – the Jet Provost. On

a number of occasions XF603 has

flown in formation with its jet-

powered younger siblings to show this

metamorphosis.

Being pretty robust, with excess

power, effective brakes and excellent

controllability, the Provost also

provides an option when the great

British weather prevents the lighter,

open cockpit airframes from being

flown. All in all, it’s an important

airframe at Old Warden.

FIGHTER-LIKE

First flown on February 24, 1950,

the Provost was designed to replace

the sedate Percival Prentice.

Top left

The restoration

of Provost XF603

approaching completion

at Cranfi eld, 1995. VIA

TIM MANNA

Top right

Provost T.1 XF603’s

cockpit.

“The Provost can be used

to elevate 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”