Fly Past

November 2018 FLYPAST 89

The Number of the Beast

M

y recent restoration of

an Avro Anson engine is

inextricably linked to the

paths of two other examples of this

famous twin-engined aircraft.

FlyPast recently delved into the

histories of G-AHKX, the

BAE Systems Heritage

Flight Centenary

Anson, and earlier this

year highlighted the

revamping of Anson

C.19 TX226 as a static

exhibit at Montrose Air

Station Heritage Centre.

The third strand of this tale

involved me renovating, to

ground-running condition, the port

Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah Mk.17

engine previously fitted to G-AGPG.

Operational journey

Anson G-AGPG was built in 1945

at Yeadon as the first production

C.19 series 1. According to the log,

the first recorded flight was on

August 17, 1945 with a duration of

3hrs 50mins. During that month it

made a further four flights, visiting

Hendon, Baginton, Woodford,

Yeadon, Waddington, Ringway and

Speke, with a total flying time of

9hrs 10mins.

During its operational career,

G-AGPG stayed with Avro as the

company ‘hack’, but in July 1961

ownership was transferred to

Skyways Coach-Air. In October 1967,

EKCO Electronics bought it and one

of the machine’s later roles – and

claim to fame – was that of test bed

for Concorde’s weather radar.

More change came in 1949,

when G-AGPG’s engines were

converted from Armstrong

Siddeley Mk.15 to Mk.17 format, the

main difference being automatic

mixture control to allow single-

lever carburettor control. It is also

believed that, at this time, the

airframe was converted to a series

2, with metal wings.

The most important engineering

change relating to this story

occurred on March 22, 1957 when

the Armstrong Siddeley Mk.17

engines, serial numbers AS80666

and AS80445, were respectively

installed port and starboard.

These two engines stayed with

G-AGPG for almost all its remaining

operational years, only periodically

being removed for maintenance.

But on January 24, 1971, although

having swapped positions, both

engines were finally shut down for

the last time at Southend

Airport, Essex.

Armstrong Siddeley Mk.17 ’666

would not run again for another

47 years, until 4pm on June 12,

2018 in northwest Lancashire. But

G-AGPG’s post-flying period was

troubled. It was first taken into

care by Southend Historic Aircraft

Museum. However, by 1983 the

airframe had been vandalised and

the museum closed. Next stop was

the Brenzett Aeronautical Museum,

Kent, and by this time

the airframe had been

dismantled significantly and the

engines removed.

In the mid-1990s, though, the

paths of G-AGPG and G-AHKX

crossed for the first time. The

former was moved to BAE

Chadderton for consideration as a

donor to the G-AHKX restoration

project, but was deemed unsuitable.

A journey to Hooton Park,

Cheshire, in 2000 placed G-AGPG

initially in the custody of The

Aeroplane Collection, but then it

passed to the Hooton Park Trust

before being sold in 2011 to Richard

Parr of Retro Aviation, as a donor

aircraft for a static Avro Anson

Mk.I re-build.

Paternal inspiration

I am a retired chartered engineer

living near Wigan, having spent

most of my career in the nuclear

power industry, but I’ve had a

lifelong interest in aviation. This was

sparked by my dad Eric’s wartime

RAF service as an engine fitter,

and the Cheetah is just one of the

powerplants on his service record.

My first encounter with ’666 was

on January 18, 2012, in Shropshire. I

would like to say it was a ‘barn find’,

but strictly speaking I didn’t find it,

and it wasn’t lost. However, it was

in a barn and being offered for sale

by Retro Aviation, to fund its own

Anson Mk.1 restoration. It was love

at first sight, especially after that

typical smell of old metal and oil

filled the nostrils.

Simple internet activity soon

identified the history of G-AGPG and

I’m sure all restorers/collectors will

agree, the provenance of an item

brings it alive and opens the door

to many exciting avenues of

research, such as discovering who

flew the aircraft. Tony Blackman,

Avro Vulcan test pilot, in his book

Flight Testing to Win, refers to using

G-AGPG on numerous occasions.

The Anson had spent most of its

last 41 years out in the elements.

Some items were missing, and

it was significantly corroded

and damaged. But I was lucky

the key items were all still there:

powerplant, propeller, spinner,

engine bearer, control quadrant,

undercarriage system and cowlings.

At the time, though, it was not

known if any or all of these could be

made operational.

The next task was to collect

and read all available Anson

and Cheetah-related technical

documents. Thank goodness for

museum archives, the internet and

auction sites.

Crystalised goal

My aim was clear, to return ’666 to

fully operational condition, using

all or as many of the original parts

as I could and to have it running

‘666...

David Houghton explains how he restored an

Avro Anson engine to running condition

Above
A starboard aspect of the completed assembly.
The centrally mounted fuel pressure gauge,
viewed by the pilot through his window, clearly
indicates this is the port engine.