FlyPast 08.2018

(lu) #1

WARBIRDS BAE SYSTEMS HERITAGE FLIGHT


26 FLYPAST 26 FLYPAST August 2018August 2018


“The project was moved to Woodford


where a team of retired employees, led by


Mike Taylor, set about fi nishing the work”


setting up a museum dedicated to
Avro in 1980. It was not long after


  • in 1981 – that it was announced
    the Strathallan Aircraft Collection
    was closing, and its aircraft put up
    for auction.
    Charles and Harry Holmes, a
    keen Avro historian and BAe (as
    it was then known) employee,
    noted the auction was being held
    in Scotland on July 8 and included
    an Avro XIX. With Masefield’s
    backing it was decided that Harry
    would attend and bid for the XIX.
    The plan was for the aircraft to
    become a restoration project for the
    company’s apprentices and form the
    basis of a heritage representation
    within BAe.
    With a £10k budget, Harry
    made the journey to Auchterarder,
    near Stirling, to attempt to secure
    the aircraft. The sale included
    a significant number of
    airframes, with types such
    as a Mosquito and Lysander
    attracting a lot of interest. The
    Avro XIX was one of the early items
    in the running order, which might
    well have been a good thing from
    Harry’s point of view, as most
    buyers were waiting for the higher
    profile lots.
    Bidding opened at £500 and just
    one additional offer of £550 was


and resources for the restoration
diminished. The project was
moved to Woodford where a team
of retired employees, led by Mike
Taylor, set about finishing the
work. After a great effort by all
involved, the Avro XIX took to the
skies on March 8, 2001 in
the hands of the Woodford
chief test pilot, Alistair
McDicken who had Mike
alongside him as
flight engineer.
In June 2002 the
aircraft moved

to Old Warden (home of
the Shuttleworth Collection) in
Bedfordshire to join a Blackburn
B2 and a de Havilland
DH.60 Moth as

made before Harry raised his hand
and pledged £600. To his surprise,
there were no further bids – BAe
had itself an Avro XIX. Plus, as
a bonus, it came with two spare
Cheetah engines and propellers.
Upon his return to Yorkshire,
Harry was directed to Woodford
where a delighted Charles and
transport manager Jack Abberjam
were awaiting him in the
company’s de Havilland Dove.
With Harry on board, the aircraft
headed back to Auchterarder so
that Charles could see the latest
addition for himself. Meanwhile,
Jack prepared a plan to transport
the Avro XIX to Chadderton.
The restoration project wasn’t an
easy one for the apprentices, as
the machine needed a
complete

strip down
before work could begin. Being
made from wood and fabric with
metal wings and tailplanes, the
construction was dissimilar to the
types the trainees were used to,
which further complicated things.
Over time the apprenticeship
programme at
Chadderton
was run down

Above, left to right
The Avro in its more
familiar civilian guise.

Undergoing maintenance
work prior to receiving
fresh paint.

Personnel working to
maintain Avro XIX G-AHKX
prior to its recent repaint

Inside the cockpit.
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