G-AMSV Returns to Coventry
An old friend returned to Coventry yesterday when G-AMSV, in her striking Indian Air force livery, landed here for extensive maintenance by our engineers. Sierra Victor was part of the Air Altantique fleet here for many years. She'll...
Baginton Air Pageant
The initial details for the Baginton Air Pageant are up on the website! As we don't have the space for a full-on air show attracting 20,000 or so people, we're aiming for low-key, themed days like this. A couple of thousand people,...
Newquay Pleasure flights
We promised we'd be back to fly in Cornwall, and here we are. We'll be heading south with a Rapide and Chipmunk to spend a week at Newquay from 25th July, with a further visit planned in August. The flights are bookable in the normal...
New Dakota Book
Geoff Jones just told me that his new book on the DC-3, released to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Dak's appearance, is now available. The cover sports a lovely shot of G-ANAF, shot by Simon Westwood before her radome goiter was...
Nimrod Engine Run
We've just confirmed plans by NPT to run all four of the Nimrod's Rolls-Royce Speys on Saturday 9th May. We expect the thunder to start just after lunchtime. Come along and enjoy some audio power - and please dip into your pockets...
G-AIDL is another Dragon Rapide built under licence from de Havilland by Brush Coachworks of Loughborough, this time in 1946. Ordered under Ministry of Supply Contract 6 / Aircraft / 5072 / C20a the aircraft was allocated the RAF serial TX310. Although issued to de Havilland Aircraft Holdings in May 1946, the aircraft didn’t take up the UK civil registration G-AIDL until August 1946 when it was acquired by Eric Gander-Dower, who traded as Allied Airways in Dyce, Scotland. Named ‘The Wanderer’, the aircraft was used mainly as personal transport for Eric Gander-Dower. Whilst at de Havilland’s facility at Witney in the early 1950s, the aircraft was seized by the High Sherriff of Oxfordshire and together with a spare engine, was sold at auction in April the same year to Goodhew Aviation of Kidlington, Oxford.
In October G-AIDL was acquired by aircraft sales broker W. S. Shackleton and almost immediately sold to Fox’s Glacier Mints Ltd. This company based it at Rearsby, Leicestershire for the next eleven years and used it as a company ‘hack’. During this time the aircraft was also converted to Mark 6 standard. In 1961 the aircraft transferred to Andrew Flatley and operated from Halfpenny Green airport near Wolverhampton and in April 1962 ownership was passed to The Midlands Spinning Company Ltd.
They operated the aircraft from Halfpenny Green until January 1967 and two months later it was sold to Major Gerald Stacey, Trustee of the assets for the Army Parachute Association. The aircraft was moved to Netheravon, Wiltshire where it was used as a jump platform (alongside G-AGTM) for the next ten years.
In June 1977, the aircraft was sold to Southern Joyrides and was operated by Mike Hood for a further ten years. The aircraft moved to Caernarfon, North Wales in 1987 when it was purchased by Ray Mackenzie-Blyth trading as Snowdon Mountain Aviation, which was subsequently renamed Air Caernarfon, and used for pleasure flying.
Air Caernarfon together with G-AIDL was purchased by the Air Atlantique group in the early 1990s and although initially remaining with Caernarfon, the aircraft was subsequently relocated to Coventry. Today the aeroplane flies in a Royal Air Force scheme and carries its original serial TX310. Like G-AGTM it is fully approved for passenger flying.