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...
| Status: | Flying |
| Owned by: | Air Atlantique |
| Current location: | Coventry |
| Available for pleasure flights: | No |
Our most recent restoration is this rare gem. The Proctor is a development of the Vega Gull, the outstanding between-wars aircraft chosen by aviation pioneers like the great Alex Henshaw. We're proud of the result, and it shows how these fragile beauties can be returned to their original condition.
The restoration was completed in 2012, and it was an emotional moment when we saw her return to her native element.
Our Proctor was built at Percival’s Luton plant in early 1948 as AE129 but was immediately registered to Rolls-Royce Ltd in Derby as G-AKIU on February 20. Rolls-Royce used the aeroplane as a communications aircraft and company ‘hack’ at its Hucknall factory near Nottingham until 1962.
On February 20 1962 (exactly 24 years after they had taken delivery of the machine) Rolls-Royce deemed India Uniform surplus to requirements and she was sold to Peter Bayliss of Cleobury Mortimer in Worcestershire. In turn he sold her to Matthew Deen of Ealing, West London on May 9 and she was moved to her new base at Denham.
She flew for another three years but her Certificate of Airworthiness expired on January 24, 1965 and the aircraft was listed as being ‘permanently withdrawn from use.’ At this point the aircraft was moved to the garden of Partridge Cottage in Edenbridge, Kent for storage before being moved to Southend airport in 1978.
G-AKIU was reported as being acquired by Graham Kilsby in Bristol in 1979 but she never left Southend and was subsequently purchased by well-known aircraft restorer Sandy Topen. Sandy lent the aircraft to the North Weald Restoration Flight - who operated from the Essex airfield &- in August 1983 but it returned to his care five years later.
On March 30, 1989 G -AKIU was registered again (the first time since she was cancelled in 1965) and the new owner was listed as J N Sharman. She was stored for rebuild at Houghton-on-the-Hill, Leicestershire and later Little Staughton airfield in Bedfordshire but no work was done prior to the CAA cancelling the registration again on December 22, 1995.
Just a week later – on December 29 – G-AKIU was registered yet again, this time to well-known light aircraft builder Nigel Reddish. Nigel moved the airframe to Mansfield for restoration – from where it was acquired by Classic Flight Chairman Mike Collett in 1999. Mike dispatched the aircraft to Hornet Aviation where Dave and Tricia Fenton began the task of returning it to the skies.