Volume 19 #4, Issue 87

ROLLING OUT THE BARREL

First flown in 1935, the Grumman F3F was destined to be the last biplane fighter ordered by the United States Navy, with limited numbers serving in front line squadrons until August 1941. Affectionately, and for obvious reasons, referred to as the ‘Flying Barrel,’ its days were however numbered -even prior to it rolling off the factory floor. In this article we take a look at the efforts to return this tubby inter war fighter to the air through the efforts of Doug Champlin, Herb Tischler and Chris Prevost, whose aircraft flew recently after a major overhaul following flood damage. Some lovely period photos and air to air of the Prevost aircraft feature.

FINLAND’S HISTORIC HURRICANE (Pt.1)

The Finnish Air force Museum have all but completed a sympathetic refurbishment of one of the world’s most historic Hurricanes, a combat veteran of the war between Finland and the Soviet Union. In this, the first of a two part article detailing those efforts, we will take a look at the fighters’ history and its journey of survival which would eventually see it coming in for some much needed attention by museum specialists. The conservation efforts will see this important aircraft survive long intro the future to tell the traumatic story of Finland’s struggle during WWII.

MOSQUITO DOUBLE DIP: FLYING THE MOSQUITO / KA 114 QUESTION & ANSWER

A dream was realized on the morning of the 27th September at a small airfield just south of Auckland City, New Zealand when a powerful, but eternally elegant 'twin' lifted off the Ardmore tarmac. The event was the culmination of an epic journey which was commissioned by Jerry Yagen and 'actioned' by master craftsmen Glyn Powell and thereafter a dedicated AvSpecs team. It was only a few days later that an admiring crowd, which included a number of Mossie veterans, were treated to a wonderful display at its public debut. Test pilot Dave Phillips relates what it is like to fly one of de Havilland’s finest in an informative and very entertaining article. A large number of people had numerous questions for the team which has achieved what many had thought to be the unachievable. In this section we present a selection of the most interesting from around the world for your reading pleasure! All you wanted to know and weren’t afraid to ask!

DOUGLAS DOLPHIN

Our last Mystery Aeroplane was out of the Douglas stable. Having experienced a string of successes in building military observation aircraft, especially for the US Navy, the Dolphin saw Douglas re enter the commercial aircraft market. However it had limited success with the first flying boat of its own design- the Sinbad. Conceived as a luxury ‘air-yacht’ the Sinbad would soon become the prototype of the Dolphin series, as it was discovered that the Sinbad’s water only operations were somewhat restrictive for wider market appeal. The resulting Dolphin would eventually appear in small numbers but in no less than 17 subtypes! This article tracks through the type’s history and details the only known survivor.

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