Miles Messenger memories

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18 years 1 month

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I have looked through the past threads and cannot find one specifically on the Miles Messenger, although they are of course mentioned in several threads: but perhaps I have missed one.
Anyway, I recently found a photo dating from around 1950 of G-AIEK, which now flies as RG333. I was on the beach at Brancaster, Norfolk, UK with my family and a friend when this (white I think) Messenger landed on the hard sand, so we posed in front of it. At the time it belonged to Arthur Linnell at Wellingborough, according to my records. Apologies for the 2 young boys: at least we did not obscure the registration.
Maybe the current operators could be interested in seeing this photo of what it was like when it was almost brand new (constructed 1946 I think).

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc39/apollo-fox/messenger.jpg

I later saw G-AIEK at Sywell in 1958 and at Le Zoute, Belgium, in 1959, when it was certainly white.

My first flight ever was in another Messenger, from Westwood airfield in Peterborough, soon after. I think it was G-AKKC, that was based at Westwood and that I photographed there in about 1952.

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc39/apollo-fox/prob1952WestwoodG-AKKC-2.jpg

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18 years 10 months

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Nice photos, and nice coincidence... a few minutes ago I was just looking at a cutaway drawing of the Messenger in Bill Gunston's book Classic WW II Aircraft Cutaways.

This is the drawing of the initial version done by J.H.Clark for The Aeroplane magazine 20 April 1945.

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May I add this pic to the thread?

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i199/kingpinmedia/Sywell1.jpg

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18 years 1 month

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Thanks for that low'n'slow. Funny, I saw G-AKIN at Sywell on 12 April 1958 the same day I saw G-AIEK there. Is your photo a recent one, maybe at Sywell?

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19 years 7 months

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Ahhhh Miles! Of this manufacturer's products I've been lucky enough to fly in a Falcon, Magister and Messenger (though not a Gemini but would love to do that). Some idea of the experience in a Messenger can be gained from this cockpit view I took and here's also a landing shot of the machine I was in.
Tim

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v243/Consul/TimBHalton2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v243/Consul/KVZreduc.jpg

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Thanks for that low'n'slow. Funny, I saw G-AKIN at Sywell on 12 April 1958 the same day I saw G-AIEK there. Is your photo a recent one, maybe at Sywell?

Taken last year. Almost exactly 49 years to the day that you made your observation. G-AKIN has in fact been resident at Sywell since April 1952, which must be some kind of record!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i199/kingpinmedia/Sywell2.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i199/kingpinmedia/Sywell3.jpg

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The Tipsy looks lovely too!

Laurence

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The Tipsy looks lovely too!

Laurence

I'd just polished it up to impress for its annual Permit inspection!

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And another one that almost certainly still exists, according to G-INFO, but non-airworthy. G-AILL at Speke circa 1960. Old RAF/FAA site with Bellman hangar in background, all long gone.

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I last saw G-AILL at the Biggin Air Fair in 1968.

Laurence

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And another one that almost certainly still exists, according to G-INFO, but non-airworthy. G-AILL at Speke circa 1960. Old RAF/FAA site with Bellman hangar in background, all long gone.

It was once operated by the Waveney Flying Group (of which at one time in the 60s I was an honorary member). This Messenger ended up with Harold Best-Devereux and he reportedly had some strange plans for structurally altering the design. It sadly ended its days at Rush Green near Luton in a very bad way - the wings were apparently sawn off. Its mortal remains went their various ways - bits of fuselage were obtained to help in restoring another airframe. The vestiges of the outer wings do, it is believed, survive and it seems possible they could surface as part of composite static restoration with components from other machines; but to say 'ILL survives is a little generous. I've extracted some aspects of the above from an Air-Britain series of articles that covered the history of every Messenger airframe.

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The CAA G-INFO site implies that it is still owned by Mr Best-Devereux. Reports of its survival are obviously exaggerated!

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Beautiful aeroplanes, from a very innovative company.
So innovative that the the Americans had to steal the design for Chuck Yaegers X plane from Miles, including the detachable cockpit. Sorry, they didn't steal it, we were forced to hand it over as part of the trade of secrets during the war. It was one way traffic though.

Wasn't there a Messenger based at Barton during the early 70's?

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.............and here's Messenger G-AKEZ, on my side of la manche, many years ago. Perhaps taking its owners on a trip to the races or the casino?

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17 years 8 months

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.............and here's Messenger G-AKEZ, on my side of la manche, many years ago. Perhaps taking its owners on a trip to the races or the casino?

Is this not the Messenger hiding behind the Norecrin in the Which aerodrome thread. Because behind the Messenger is an Ercoupe. Coincidence or was the aerodrome Deauville.

John

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An unusual one, though not much to see.

John

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v405/Aeroclub/File1954.jpg

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G-AJKL of ARI Propafloor of Luton was laying derelict in the early seventies behind the Luton Flying Club hangar, what happened to it ? also the wings of G-ALAW were suspended in the roof of the Skegness Ingoldmells hangar mid sixties.

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G-ALAW was also one that used to hang around Westwood, between 1952 and 1960, although not actually based there I think. It was red.

G-AJKL also flew around the same area: I saw it at RAF Upwood in 1954.

Messengers seem to have liked flying across to Le Zoute: in August 1959 when I saw G-AIEK there, there were also visits from G-AHZT, G-AIDK and G-AJFC, all three of which I also saw at Sywell the previous year. Another at Sywell was G-AKIR.

Laurence

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.............and here's Messenger G-AKEZ, on my side of la manche, many years ago. Perhaps taking its owners on a trip to the races or the casino?

There seems to be other Miles types behind it - the race number on the nearest suggests Miles Hawk Speed Six G-ADGP??

Roger Smith.

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Is this not the Messenger hiding behind the Norecrin in the Which aerodrome thread. Because behind the Messenger is an Ercoupe. Coincidence or was the aerodrome Deauville.

John

Well if that is the case, then it's a remarkable coincidence. The two photos were acquired in different countries decades apart! I'll now go back and compare the two photos, side by side, to see if they were taken at the same place and date. Oh, and by the way, I never did definitively identify the aerodrome in the 'which aerodrome' thread. Depite hours trawling the net, I failed to find a decent "face on" photo of the building at Toussus. Not even a modern image, let alone one of the building in the 1950s!