At T6 Harvard Ltd, we take pride in our legacy of training pilots to soar to new heights. Since 2019, our program has been dedicated to preparing aviators for the challenges and thrills of flying some of the most legendary aircraft in history โ€“ the Hurricane, Spitfire, and P-51 Mustang. With 14 pilots and counting, our success speaks volumes about the effectiveness of our training approach and the passion of our team.

Our T6 Harvard, affectionately known as the “Wacky Wabbit,” serves as the cornerstone of our training program. This historic aircraft has long been revered for its reliability and versatility, making it an ideal platform for aspiring aviators to hone their skills. With its storied legacy in aviation training, the T6 Harvard sets the stage for an immersive and impactful learning experience.

At T6 Harvard Ltd, we go beyond the basics to provide comprehensive training that prepares pilots for the unique challenges of each aircraft type. Our curriculum not only covers the technical aspects of flying but also delves into the historical significance and distinctive characteristics of the Hurricane, Spitfire, and P-51 Mustang. By offering a holistic approach to training, we ensure that our pilots graduate with a deep understanding and appreciation for these iconic aircraft.

Central to our success is our team of skilled instructors who bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the training environment. From seasoned aviators to industry professionals, our instructors are dedicated to nurturing the next generation of pilots. Their guidance and mentorship play a pivotal role in shaping the skills and confidence of our trainees, setting them up for success in their aviation careers.

Safety is paramount in aviation, and it is a cornerstone of our training philosophy at T6 Harvard Ltd. Our program places a strong emphasis on safety protocols, risk management, and emergency procedures, ensuring that our pilots are well-prepared to handle any situation they may encounter in the air. By instilling a culture of safety from day one, we empower our pilots to fly with confidence and competence.

We understand the importance of networking in the aviation industry. That’s why we provide valuable networking opportunities for our trainees, connecting them with industry professionals, potential employers, and fellow aviators. These connections not only open doors for career opportunities but also foster a sense of camaraderie and community among our graduates. www.T6Harvard.com

The legacy of T6 Harvard Ltd is one of excellence, innovation, and passion for aviation. With our dedication to comprehensive training, skilled instructors, emphasis on safety, and commitment to continuous improvement, we continue to prepare pilots to fly high and reach for the skies. Join us on this journey as we soar to new heights together.

Andy G
Director T6 Harvard Ltd
https://lnkd.in/dz_bMFfy

 

 

 

George Pritchard T6 Harvard LtdWe had the absolute pleasure today of taking 99-year-old (soon to be 100) George Pritchard on a flight around some of his old Cambridgeshire WW2 Airfields, including former RAF Bourn, Wyton and Alconbury, with a flypast of Duxford IWM landing finally at Fowlmere. WW2 Pilot F/Sgt George Pritchard was a Wellington pilot and then a Mosquito pilot with 544Sqn during WW2.

George Pritchard - T6 Harvard LtdHe ended the war with 140 Wing flying rocket Mosquitos in Europe. George flew the Harvard a couple of times during his training 80 years ago. This was an extremely emotive and nostalgic day for him, and it was no surprise that he could remember everything about flying the Harvard.

A fantastic day with friends and family finished off in style with a couple of pints and a big dinner in our local pub, โ€˜Chequersโ€™ in Fowlmere, a pub familiar to any pilot from the Battle of Britain based at Fowlmere.

Read Georgesโ€™s book โ€œHere we go againโ€ Buy this on Amazon. 

George Pritchard T6 Harvard LtdBy the age of 18, he was a pilot in a Mosquito unit. His simple ambitions and motivation were shared by his fellow comrades โ€“ to survive! Although a traumatic period of history, humour and inspiration was always to be found, and this is the focus of many of the anecdotes shared by George in his memoirs.

This intriguing and captivating read invites you into Georgeโ€™s world, sharing his joyful times, sorrow, and stories of wonderful friends, family, and events. His innovative designs helped save lives in the field of medicine and beyond, being involved in the development of the โ€˜pacemakerโ€™ and โ€˜heart-lungโ€™ machine, and a consultant for Nuclear Power, amongst many other things.

George Pritchard - T6 Harvard Ltd

#mosquito #flying #veteran #aviation

TURKISH ADVENTURE PART 6 of 8

To continue from my last post about the T-28 Trojan – What I liked most about the Trojan were its predictability, throttle response and excellent controls; it seemed that at any speed, when trimmed correctly, it could be controlled easily with a very light touch and the roll rate was undoubtedly faster than the P-51 Mustang. The Trojan is powerful, sophisticated and has beautifully balanced controls. A large, exceptionally well laid out cockpit, outstanding visibility, and excellent handling. Aerobatics-wise, I would say that the T-28B could hold its own with most WW2 Warbirds, an incredibly capable machine, and here I was flying one! Who would have thought this?

Landing the Trojan was effortless as she settled nicely onto the tarmac, which was a lovely surprise. I was a little focused on the landing due to sitting so high above the ground; however, it was pretty intuitive, and I managed to land this big bird consistently.ย So a fantastic experience and another type in the log book!

Preparations started for the airshow on the 17th and 18th of September, and I was down to fly my trusty steed “Happy Hour,” an ex-SAAF Harvard with which I’m very familiar! I have at least 60 hours plus on this, particularly Harvard, and I’m very familiar with all its little idiosyncrasies. At the time of writing this, I have nearly 500 hours on Harvards, so I’m just about getting the hang of it! Having just flown this for at least 8 hours in the previous few days, I was ready for the next show!

I have flown six different Harvards over the years, including my own “Wacky Wabbit”, and I have to say that Happy Hour is the best Harvard I have flown so far. It is rigged perfectly and flies as straight as an arrow. Cubans in this machine are effortless, and she flies hands off when trimmed. Unfortunately, the airfield at Sivrihisar is nearly 3000 feet AMSL, and the temperature for the airshow was in the region of about 30*c, so the Density altitude was very high, decreasing the overall performance of the aircraft, so care had to be taken when executing the moves, especially at a low level. For this reason, I completed a couple of practice displays to see how she performed, as my previous displays a few days earlier were all at sea level in Izmir.

My airshow routine in the Harvard rarely changes and always starts with a Cuban eight. Using the same routine for my shows allows me more capacity to focus on other things as I’m always several moves ahead; this keeps my overall stress levels low. I usually use 210 mph for the initial Cuban, entering at 300 feet agl; following the Cuban, the next manoeuvre is a barrel roll which I enter at a minimum speed of 180 mph, followed by an aileron roll which I enter at a minimum speed of 170 mph. Having assessed the higher-density altitude performance, I was all set and ready for the show! In the following short story, I will talk about the formation flying with the T-28 and P-51

To be continued ……

 

TURKISH ADVENTURE PART 5 OF 8

I have to say a big thanks to all the staff at the M.S.ร–. Air and Space Museum at theย Sivrihisar Aviation Centre in Turkey, especially Ali ฤฐsmet ร–ztรผrk, a renowned Turkish professional display pilot, recently retired. Without the support and trust of Ali, his family and the staff, I would not be able to have the content to write these short aviation stories! I would also like to Thank Gabriel for taking the time to check me out and let me loose in the T-28 Trojan.

During the run-up to the Sivrihisar air show, I was fortunate enough to be checked out on some of the museum’s prized possessions, the Boeing Stearman and the T-28 Trojan. This is a dream for any pilot, and I was happy to take on the challenge! Below, I will just mention some of the main points I remember from flying the T-28. Please forgive me for missing a lot of detail, as this is just a quick synopsis of the experience and linked in only allows short stories.

My first impression of the T-28 when I got close to the beast was the size of it! It was huge compared to the T6 Texan and the Hurricane I have been most familiar with over the last two years. The aircraft I was about to fly was built in 1955. A potent aircraft and a delight to fly with its 1,425 horsepower Wright R-1820-86 engine.

From a historical point of view, it doesnโ€™t have the glamour of the WW2 fighters as she was designed purely as a complex trainer designed in such a way that it would train jet pilot candidates for the F-86 and the F9F, I believe. However, this trainer did see combat in a variety of conflicts, such as Vietnam and Algeria.

You donโ€™t get into a T-28. You mount it! Itโ€™s a massive aircraft, and you must scale the outside like a climbing wall to get in. It has enough baggage space for everything, including the kitchen sink! With the flap down, you have various footholds to help you climb onto this monster plane. Once inside, you feel like you are in a jet fighter, it has that feel about it, and thatโ€™s exactly how it was designed and does exactly what it says on the tin! More systems than I was used to, but after soaking up the POH and some excellent ground school, I was ready.

Starting the aircraft from the checklist was straightforward, and the taxi was very simple compared to most of the tail wagers I have recently flown. The take-off was predictable and exhilarating; I eased the throttle forward to 30 inches of manifold pressure holding the brakes, then released the brakes. As soon as the T-28 started to move, I pushed the throttle to the stop giving around 48 inches. The Trojan accelerated light a jet! The right rudder was needed; however, with a 5* right rudder bias, it almost flew itself off the runway. The engine is canted down and to the right and intentionally done by the designers to help offset the engine’s torque and reduces the amount of rudder needed on take-off.

As soon as the gear was up, I powered back to thirty-six inches and 2,400 rpm; the aeroplane settled down to a 120-knot climb, and she was rock solid.

Climb rate of two and three thousand feet per minute from memory. If you wanted to fly above 16 thousand feet (which I didnโ€™t), you could engage the second stage of the supercharger. The aircraft typically cruises at a true airspeed of around 200 knots (232 mph) at 10,000 to 25,000โ€™ MSL, and in the cruise configuration of 26โ€“28โ€ MAP and 1,850โ€“2,000 rpm, they burn about 45 gph.

What I liked most about the Trojan was its predictability, throttle response and excellent controls; it seemed that at any speed, when trimmed correctly, it could be controlled easily with a very light touch and the roll rate was certainly faster than the P-51 Mustang. The Trojan is powerful, sophisticated and has beautifully balanced controls. A large, exceptionally well laid out cockpit, outstanding visibility, and excellent handling. Aerobatics, I would say that the T-28B could hold its own with most WW2 Warbirds, an incredibly capable machine and here I was flying one! Who would have thought this?

Landing the Trojan was effortless as she settled nicely onto the tarmac, which was a lovely surprise. I was a little focused on the landing due to sitting so high above the ground; however, it was quite intuitive, and I managed to land this big bird consistently.

I could write a lot more about this aircraft however, Linked in only allows short stories so that I will add to this on my blog at some point. I hope you enjoyed this brief insight into this very understated, high-performance aircraft.

To be continued โ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆ.

TURKISH ADVENTURE PART 4 OF 8

 

The air show at Izmir concluded with an excellent final display along the coastline on the 10th of September, with substantially fewer people than the 2.2 million the day before; I would say only a few hundred thousand, yes, just a few hundred thousand! My final display was at 19:15, and I shall never forget the giant orange sun setting on the horizon as I made my first pass. The sky was a spectacular mixture of colours, something I wasnโ€™t used to seeing as I rarely fly this late in the evening. The display went exceptionally well, and after 10 minutes, I made my way back to Kaklฤฑรง airfield. I contacted the ATC and requested a practice display, to which they happily replied, โ€œThe airfield is yours, cleared to displayโ€ having made a few passes over the airfield, the ATC then asked if I would like to do the same at the neighbouring airport at ร‡iฤŸli to which I happily obliged! By now, the sun had almost gone down, and I made my approach back into Kaklฤฑรง with the runway brightly illuminated, something im not used to seeing in the Texan, but this all added to the overall experience.

 

With the displays now finished in Izmir, it was time to pack up and fly back East to the M.S.ร–. Air and Space Museum at Sivrihisar, approximately 2 hours away in the Texan at cruise power. On arrival at Sivrihisar, it was time to relax for a few days and prepare for the next air show, the museumโ€™s main annual weekend event. We expected around 30,000 people to turn up, so the aircraft had to be checked, and flight tested.ย 

The Texan had been flight tested over the previous few days with nearly 6 hours of flying! So, my first trip was to fly the delightful Dh.82 Tiger Moth. This Tiger was made famous in the Movie โ€˜The English Patient.โ€™ Which was shot in 1996. I enjoy flying this Tiger as it has an electric starter, brakes, and a tail wheel, perfect! This is how all Tigers should be! Having enjoyed a few circuits in the Tiger, it was time to get checked out the Museums 1940 and 1943 A75N1 Boeing Stearman. This was an excellent opportunity to fly a classic and a type that I had always wanted to fly. I wasnโ€™t disappointed, and having completed the checkout with Gabriel, I went solo and then took her for some GH and circuits and bumps! Lovely!

The best is yet to come, The mighty T-28B Trojan. Built in 1955, this potent aircraft is a delight to fly with its 1,425 horsepower Wright R-1820-86 engine. So again, as luck would have it, I was checked out on this incredible aircraft.ย 

 

To be Continued โ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆ.

TURKISH ADVENTURE PART 3 OF 8

After a restful stay in the Park Inn Radisson, we returned to Kaklฤฑรง Airfield mid-afternoon, but not before going next door to the local Starbucks for some email admin and a Cappuccino or three! Preparation for the display had been done the day before, so we all knew what to expect and were able to spend the afternoon at the airfield relaxing and waiting for our slot timing.

18:00 was the display timing – “T6 Texan ready to display” – “Cleared to display”, came the reply – I dropped the nose of the Texan and looked at the vast mass of people on the coastline and thought to myself, “that looks busy” – understatement of the year! I later discovered that the air show entertained 2.2 million people on the shoreline before Tarkan kicked off his concert! Flying down the crowd line, seeing the camera flashes winking at me in the diminishing light of the evening as the sun was getting lower on the horizon, was a sight I shall never forget! Up until this point, my largest crowd was in the region of 20,000! Oddly I didn’t feel any pressure as the millions of bodies just seemed to look like one great mass and my display routine was well practised, so I just let the fun happen! The aircraft’s performance was excellent at sea level, with an outside air temperature of around 28*C.

After landing back at Kaklฤฑรง, the plan was to go to the show centre for autographs, poster signing, and a quick 2 minutes on stage; this sounded fun! I was taken by road to a port on the North side of Izmir and then transported, along with the Famous Murat, theย TAIย HรผrkuลŸย pilot, by police boat to the Izmir South coast. This made sense as there was no way the show centre could be reached by road due to the 2.2 million people out in force! After watching Murat’s fantastic speech to the crowd to rapturous applause all in Turkish, it was my turn. I went on stage while the commentator said a few minutes about who I was in Turkish; I waved at the thousands and then left, having had my 2 minutes of fame! This is where the fun beganโ€ฆ!

Around the show area, I was easily identifiable as a pilot by the military flight suit. I was getting mobbed for autographs, which I didn’t mind, but I needed a break. So I removed my flight suit, and suddenly, I was invisible. No one knew who I was or cared! So, with my flight suit on my back in my day sack, I foolishly decided to walk to my hotel (against good advice from the show staff) through the millions of people all waiting to see Tarkan! After feeling like a Salmon swimming upstream for 90 minutes, inhaling all sorts of odours and dripping wet with everyone else’s sweat except my own, I was spat out on a side street, annoyed at the terrible decision I had just made. Oh well, I thought, that’ll make for a good story! Thankfully my iPhone GPS got me home via the side streets of Izmir. As soon as I entered the hotel, I made straight for my room for a very long shower!

To be continued ………

TURKISH ADVENTURE PART 2 OF 8

So, to recap, we have flown from the M.S.ร–. Air and Space Museum in Sivrihisar Turkey to Zafer (LTBZ) for fuel and then off to our destination at Kaklฤฑรง (LTFA) in Izmir, where we shall stay for the next few days to take part in the air show which is being run in conjunction with Tarkan, the famous Turkish singer and performer. The P-51D “Ferocious Frankie” arrived first, followed by myself and Hakan (Engineer), who was in the rear seat of the T6 “Happy Hour”. On landing at Kaklฤฑรง airfield, I was greeted by the “Follow Me” truck and taxied to our stand for the remaining few days preceding the air show.

This story is about the aviation side of the adventure. However, I do have to comment on the city of Izmir from a tourist’s perspective: My first impression was how clean and tidy the city was! The coastline was lovely, and, in the evening, the bright orange sunset on the horizon with a beautiful pink and purple hue in the sky was simply stunning! I didn’t realise that one of my display slots over the next few days would be around 7:15 pm, the perfect sunset as described!

We had one day to practice, followed by two days of displaying coordinated with other air show performers, such as the excellent “Solo Turk”, ripping it up in the F-16, and the legend Murat in the TAIย HรผrkuลŸย (Free Bird). After the display briefing, we were all given our allotted display timings and frequencies. The display consisted of departing Kaklฤฑรง, climbing to 4000 feet overhead the airfield and then leaving to the South to hold over a tower block at 1000 feet. We would then proceed when called to the display area to the East on the coastline. Once the display was completed, we had to depart to the Northwest at 500 feet back to Kaklฤฑรง airfield – all quite simple stuff!

My first display went well, and I was more than happy when I identified the correct portion of the coast above which to display! I wasn’t going to have this problem on the day of the air show as 2.2 million people marked it! You heard me right – 2.2 million enthusiastic people along the coastline.

I tipped in from 2000 feet with the smoke system and landing lights on, accelerating to 200 knots IAS and, at the show centre, I went into my first move, which is the Cuban Eight. The performance at sea level in the T6 Texan was noticeable as she apexed at over 1200 feet! The ear-splitting noise of the Hamilton Standard propeller transonic at 2000 rpm reverberated off the buildings on the coastline. After approximately 10 minutes, it was time to head back to Kaklฤฑรง airfield for tea and medals.

In the next instalment, I will talk about the evening show looking down inverted over 2.2 million people and then having to make my way back to the hotel through the crowd – That was an adventure!

#aviation #people #engineer #Turkey #Izmir #Tarkan #P51 #T6 #T6texan#Airshow #Experience #fun #aviation #flying #pilotslife #pilot

TURKISH ADVENTURE PART 1 OF 8

I was recently invited back for the annual air show at the M.S.ร–. Air and Space Museum (Turkish: M.S.ร–. Hava ve Uzay Mรผzesi), located at Sivrihisar Aviation Center, EskiลŸehir, Turkey. Oh boy, was I going to be in for a surprise! I want to write a series of posts about this adventure, as just one post would not do this epic experience justice!

I have been attending M.S.ร–. Air and Space Museum Annual Airshow and flying the T6 Texan since 2019, a considerable privilege. The only break I have had from this Airshow was during the covid pandemic. However, I have attended other smaller air shows such as ฤฐnรถnรผ, the Turkish republic day celebrations and other local events at the museum.

This year’s invitation, however, was extraordinary. We were invited to perform initially at the Izmir Airshow on the West coast of Turkey before the usual main event at the museum. I wasn’t sure what the event in Izmir would consist of; all I knew was that it involved a cross-country flight of around 216 miles over mountains at about 7000 feet AMSL above the vast open landscape to land at the military airbase at Kaklฤฑรง (LTFA).

I was also told that in Izmir a Turkish rock star called Tarkan would be performing a free concert on the coast so, naturally, I was in! This guy is massive in Turkey and loved by all, young and old!

(Just as a bit of background information, the M.S.ร–. Air and Space Museum. The museum is located at Sivrihisar Aviation Center, EskiลŸehir, Turkey. The museum is open every day except Mondays, and admission to the museum is free.

So, back to the story! The aircraft and pilots involved with the Airshow in Izmir would be Semin ร–ztรผrk ลžener flying the Pitts, Gabriel Rieser flying the P-51D, and Andy Goodall (me) flying the T6 Texan “Happy Hour”.ย Semins Pitts was transported to the event by the museum’s specially built transporter while Gabriel in the P-51 and me flying the T6 Texan were to fly the cross-country trip to Izmir.

As we had a flight plan, the trip went exceptionally well as we were handed over on the radio to various air traffic services along the way. Flying over the mountains on a blue-sky day and looking down at the landscape was something I won’t forget! Gabriel was flying the P-51 and was cruising at around 250 plus knots IAS, while I was flying at a more leisurely pace at about 140 knots IAS. Interestingly on the way there, I had a decent tailwind. However, I was about 40 minutes later than Gabriel when I arrived at Kaklฤฑรง (LTFA) airfield ๐Ÿ™‚

On landing at Kaklฤฑรง, I was greeted by the “Follow Me” truck and taxied to our stand for the remaining few days preceding the air show. During our stay on the airfield, we were warmly greeted by the Turkish pilots, many of whom were former captains with Turkish and Pegasus airlines.

 

 

To be continued ……..

#aviationย #aircraftย #experienceย #eventsย #militaryย #boeingย #airshow#Tarkanย #turkeyย #izmir #airlines #sivrihisar #MSO #P51 #P51mustang#Mustang #T6

I often get emails like the one below, and I would like to share this now with you… Always nice to share some history on an aircraft that we all know and love ย – The HARVARD!

Good morning. I’ve just been reading the piece about oxygen equipment on your excellent site. I now know my father-in-law (Blagdon Cecil Britton) flew with an H-type mask towards the end of the war!

I am sure you are not short of WW2 photos of Harvards, but in case you are interested, I attach a picture taken by Blag of 7125 (taken whilst he was flying 7124): both Harvard ll. This would have been at Standerton during 1943. He went on to Fly Spitfires with 145 Sqn in Italy and Mustangs. I’ve also attached a couple of pieces from his logbook (although I suspect you may also have this type of thing already.)

All the very best, and thank you for an informative read!

Yours,

Adrian

 

TE20 Massey Ferguson Restoration

On the 23rd of October 2021, Andrew Goodall and Collin Vaughan discovered the “Wabbit Twactor” on eBay after searching for the ultimate warbird towing machine for the Harvard MK4, known as the “The Wacky Wabbit.”

Initially, Andrew was interested in the newer more modern options available for towing aircraft so, Having searched the latest gadgets for towing aircraft, from remote tugs radio-controlled tracked vehicles to ex-military tugs, Collin suggested the good old Massey Ferguson TE20 tractor! After a couple of weeks searching eBay we found the perfect candidate.

Collin did most of the research and found this beauty pictured below. Initially manufactured initially in 1947. Not wartime but close enough! Grey is the traditional colour for the TE20, “The Little Grey Fergie” but not this one!! “It’s only paint”, it can be replaced anytime, so it was decided to restore it in keeping with the Desert Air Force Harvard (DAF) “Wacky Wabbit.”ย The paint “Light Stone” was purchased from Marcus Glenn,ย the correct colour for WW2 military vehicles… Perfect!

A little bit of history on the “little grey Fergie”

The Ferguson TE20 is an agricultural tractor designed by Harry Ferguson. By far his most successful design, it was manufactured from 1946 until 1956 and was commonly known as the Little Grey Fergie. TE20 (for “Tractor England”) to be built by Standard Motors at their Banner Lane plant in Coventry.

It marked a major advance in tractor design, distinguished by lightweight, small size, manoeuvrability and versatility. The TE20 popularised Harry Ferguson’s invention of the hydraulic three-point hitch system around the world. The tractor played a large part in introducing widespread mechanised agriculture. In many parts of the world, the TE20 was the first tractor to be affordable to the average farmer.ย Many TE20s remain in regular use in farming and other work and the model is also a popular collector’s item for enthusiasts today, and finally an aircraft tug!

All that was left to do now was put Collin to work!! Collin Vaughan – Project manager and restoration expert – www.TheOddityfinder.co.ukย 

The restoration and makeover

Meeting the Fergy and giving her the once over

The Fergy was picked up and loaded on a trailer and recovered to the Oddity HQ in Essex for Collin to examine for the forthcoming restoration. Unfortunately, it was found that it had quite a bit of corrosion on the metalwork and odd-sized wheels! So back to eBay to purchase some new mudguards, footplates, wheels and tyres, amongst many other items!

Buying new parts

The radiator grille was badly corroded and damaged. It needed attention, so it was back on fleabay to purchase a new one! Again the old radiator grille was put back on eBay and resold to help keep the costs down. The restoration was made easy using the products from Bit Hamber for degreasing, cleaning and priming. Great products that proved invaluable.

Wheels from eBay

Once the wheels were removed, it was clear that it would take too much time to fill the corrosion. We decided to buy new wheels and sell the others on eBay. This saved us hours of work as we were on a tight timeline… We did an excellent job as they were both different size wheels!

Now for a couple of hundred quid, we had ourselves a matching new set of wheels. All that was needed now was to purchase some new tyres and tubes, get them fitted and spray them. We wanted the grass tyres that look like P-51 tyres; however, they are like rocking horse poop to find, so we went for the standard easy to buy tyres.

Collin did a great job painting the new wheels and fitting the fresh nuts, which finished the look… She’Finally, she’s starting to come together! The degreasing and priming were done with a product manufactured by Bilt Hamber Laboratories.ย 

New wings purchased and fitted

The wings were also badly battered and corroded and different sizes, so we purchased two new wings again on eBay and fitted them. This saved a lot of time, and again they look marvellous and symmetrical now painted in the desert light stone. Furthermore, the old wings go back on eBay to save money as we know someone with more patience and time will buy them.

Rear tow hitches required

As this T-20 is being restored as an aircraft tug, we need the tow bracket fixed to the front and the rear. Not as easy as it sounds as we had to get a fabricator to make all the specialist brackets and parts. As you can see, it all came together very nicely.

Bespoke front hitch fabricated

Below is the expertly fabricated front tow hitch made explicitly for this tractor. We find that towing the aircraft with the rear hitch is ideal. However, when putting the aircraft in the hangar. The front hitch works better than trying to reverse the beast into a tightly packed hangar that is usually full of very expensive. Spitfires and Messerschmitts, to name but a few! Loving the silver finish; it looks great against the light stone paintwork and breaks the colours up nicely.

The little “Desert Fergie” is nearly transformed

This project started in early November 2021, and by February 2022, Collin had it looking like it was ready to roll! With all the new hitches fitted, it’s almost time to fit the bonnet and spray some period looking RAF decals on the bonnet.

ย ย 

The “Little yellow Fergie” needed some finishing touches to make it look military so we applied stencils for AJ841. This was the serial number of the ‘Wacky Wabbit’ when it was in RAF (DAF) service between 1942-1946. These stencils really make it look military along with some RAF roundels for good measure.

Below is a short video featuring some photographs of the restoration. She was made in 1947 and 75 years later she has had a new lease of life and we hope she will keep on going for another 75 years! You can see her at the Duxford Imperial War Museum where she shall remain for the next few years doing what she does best.

 

Our Sponsor

Collin Vaughan – Project manager and restoration expert – www.TheOddityfinder.co.ukย 

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#Masseyferguson #MFTE20 #Tractor #Littlegreyfergie #aircrafttug